Oxygen ordering and superconductivity in La(Ba2−xLax)Cu3O7+δ
The observation of superconductivity above 90 K in the Y–Ba–Cu–O system1,2 has prompted a search for other structures that display high-temperature superconductivity. The discovery of superconductivity above 70 K in La3−xBa3+xCu6Ol4+y3 raises some questions concerning its relationship to the YBa2Cu3O7−δ structure and the origins of the high-temperature superconductivity. The original X-ray diffraction study of La3Ba3Cu6O14+y, indicated a tetragonal structure4,5, on the basis of which it has been proposed that La3−xBa3+xCu6O14+y is a new class of high-temperature superconductor which, in contrast to YBa2Cu3O7−δ, contains no Cu–O chains3. More recently, a neutron diffraction study of non-superconducting La3Ba3Cu6O14+y6has indicated that the correct structure of this compound is simply the tetragonal YBa2Cu3O7−δ structure with partial substitution of lanthanum on the barium site7–12. In the present neutron powder diffraction study of a series of La(Ba2−xLax)Cu3O7+δ compounds, we show that the superconducting phase is a similarly disordered isomorph of the orthorhom-bic YBa2Cu3O7−δ structure13–19. The region of solid solubility for this compound extends from x = 0.5 (La:Ba:Cu ratios of 3:3:6) to x≈ 0.25 and does not include the stoichiometric compound x = 0 (LaBa2Cu3O7−δ). The presence of Cu–O chains, and not just a formal copper charge state of ≥2, is vital for the occurrence of superconductivity.
Structure of the 100 K Superconductor Ba2YCu3O7 between (5 ÷ 300) K by Neutron Powder Diffraction
Recently Siegrist et al. proposed a structure for a high-Tc superconductor Ba2YCu3O(9-∂) based on an orthorhombic (a = ap, b = ap, c = 3ap) perovskitelike model containing Ba and Y cations ordered over the A-sites of the ABO3 structure. This ordering is responsible for the tripling of the c-axis. Half of the oxygen vacancies (at z = 1/2) are ordered, while the other half (at z = 0) are disordered over two sites. Using profile refinement of high-resolution neutron powder data at six different temperatures between 5 K and 300 K, we have refined the structure of a pure and well-characterised powder sample with onset of superconductivity at 100 K. At all temperatures we confirmed the previous model except that in our structure, all oxygen vacancies are ordered. Two-thirds of the copper cations have a pyramidal coordination and one-third has a square coordination. In our structure all squares are parallel to the (b, c)-plane, while in the one reported by Siegrist et al. the squares are disorderedly parallel to either the (a, c)- or (b, c)-plane. The difference between the two models is probably due to the fact that the single crystal used in the earlier work was highly twinned. Empirical calculations of the copper valences show that the Cu+++ cations are almost equally distributed over the two sites. No structural change has been detected at the transition.
Photoreflectance characterization of vanadium-doped GaAs layers grown by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy
Abstract We characterized the vanadium-doped (GaAs:V) layers grown on GaAs substrate by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy. The conductivity of the samples is checked by the Hall effect measurements, and it is n type with electrons concentration ranging from 2×10 13 to 2×10 17  cm −3 . We used the photoreflectance technique (PR) to study the effect of vanadium doping on the optical properties of GaAs. Our experimental results show that the built-in electric field F and the broadening parameter Γ 0 increase with V-doping concentration. Furthermore, the temperature dependence of the built-in electric field and the broadening parameter of GaAs:V samples have been investigated by PR. It has been observed that these parameters increase with increasing temperature. The decrease of the built-in electric field with decreasing temperature is due to the photovoltage effect.We characterized the vanadium-doped GaAs (GaAs:V) layers grown on GaAs substrate by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy.