Journal Article

Intrinsic Bond-Centered Electronic Glass with Unidirectional Domains in Underdoped Cuprates

Kohsaka, Y, Hanaguri, T, Eisaki, H, Azuma, M, Schmidt, A, Uchida, S, Lupien, C, Taylor, C, Davis, J.C, Fujita, K, Takagi, H, Takano, M

2007

Overview

Removing electrons from the CuO₂ plane of cuprates alters the electronic correlations sufficiently to produce high-temperature superconductivity. Associated with these changes are spectral-weight transfers from the high-energy states of the insulator to low energies. In theory, these should be detectable as an imbalance between the tunneling rate for electron injection and extraction--a tunneling asymmetry. We introduce atomic-resolution tunneling-asymmetry imaging, finding virtually identical phenomena in two lightly hole-doped cuprates: Ca₁.₈₈Na₀.₁₂CuO₂Cl₂ and Bi₂Sr₂Dy₀.₂Ca₀.₈Cu₂O₈₊δ. Intense spatial variations in tunneling asymmetry occur primarily at the planar oxygen sites; their spatial arrangement forms a Cu-O-Cu bond-centered electronic pattern without long-range order but with 4a₀-wide unidirectional electronic domains dispersed throughout (a₀: the Cu-O-Cu distance). The emerging picture is then of a partial hole localization within an intrinsic electronic glass evolving, at higher hole densities, into complete delocalization and highest-temperature superconductivity.

• Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science,The American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Subject: Asymmetry / Atoms / BONDING / Condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties / Copper / COPPER OXIDE / Cuprates / CUPROUS OXIDE / DOPING / ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY / ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS / Electronic structure / Electronics / Electrons / Exact sciences and technology / EXTRACTIVE METALLURGY / Glass / GLASSES / High temperature / image analysis / Imaging / Line spectra / Materials science / Oxygen / Physics / Properties of type I and type II superconductors / Research Article / SUPERCONDUCTIVITY / Tunneling