Altered Sr environment in La{sub 2{minus}x}Sr{sub x}CuO{sub 4}

Journal Article · Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 1997 · Physical Review, B: Condensed Matter

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.56.R521· OSTI ID:531844

Haskel, D; Stern, E A ^[1]; Hinks, D G; Mitchell, A W; Jorgensen, J D ^[2]

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1. Department of Physics, Box 351560, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195 (United States)
2. Materials Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois 60439 (United States)

The atomic arrangement about the Sr atoms in La{sub 2{minus}x}Sr{sub x}CuO{sub 4} was investigated by Sr K-edge polarized x-ray-absorption fine structure on oriented powder with x=0.075 and 0.1 at T=20 K. Our results confirm that Sr resides at the La lattice site but we discovered it induces major structural distortions in neighboring oxygen atoms. In particular, our best fits indicate that the O(2) apical oxygen to Sr is split into two sites separated by 0.30(4) {Angstrom}, providing evidence for a strong lattice-hole interaction, i.e., a polaron, which may be involved in the pairing mechanism of these cuprates. {copyright} {ital 1997} {ital The American Physical Society}

• DOE Contract Number: FG06-90ER45425; W-31-109-ENG-38
• OSTI ID: 531844
• Journal Information: Physical Review, B: Condensed Matter, Vol. 56, Issue 2; Other Information: PBD: Jul 1997
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
LANTHANUM OXIDES
POLARONS
CRYSTAL STRUCTURE
STRONTIUM OXIDES
COPPER OXIDES
POWDERS
HOLES
X-RAY SPECTRA
ABSORPTION SPECTRA
K SHELL