Electronic origin of the inhomogeneous pairing interaction in the high-Tc superconductor Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+delta

Identifying the mechanism of superconductivity in the high-temperature cuprate superconductors is one of the major outstanding problems in physics. We report local measurements of the onset of superconducting pairing in the high-transition temperature (Tc) superconductor Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+delta using a lattice-tracking spectroscopy technique with a scanning tunneling microscope. We can determine the temperature dependence of the pairing energy gaps, the electronic excitations in the absence of pairing, and the effect of the local coupling of electrons to bosonic excitations. Our measurements reveal that the strength of pairing is determined by the unusual electronic excitations of the normal state, suggesting that strong electron-electron interactions rather than low-energy (<0.1 volts) electron-boson interactions are responsible for superconductivity in the cuprates.     

Distinct Fermi-momentum-dependent energy gaps in deeply underdoped Bi2212

We used angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy applied to deeply underdoped cuprate superconductors Bi2Sr2Ca(1-x)YxCu2O8 (Bi2212) to reveal the presence of two distinct energy gaps exhibiting different doping dependence. One gap, associated with the antinodal region where no coherent peak is observed, increased with underdoping, a behavior known for more than a decade and considered as the general gap behavior in the underdoped regime. The other gap, associated with the near-nodal regime where a coherent peak in the spectrum can be observed, did not increase with less doping, a behavior not previously observed in the single particle spectra. We propose a two-gap scenario in momentum space that is consistent with other experiments and may contain important information on the mechanism of high-transition temperature superconductivity.     

Dependence of upper critical field and pairing strength on doping in cuprates

We have determined the upper critical field Hc2 as a function of hole concentration in bismuth-based cuprates by measuring the voltage induced by vortex flow in a driving temperature gradient (the Nernst effect), in magnetic fields up to 45 tesla. We found that Hc2 decreased steeply as doping increased, in both single and bilayer cuprates. This relationship implies that the Cooper pairing potential displays a trend opposite to that of the superfluid density versus doping. The coherence length of the pairs xi(0) closely tracks the gap measured by photoemission. We discuss implications for understanding the doping dependence of the critical temperature Tc0.     

Sum rules and interlayer conductivity of high-Tc cuprates

Analysis of the interlayer infrared conductivity of cuprate high-transition temperature superconductors reveals an anomalously large energy scale extending up to midinfrared frequencies that can be attributed to formation of the superconducting condensate. This unusual effect is observed in a va- riety of materials, including Tl2Ba2CuO6+x, La2-xSrxCuO4, and YBa2Cu3O6.6, which show an incoherent interlayer response in the normal state. Midinfrared range condensation was examined in the context of sum rules that can be formulated for the complex conductivity. One possible interpretation of these experiments is in terms of a kinetic energy change associated with the superconducting transition.     

Self-trapping of dark incoherent light beams

"Dark beams" are nonuniform optical beams that contain either a one-dimensional (1D) dark stripe or a two-dimensional (2D) dark hole resulting from a phase singularity or an amplitude depression in their optical field. Thus far, self-trapped dark beams (dark solitons) have been observed using coherent light only. Here, self-trapped dark incoherent light beams (self-trapped dark incoherent wavepackets) were observed. Both dark stripes and dark holes nested in a broad partially spatially incoherent wavefront were self-trapped to form dark solitons in a host photorefractive medium. These self-trapped 1D and 2D dark beams induced refractive-index changes akin to planar and circular dielectric waveguides. The experiments introduce the possibility of controlling high-power coherent laser beams with low-power incoherent light sources such as light emitting diodes.     

Excitation Gap in the Normal State of Underdoped Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+delta

Angle-resolved photoemission experiments reveal evidence of an energy gap in the normal state excitation spectrum of the cuprate superconductor Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+delta. This gap exists only in underdoped samples and closes around the doping level at which the superconducting transition temperature Tc is a maximum. The momentum dependence and magnitude of the gap closely resemble those of the dx2-y2 gap observed in the superconducting state. This observation is consistent with results from several other experimental techniques, which also indicate the presence of a gap in the normal state. Some possible theoretical explanations for this effect are reviewed.     

Imaging doped holes in a cuprate superconductor with high-resolution Compton scattering

The high-temperature superconducting cuprate La(2-x)Sr(x)CuO(4) (LSCO) shows several phases ranging from antiferromagnetic insulator to metal with increasing hole doping. To understand how the nature of the hole state evolves with doping, we have carried out high-resolution Compton scattering measurements at room temperature together with first-principles electronic structure computations on a series of LSCO single crystals in which the hole doping level varies from the underdoped (UD) to the overdoped (OD) regime. Holes in the UD system are found to primarily populate the O 2p(x)/p(y) orbitals. In contrast, the character of holes in the OD system is very different in that these holes mostly enter Cu d orbitals. High-resolution Compton scattering provides a bulk-sensitive method for imaging the orbital character of dopants in complex materials.     

Quantum criticality: competing ground states in low dimensions

Small changes in an external parameter can often lead to dramatic qualitative changes in the lowest energy quantum mechanical ground state of a correlated electron system. In anisotropic crystals, such as the high-temperature superconductors where electron motion occurs primarily on a two-dimensional square lattice, the quantum critical point between two such lowest energy states has nontrivial emergent excitations that control the physics over a significant portion of the phase diagram. Nonzero temperature dynamic properties near quantum critical points are described, using simple theoretical models. Possible quantum phases and transitions in the two-dimensional electron gas on a square lattice are discussed.     

The spin excitation spectrum in superconducting YBa(2)Cu(3)O(6.85)

A comprehensive inelastic neutron scattering study of magnetic excitations in the near optimally doped high-temperature superconductor YBa(2)Cu(3)O(6.85) is presented. The spin correlations in the normal state are commensurate with the crystal lattice, and the intensity is peaked around the wave vector characterizing the antiferromagnetic state of the insulating precursor, YBa(2)Cu(3)O(6). Profound modifications of the spin excitation spectrum appear abruptly below the superconducting transition temperature T(c), where a commensurate resonant mode and a set of weaker incommensurate peaks develop. The data are consistent with models that are based on an underlying two-dimensional Fermi surface, predicting a continuous, downward dispersion relation connecting the resonant mode and the incommensurate excitations. The magnetic incommensurability in the YBa(2)Cu(3)O(6+)(x) system is thus not simply related to that of another high-temperature superconductor, La(2-)(x)Sr(x)CuO(4), where incommensurate peaks persist well above T(c). The temperature-dependent incommensurability is difficult to reconcile with interpretations based on charge stripe formation in YBa(2)Cu(3)O(6+x) near optimum doping.     

The physics of organic superconductors

The upper temperature for superconductivity in organic conductors has increased from 1 kelvin in 1980, when the phenomenon was discovered in the quasi-one-dimensional cation radical salt tetramethyltetraselenafulvalene phosphorus heptafluoride to 12 kelvin in a new series of organic salts that show nearly two-dimensional electronic properties. These superconductors are attracting interest because of the wide range of new phenomena that they exhibit, including the competition between various ground states, the influence of a magnetic field on a quasi-one-dimensional conductor, the quantization of the Hall effect in a three-dimensional material, the giant magnetoresistance effects related to the two-dimensional nature of the Fermi surface of some materials, and the coherent voltage oscillation of a spin-modulated ground state. Furthermore, there is reason to believe that organic conductors with high superconducting transition temperatures could be produced in the near future. The recent finding of superconductivity in "fullerene" doped with alkali metals supports this optimism.     

Holes in a Quantum Spin Liquid

Magnetic neutron scattering provides evidence for nucleation of antiferromagnetic droplets around impurities in a doped nickel oxide-based quantum magnet. The undoped parent compound contains a spin liquid with a cooperative singlet ground state and a gap in the magnetic excitation spectrum. Calcium doping creates excitations below the gap with an incommensurate structure factor. We show that weakly interacting antiferromagnetic droplets with a central phase shift of pi and a size controlled by the correlation length of the quantum liquid can account for the data. The experiment provides a quantitative impression of the magnetic polarization cloud associated with holes in a doped transition metal oxide.     

