Comparative photoemission study of Bi2(Sr,Ca)3Cu2O8+y and Bi1.7Pb0.3Sr2Ca2Cu3O10+y

The electronic structure of Bi-based 2223 single phase superconductor has been studied by ultraviolet and X-ray photoemission. By comparison with that of 2212 phase superconductor, we find a higher density of states nearE _F for 2223 phase. From analysis of the Cu 2p core-level spectroscopy, we obtain a relatively smaller charge transfer energy between copper and oxygen as well as the Coulomb repulsion energy on Cu site for 2223 phase. We relate these changes to the increase of hole concentration from 2212 to 2223 phase. The experimental results support the viewpoint that the transition temperature should be correlated with the density of states atE _F .     

Angle-resolved photoemission study of insulating and metallic Cu-O chains in PrBa2Cu3O7 and PrBa2Cu4O8

We compare the angle-resolved photoemission spectra of the hole-doped Cu-O chains in PrBa2Cu3O7 (Pr123) and in PrBa2Cu4O8 (Pr124). While, in Pr123, a dispersive feature from the chain takes a band maximum at k(b) (momentum along the chain) approximately pi/4 and loses its spectral weight around the Fermi level, it reaches the Fermi level at k(b) approximately pi/4 in Pr124. Although the chains in Pr123 and Pr124 are approximately 1/4 filled, they show contrasting behaviors: While the chains in Pr123 have an instability to charge ordering, those in Pr124 avoid it and show an interesting spectral feature of a metallic coupled-chain system.     

AES and photoemission studies of Cu growth on Cr2O3

The initial growth (1–20 Å) of Cu on Cr₂O₃ at room temperature has been investigated by Auger Spectroscopy and UV photoemission spectroscopy by synchrotron radiation. Analysis of the Auger peak intensities suggests that copper is growing in a layer-by-layer mode probably with the simultaneous formation of the second and third layers.The photoemission spectra show that deposited copper grows steadily as a single copper species which does not interact strongly with the substrate.     

Polarized X-ray absorption study of Bi2Sr2CuO6 and Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8

Polarization dependent X-ray absorption measurements on single crystal Bi₂Sr₂CuO₆ (T _c =9 K) and Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O₈ (T _c =80 K) with one and two CuO₂ layers, respectively, show no energy shift of the Cu 2p main peak, and no relation between the amount of 3d(m=0, ±1) character and the critical temperatureT _c . At grazing incidence a structure in Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O₈ is found at 937 eV, which can be ascribed to a composite state of Cu 3d(z ²), Cu 4s ando–2p(z).     

Neutron scattering studies of Bi2Sr2Ca0.5Ho0.5Cu2O8+x

Neutron scattering has been employed to study the crystalline electric field (CEF) interaction at the Ho³⁺ site in Bi₂Sr₂Ca_0.5Ho_0.5Cu₂O_8+x. The observed energy spectra exhibit a large number of broad but well-resolved CEF transitions between 1.2 and 73 meV, so that we have been able to unambiguously determine all nine CEF parameters required for the average orthorhombic symmetry. The unusually large line widths of the CEF transitions are shown to be related to the modulated structure. The CEF potential is essentially governed by the charge distribution of the CuO₂ planes which turns out to be very similar as in HoBa₂Cu₃O_7-x.     

Energy gaps and phonon structures in tunneling spectra of Bi2Sr2Ca1Cu2O8+x and Bi2Sr2Ca2Cu3O10+y superconductors

Polycrystalline Bi-2212 or Bi-2223 systems and single crystals of the Bi-2212 system were investigated at several temperatures by means of the break-junction and point-contact tunneling techniques, respectively. In the case of Bi-2223 we obtained an averaged gap value 2=65±4 meV. The Bi-2212 system yields 2= 45±5 meV in the case of polycrystalline samples and 2=47±5 meV in the case of single crystals. Hence there result BCS-ratios 2/k _B T _c of 7.3, 6.8 and 6.5, respectively. A dc-Josephson-type supercurrent could be observed in polycrystalline Bi-2212 samples in addition to the usual gap structure. The point-contact tunneling spectra of Bi-2212 single crystals exhibit structures in the second derivative d² I/d V ² which we interpret as inelastic tunneling processes due to electron-phonon scattering most likely in the barrier region. The phonon energies deduced from these structures are in accordance with data obtained from inelastic neutron scattering and Raman spectroscopy. Good agreement is obtained with a lattice dynamical calculation of the partial phonon densities of states of individual atoms in the unit cell.