Optical study of localization in theab-plane conductivity of single crystals of YBa2Cu3O6.95 induced by ion damage

We studied the changes in the dc resistivity, Raman scattering, and IR conductivity of single crystals of YBa₂Cu₃O_6.95 induced by damage from low-energy He⁺ ion bombardment. It appears thatT _c , transport properties, and optical conductivity are strongly affected by modest irradiation doses whereas the chemical composition of the sample is not modified. Carrier localization is evidenced by the frequency dependence of the optical conductivity in the strongly damaged crystal and is used to explain the suppression of both the superfluid density andT _c upon irradiation. The temperature dependence of the superfluid density is in agreement with the theoretical predictions for ad-wave superconductor. We also show that the intrinsic residual losses in the FIR are dramatically reduced in the disordered crystal.On leave from P. N. Lebedev Physics Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia.This work was supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research. One of us (A.P.) is grateful to the Ontario Center for Materials Research for financial support.     

Phonon Dispersion Measurements of YBa2Cu3O6.15 and YBa2Cu3O6.95 by Time-of-Flight Neutron Spectroscopy

We measured the phonon dispersions of YBa₂Cu₃O_6.15 and YBa₂Cu₃O_6.95 by time-of-flight inelastic neutron scattering. The in-plane bond-stretching modes in the metallic phase showed a distinct a-b plane anisotropy beyond what is expected for structural origin. Such anisotropy in the longitudinal optical modes, which is absent in the TO, suggests strong in-plane anisotropy in the underlying electronic structure. Apical oxygen bond-stretching modes showed a large frequency change between the insulating and the metallic phases. This large softening also is beyond structural origin, and suggests the effect of local electronic environment.     

In plane anisotropy in optimally doped YBa2Cu3O6.95

Single crystals untwinned optimally doped YBa₂Cu₃O_9.65 show a large degree of anisotropy in a-b plane properties such as resistivity, infrared conductivity and value of zero temperature penetration depth. This source of orthorhombicity must ultimately reside in the CuO chains. Using a three plane model; 2 CuO₂ and one CuO (chain plane), we study solutions of three coupled BCS equations which include inter- as well as intra-plane coupling. The gaps are found to contain s- as well as d-wave symmetries. From our solutions, we calculate the penetration depth and compare with experiments.     

Electronic Raman scattering of superconducting YBa2Cu3O y single crystals

TheA _1g andB _1g low-energy Raman continua of YBa₂Cu₃O _y (Y123) single crystals, withy=7.0, 6.99, and 6.93, have been investigated. It is found that the peak frequency of theA _1g continuum is equal to 310±10 cm^?1 and independent of oxygen concentration fory in the above range. The central frequency of the broad peak in theB _1g continuum, however, shifts from about 470 cm^?1 fory～7.0 to 550 cm^?1 fory～6.93. Thus, a relatively small change in oxygen concentration results in a significant redistribution of the states contributing to theB _1g continuum. Assuming the low-energy portions of the continua are electronic in origin, the Raman spectra have been calculated and the results compared to the experimental spectra. It is suggested that the Raman continua arise, at least in part, from scattering across a spin fluctuation-induced pseudogap.     

Direct observation of non-collinear vortex structures induced by twin boundaries in YBa2Cu3Oy single crystals

Using vector magnetic moment measurements, in twinned YBa₂Cu₃O_y single crystals we observe a nearly reversible M_ab component of the magnetisation with sharp peaks in the dependence of M_ab on the magnetic field H and angle between c-axis and magnetic field. The association of these features with twin boundaries is supported by geometrical arguments and by comparison with detwinned samples. For a crystal with a single dominant direction of twin boundaries, the initial slope of the M_ab(H) and M_ab() dependences corresponds closely to ideal shielding of the transverse H component, as expected for the fully-locked vortex state. The peak position, which is related to the locking angle, shows a close to linear H_p ^–1 vs dependence, which corresponds to a fixed value of H_L, the locking field. The influence of twins vanishes above a trapping angle T which shows rather weak temperature and magnetic field dependences; at 60K and 1T these parameters are _oH_L=27mT and _T 10 °.     

A method for obtaining single domain superconducting YBa2Cu3O7−x single crystals

A method is reported for producing an orthorhombic YBa₂Cu₃O_7–x single crystal comprised entirely of a single untwinned domain. The transformation from a polydomain to a single domain single crystal is carried out by applying uniaxial pressure of approximately 25 MPa for about one minute at 450°C in an oxygen atmosphere. We report on some of the superconducting properties of crystals produced in this way.     

Preparation of single crystals of YBa2Cu3O7−x from nonstoichiometric melts

Studies on the single crystal growth of YBa₂Cu₃O_7−x show that the growth conditions have not been optimised yet and they vary in many ways. Here we report the growth of single crystals of YBCO in the size range 0·5–1·2 mm from nonstoichiometric melts. We have made systematic variations in the flux composition (constituting CuO and BaCO₃) in order to arrive at an optimum composition for consistently getting single crystals of size 0·5–1·2 mm. The tetragonal phase was confirmed by X-ray diffraction and single crystallinity by the Laue technique. Superconductivity was confirmed in oxygenannealed crystals.     

