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Phase separation in superoxygenated La2-xSrxCuO4+y

Nature Materials volume 5, pages 377–382 (2006)Cite this article

Abstract

The complex interplay between superconducting and magnetic phases remains poorly understood. Here, we report on the phase separation of doped holes into separate magnetic and superconducting regions in superoxygenated La2−xSrxCuO4+y, with various Sr contents. Irrespective of Sr-doping, excess oxygen raises the superconducting onset to 40 K with a coexisting magnetic spin-density wave that also orders near 40 K in each of our samples. The magnetic region is closely related to the anomalous, 1/8-hole-doped magnetic versions of La2CuO4, whereas the superconducting region is optimally doped. The two phases are probably the only truly stable ground states in this region of the phase diagram. This simple two-component system is a candidate for electronic phase separation in cuprate superconductors, and a key to understanding seemingly conflicting experimental observations.

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Figure 1: Field-cooled d.c. magnetization (Meissner fraction) in a field of 10 G versus temperature for La2−xSrxCuO4+y.
Figure 2: ZF-μSR spectra for La1.91Sr0.09CuO4+y obtained at 5 K and at 40 K.
Figure 3: ZF-μSR spectra obtained for some of our superoxygenated samples at 5 K and the frequencies obtained at the same temperature.
Figure 4: Superconducting volume fraction (Meissner fraction) versus magnetic volume fraction for La2−xSrxCuO4+y.
Figure 5: Three-dimensional, Sr–O–temperature phase diagram for La2−xSrxCuO4+y.

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Acknowledgements

We thank H. Ronnow, S. Kivelson, and E. Dagotto for the thoughtful discussions and K. Conder for carrying out TGA measurements on our samples. The research at the University of Connecticut was supported by the US-DOE through contract DE-FG02-00ER45801, research at Brookhaven was supported by US-DOE, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Materials Science, under contract DE-AC02-98CH10886, and research at MIT (F.-C.C.) was partially supported by the MRSEC Program of the NSF under award number DMR 02-13282. CCMS-NTU was partially supported by the National Science Council of Taiwan under contract NSC-95-2112-M-002-026. L.U. is supported by the Danish Research Council for Technology and Production Sciences under the Framework Programme on Superconductivity. The muon work was carried out at the Swiss Muon Source, PSI, Villigen, Switzerland.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Connecticut U-3046, 2152 Hillside Road, Storrs, Connecticut, 06269-3046, USA

    Hashini E. Mohottala, Barrett O. Wells, Joseph I. Budnick & William A. Hines

  2. Laboratory for Neutron Scattering, ETHZ & PSI, CH-5232, Villigen PSI, Switzerland

    Christof Niedermayer

  3. Department of Material Research, Risoe National Laboratory, DK-4000, Roskilde, Denmark

    Linda Udby

  4. Max-Planck-Institut fuer Festkoerperforschung, Heisenbergstrasse 1, D-70569, Stuttgart, Germany

    Christian Bernhard

  5. Materials Science Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York, 11973, USA

    Arnold R. Moodenbaugh

  6. Center for Condensed Matter Sciences, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 106, Taiwan

    Fang-Cheng Chou

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Correspondence to Barrett O. Wells.

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Mohottala, H., Wells, B., Budnick, J. et al. Phase separation in superoxygenated La2-xSrxCuO4+y. Nature Mater 5, 377–382 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat1633

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