扶手椅型石墨烯纳米带边缘的硼掺杂

利用第一性原理研究了2种边缘掺杂硼方式的扶手椅型石墨烯纳米带.结果表明：硼掺杂使得沿纳米带方向的晶格常数发生改变,并且在能带隙中出现新的能带.对于原胞中添加4个硼原子的掺杂方式（B1-7AGNR）,沿纳米带方向的晶格常数有所增加,在带隙中出现了4条能带,其中2条能带来自于硼的2pz轨道,其余2条能带主要来自于硼的2ps和2py轨道.对于原胞中添加2个硼原子的掺杂方式（B2-7AGNR）,沿纳米带方向的晶格常数有所减小,在带隙中出现了2条能带,其来自于硼的2pz轨道.     

Ultrafast mid-infrared response of YBa(2)Cu(3)O(7-delta)

Optical spectra of high-transition-temperature superconductors in the mid-infrared display a gap of in-plane conductivity whose role for superconductivity remains unresolved. Femtosecond measurements of the mid-infrared reflectivity of YBa(2)Cu(3)O(7-delta) after nonequilibrium optical excitation are used to demonstrate the ultrafast fill-in of this gap and reveal two gap constituents: a picosecond recovery of the superconducting condensate in underdoped and optimally doped material and, in underdoped YBa(2)Cu(3)O(7-delta), an additional subpicosecond component related to pseudogap correlations. The temperature-dependent amplitudes of both contributions correlate with the antiferromagnetic 41-millielectronvolt peak in neutron scattering, supporting the coupling between charges and spin excitations.     

Oxygen Isotope Effect and Structural Phase Transitions in La2CuO4-Based Superconductors

The oxygen isotope effect on the superconducting transition temperature (alpha(o)) varies as a function of x in La2-xSrxCuO(4) and La2-xBaxCuO(4), with the maximum alpha(o) values (alpha(o) >/= 0.5) found for x near 0.12. This unusual x dependence implies that the isotope effect is influenced by proximity to the Abma --> P4(2)/ncm structural phase transition in these systems. Synchrotron x-ray difaction measurements reveal little change in lattice parameters or orthorhombicity due to isotope exchange in strontium-doped materials where alpha(o) > 0.5, eliminating static structural distortion as a cause of the large isotope effects. The anomalous behavior of alpha(o) in both strontium- and barium-doped materials, in combination with the previously discovered Abma --> P4(2)/ncm structural phase-transition in La(1.88)B(0.12)CuO(4), suggests that an electronic contribution to the lattice instability is present and maximizes at approximately 1/8 hole per copper atom. These observations indicate a dose connection between hole doping of the Cu-O sheets, tilting instabilities of the CuO(6) octahedra, and superconductivity in La(2)CuO(4)-based superconductors.     

Spins in the vortices of a high-temperature superconductor

Neutron scattering is used to characterize the magnetism of the vortices for the optimally doped high-temperature superconductor La(2-x)Sr(x)CuO4 (x = 0.163) in an applied magnetic field. As temperature is reduced, low-frequency spin fluctuations first disappear with the loss of vortex mobility, but then reappear. We find that the vortex state can be regarded as an inhomogeneous mixture of a superconducting spin fluid and a material containing a nearly ordered antiferromagnet. These experiments show that as for many other properties of cuprate superconductors, the important underlying microscopic forces are magnetic.     

S掺杂纤锌矿ZnO晶体结构及电子性质的第一性原理研究

本文采用基于密度泛函理论的CASTEP模拟软件研究了本征纤锌矿ZnO、ZnS以及S掺杂ZnO所形成的纤锌矿ZnO1-xSx化合物的晶体结构及电子性质,计算结果显示纤锌矿ZnO1-xSx化合物的晶格常数随S的掺杂量的增加呈线性增加关系;S 3p态电子决定价带顶的位置,且基本上不因S含量的改变而发生移动;Zn 4s态电子决定导带底的位置,并随S掺入量的增加先向低能端移动而后向高能端移动。研究发现在ZnO1-xSx化合物中Zn和S主要靠共价键结合,而Zn和O主要靠离子键结合,随S掺入量的增加Zn-O离子键不断减少,而Zn-S共价键不断增加是造成ZnO1-xSx化合物带隙先减小而后增加的根本原因。     