Fluctuation conductivity in Li-doped YBa2Cu3O7−x

The paraconductivity of Li-doped YBa₂Cu₃O_7?x was measured. We have found that the character of the fluctuation changes as lithium content increases: instead of a crossover from 2D to 3D behavior (D is the dimensionality), as we have observed for a low doping level, a double crossover to the 2D percolative and 3D percolative regimes becomes manifest by increasing the lithium content.     

Gap symmetry and intrinsic intraplane pinning of untwinned YBa2Cu3O7 single crystals

The interplane (cb) and intraplane (ab) anisotropy of untwinned YBa₂ Cu₃0₇ single crystals has been investigated by means of the torque magnetometry. To extract the reversible and irreversible components, the torque was measured as a function of increasing angle as well as decreasing angle. The interplane irreversible torque _irr shows two-fold peaks at _c =90 ° and270 ° (of half width11 ° at77 K) due to the well-known intrinsic interplane pinning. A novel intrinsic pinning has been discovered in the intraplane irreversible torque, i.e., _irr shows four-fold peaks of half width20° at77 K when _a =0 °, 90 °, 180 ° and270 °. We argue that the intrinsic intraplane pinning comes from the four-fold nature of the gap parameter.     

Oxygen inhomogeneities in YBa2Cu3O7−x single crystals withx>0.5 (oxygen inhomogeneities in YBa2Cu3O7−x …)

The microstructure of HTS YBa₂Cu₃O_7−x single crystals withx⩾0.5 has been investigated by TEM and selected area diffraction. An inhomogeneous oxygen distribution over the crystal was observed. Large differences between the bulk crystal structure and the surface have been established. The bulk structure was presented by orthorhombic blocks (≈100×10×20 nm in size) embedded in tetragonal matrix withx≈1. The bulk structure was not of a superconductive type. The crystal surface was enriched by oxygen and had the usual orthorhombic twinned structure. The superconductive properties of the whole specimen were determined by surface layer about 5 μm thick.     

A Polarized Neutron Scattering Study of the Normal Phase in YBa2Cu3O6.95

Polarized neutron scattering with polarization analysis has revealed negligible magnetic scattering up to 30 meV in the normal phase of YBa₂Cu₃O_6.95 indicating the absence of local moments.     

Energy gap symmetry and thermal conductivity of YBa2Cu3O7

The characteristic enhancement in the heat conduction below T_c is analyzed on sintered YBa₂Cu₃O₇ from viewpoints of both d-wave and s-wave coupling. Assuming the existence of a large energy gap Δ₀(≥1.5Δ _BCS ), only d-wave coupling is consistent with experimental observation. It is found that the most reasonable explanation for the enhancement is provided by the weak-coupling phonon conduction model under d-wave energy gap.     

Glassy behavior of low-temperature energy relaxation in YBa2Cu3O7 and YBa2Cu3O6

Measuring the power release after rapid cooling a YBa₂Cu₃O₇ sample (m=42.85 g, T_c=91 K) from the equilibrium temperature T₁ (2.35 KT₁15.1 K) to T₀=1.5 K, we observed a time dependence typical of a glass: is proportional to t^–1. The results allow us to determine the linear term of the heat capacity (0.8 mJ/mole · K²) due to the two-level systems. While the low-temperature heat capacity anomaly noticeably decreases, the power release is essentially unchanged after oxygen reduction of the sample.     

Charge-transfer in YBa2Cu3O x

The charge-transfer hypothesis is shown to be inconsistent with data for YBa₂Cu₃O_x: (i) The two-step behavior ofT _c(x) (with jumps from zero to ≈60 K and then to ≈90 K) is not reflected as a similar, statistically significant two-step behavior in the bond-valence-sum charge of cuprate-plane Cu ions (as once believed), (ii) as a consequence of the law of conservation of charge, the derivatives of the layer charges with respect to oxygen contentx for both the Ba-O layers and the charge-reservoir Cu-O chains have the opposite signs to those predicted, and (iii) the charge-transfer observed for superconducting YBa₂Cu₃O_x is not sufficient to produce superconductivity, as demonstrated by insulating PrBa₂Cu₃O_x, which has virtually the same layer charges.     

Effect of oxygen content on the electrical properties of YBa2Cu3O7−x single crystals

The effect of oxygen content in the single crystals of high-temperature superconductor YBa₂Cu₃O_7−x on the electrical resistivity, the Hall effect in the plane perpendicular to thec axis and the energy gap Δ, measured with tunnelling electron microscope, has been studied. The distribution of the gap along the surface of the crystal was also studied. The results of the study on the relationship between the magnitude of the energy gap Δ and the superconducting transition temperatureT _c of single crystals with various oxygen contents are approximated by the linear dependence 2Δ_av=4·4kT _c .