Neutron spectroscopic determination of the crystalline electric field in HoBa/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub 7-//sub delta/

Journal Article · Thu Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 1988 · Phys. Rev. B: Condens. Matter; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.38.4616· OSTI ID:6844752

Furrer, A; Brueesch, P; Unternaehrer, P

Inelastic neutron scattering has been employed to study the crystalline electric field (CEF) interaction in the high-T/sub c/ superconductor HoBa/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub 7-//sub delta/. The CEF at the Ho site completely lifts the 17-fold degeneracy of the ground-state J multiplet. The observed energy spectra exhibit a large number of well-resolved CEF transitions between 0.5 and 73 meV, so that we have been able to assign the energies of ten excited CEF levels. On the basis of the observed intensities we have been able to unambiguously determine all nine CEF parameters required for orthorhombic symmetry. The CEF parameters turn out to be incompatible with any kind of point-charge calculation as expected. The results are used to predict the magnetization and the field-dependent Schottky anomaly of the heat capacity of HoBa/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub 7/ as well as to extrapolate the CEF interaction to ErBa/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub 7/, which yields good agreement with the experimental data.

• Research Organization: Labor fuer Neutronenstreuung, Eidgenoessische Technische Hochschule Zuerich, CH-5303 Wuerenlingen, Switzerland
• OSTI ID: 6844752
• Journal Information: Phys. Rev. B: Condens. Matter; (United States), Journal Name: Phys. Rev. B: Condens. Matter; (United States) Vol. 38:7; ISSN PRBMD
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
360204* -- Ceramics
Cermets
& Refractories-- Physical Properties
656100 -- Condensed Matter Physics-- Superconductivity
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
ALKALINE EARTH METAL COMPOUNDS
BARIUM COMPOUNDS
BARIUM OXIDES
CHALCOGENIDES
COHERENT SCATTERING
COPPER COMPOUNDS
COPPER OXIDES
CRYSTAL FIELD
CRYSTAL LATTICES
CRYSTAL STRUCTURE
DIFFRACTION
ELECTRIC CONDUCTIVITY
ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES
ENERGY SPECTRA
HOLMIUM COMPOUNDS
HOLMIUM OXIDES
INELASTIC SCATTERING
MAGNETIZATION
NEUTRON DIFFRACTION
ORTHORHOMBIC LATTICES
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
RARE EARTH COMPOUNDS
SCATTERING
SPECIFIC HEAT
SPECTRA
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY
THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES
TRANSITION ELEMENT COMPOUNDS
TRANSITION TEMPERATURE