玉米地微波相干和非相干散射模型比较分析(英文)

[目的]对玉米地微波相干和非相干散射模型进行比较分析。[方法]在Stile相干散射模型的基础上提出了针对玉米作物的相干散射模型,模型中使用物理光学(PO)和无限长介电圆柱体近似方法计算玉米叶片和秆的单散射体矩阵,替代了原模型中计算窄叶的单散射体模型,并在模型中考虑了不同散射机制之间相互作用所产生的相干分量。研究中所使用的非相干散射模型为密歇根森林散射模型(MIMICS)。使用吉林省公主岭地区玉米地部分生长周期内的实测数据为以上相干和非相干散射模型的输入参数,分别模拟L和C波段VV和HH极化的后向散射系数,并将这2个模型的模拟结果进行了比较。[结果]该模型在不考虑树干层的情况下,可应用于玉米地后向散射系数的模拟玉米;该相干散射模型在L波段的模拟结果较差,在植被生长初期表现为模拟结果没有明显的规律性;通过相干和非相干散射模型的比较分析,证实由散射机制引起的相干性是较小的。[结论]文中只分析了随入射角变化,相干和非相干散射模型的差异,在以后的研究中,需要进一步分析该差异随植被和土壤参数的变化情况。     

玉米地微波相干和非相干散射模型比较分析

[目的]对玉米地微波相干和非相干散射模型进行比较分析。[方法]在Stile相干散射模型的基础上提出了针对玉米作物的相干散射模型,模型中使用物理光学(PO)和无限长介电圆柱体近似方法计算玉米叶片和秆的单散射体矩阵,替代了原模型中计算窄叶的单散射体模型,并在模型中考虑了不同散射机制之间相互作用所产生的相干分量。研究中所使用的非相干散射模型为密歇根森林散射模型(MIMICS)。使用吉林省公主岭地区玉米地部分生长周期内的实测数据为以上相干和非相干散射模型的输入参数,分别模拟L和C波段VV和HH极化的后向散射系数,并将这2个模型的模拟结果进行了比较。[结果]该相干散射模型在L波段的模拟结果较差,在植被生长初期表现为模拟结果没有明显的规律性;通过相干和非相干散射模型的比较分析,证实由散射机制引起的相干性是较小的。[结论]文中只分析了随入射角变化,相干和非相干散射模型的差异,在以后的研究中,需要进一步分析该差异随植被和土壤参数的变化情况。     

离子束增强沉积掺杂氧化钒薄膜的最佳退火条件

用离子束增强沉积方法制备掺杂Ar和W的VO2多晶薄膜,明显改变了VO2薄膜的相变温度.试验发现,薄膜存在一个形成VO2结构的临界结晶温度,该温度随薄膜制备时沉积条件的不同而改变.选择适当的杂质和退火条件可以将VO2薄膜的相变温度降低到室温附近,获得较高室温电阻-温度系数的薄膜.     

Fe^3＋掺杂纳米TiO2的表征及其光催化性能的研究

[目的]提高TiO2的可见光响应和光催化活性。[方法]采用溶胶凝胶法制备掺铁纳米TiO2粉体,进而研究掺铁TiO2的光催化活性。[结果]450℃煅烧后掺铁TiO2出现了很明显的TiO2特征衍射峰,且峰形尖锐,结晶良好,均没有出现铁的掺杂新相。随着掺铁量的提高,TiO2的粒径逐渐减小,当掺杂量为0.4%时,TiO2的粒径最小,减少至纯TiO2的45%。掺铁抑制了锐钛矿向金红石矿的转变。随着焙烧温度的升高,TiO2的粒径逐渐增大。用溶胶-凝胶法制备的TiO2均为纳米级,基本成球形颗粒。纯TiO2粒子分布不是很均匀,团聚现象明显;掺铁TiO2颗粒分布均匀,没有明显的团聚现象。掺铁使TiO2在紫外灯和太阳光下的降解性能都有着不同程度的提高。[结论]溶胶-凝胶法制备的掺铁纳米TiO2细化了晶体晶粒,抑制了锐钛矿向金红石矿的转变。