Title: Resonant Soft X-Ray Scattering from Stripe-Ordered ${\mathrm{La}}_{2-x}{\mathrm{Ba}}_x{\mathrm{Cu}\mathrm{O}}_4$ Detected by a Transition-Edge Sensor Array Detector

Abstract

Resonant soft x-ray scattering (RSXS) is a leading probe of valence-band order in materials best known for detecting charge-density-wave order in copper-oxide superconductors. One of the biggest limitations on the RSXS technique is the presence of a severe fluorescence background, which, like the RSXS cross section itself, is enhanced under resonant conditions. This background prevents the study of weak signals such as diffuse scattering from glassy or fluctuating order that is spread widely over momentum space. Recent advances in superconducting transition-edge-sensor (TES) detectors have led to major improvements in energy resolution and detection efficiency in the soft x-ray range. Here, we perform a RSXS study of stripe-ordered ${\mathrm{La}}_{2-x}{\mathrm{Ba}}_x{\mathrm{Cu}\mathrm{O}}_4$ at the $\mathrm{Cu}$ $L_{3/2}$ edge (932.2 eV) using a TES detector with 1.5-eV resolution, to evaluate its utility for mitigating the fluorescence-background problem. We find that, for suitable degree of detuning from the resonance, the TES rejects the fluorescence background, leading to a five to ten times improvement in the statistical quality of the data compared to an equivalent, energy-integrated measurement. We conclude that a TES introduces a promising method to reducing background in RSXS studies and may lead to discoveries in materials exhibiting valence-band order that is fluctuating or glassy.

Authors:

Joe, Young Il ^[1]; Fang, Yizhi ^[2]; Lee, Sangjun  ^[2];

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Sun, Stella X. L.  ^[2];

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de la Peña, Gilberto A. ^[2]; Doriese, William B.  ^[1];

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Morgan, Kelsey M.  ^[1];

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Fowler, Joseph W. ^[1]; Vale, Leila R. ^[1]; Rodolakis, Fanny ^[3]; McChesney, Jessica L. ^[3]; Ullom, Joel N. ^[1]; Swetz, Daniel S. ^[1]; Abbamonte, Peter  ^[2]

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+ Show Author Affiliations

1. National Inst. of Standards and Technology (NIST), Boulder, CO (United States)
2. Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL (United States)
3. Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

Publication Date:

2020-03-10

Research Org.:

Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); National Science Foundation (NSF); Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation

OSTI Identifier:

1609140

Grant/Contract Number:  

AC02-06CH11357; FG02-06ER46285; DMR-0703406

Resource Type:

Accepted Manuscript

Journal Name:

Physical Review Applied

Additional Journal Information:

Journal Volume: 13; Journal Issue: 3; Journal ID: ISSN 2331-7019

Publisher:

American Physical Society (APS)

Country of Publication:

United States

Language:

English

Subject:

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE; 75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY