Two- and three-dimensional incommensurate modulation in optimally-doped Bi{sub 2}Sr{sub 2}CaCu{sub 2}O{sub 8+{delta}}

Journal Article · Mon May 01 04:00:00 EDT 2006 · Physical Review. B, Condensed Matter and Materials Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PHYSREVB.73.1· OSTI ID:20788164

Castellan, J P; Dabkowska, H A ^[1]; Gaulin, B D ^[1]; Nabialek, A ^[2]; Gu, G ^[3]; Liu, X ^[4]; Islam, Z ^[5]

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1. Department of Physics and Astronomy, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8S 4M1 (Canada)
2. Institute of Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Al. Lotnikow 32/46, 02-668 Warsaw (Poland)
3. Department of Physics, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973-5000 (United States)
4. Department of Physics, University of California, San Diego, California 92093 (United States)
5. Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois 60439 (United States)

X-ray scattering measurements on optimally doped single crystal samples of the high-temperature superconductor Bi{sub 2}Sr{sub 2}CaCu{sub 2}O{sub 8+{delta}} reveal the presence of three distinct incommensurate charge modulations, each involving a roughly fivefold increase in the unit cell dimension along the b direction. The strongest scattering comes from the well known (H, K{+-}0.21, L) modulation and its harmonics. However, we also observe broad diffraction which peak up at the L values complementary to those which characterize the known modulated structure. These diffraction features correspond to correlation lengths of roughly a unit cell dimension, {xi}{sub c}{approx}20 A in the c direction, and of {xi}{sub b}{approx}185 A parallel to the incommensurate wave vector. We interpret these features as arising from three-dimensional incommensurate domains and the interfaces between them, respectively. In addition we investigate the recently discovered incommensurate modulations which peak up at (1/2, K{+-}0.21, L) and related wave vectors. Here we explicitly study the L dependence of this scattering and see that these charge modulations are two dimensional in nature with weak correlations on the scale of a bilayer thickness, and that they correspond to short-range, isotropic correlation lengths within the basal plane. We relate these new incommensurate modulations to the electronic nanostructure observed in Bi{sub 2}Sr{sub 2}CaCu{sub 2}O{sub 8+{delta}} using STM topography.

• OSTI ID: 20788164
• Journal Information: Physical Review. B, Condensed Matter and Materials Physics, Journal Name: Physical Review. B, Condensed Matter and Materials Physics Journal Issue: 17 Vol. 73; ISSN 1098-0121
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
BISMUTH COMPOUNDS
CALCIUM COMPOUNDS
CORRELATIONS
CUPRATES
DOPED MATERIALS
HARMONICS
HIGH-TC SUPERCONDUCTORS
INTERFACES
MODULATION
MONOCRYSTALS
NANOSTRUCTURES
SCANNING TUNNELING MICROSCOPY
STRONTIUM COMPOUNDS
THREE-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS
X-RAY DIFFRACTION