Publications
2023
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(2023) Review of Scientific Instruments. 94, 5, 053706. Abstract[All authors]
The scanning superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) fabricated on the tip of a sharp quartz pipette (SQUID-on-tip) has emerged as a versatile tool for the nanoscale imaging of magnetic, thermal, and transport properties of microscopic devices of quantum materials. We present the design and performance of a scanning SQUID-on-tip microscope in a top-loading probe of a cryogen-free dilution refrigerator. The microscope is enclosed in a custom-made vacuum-tight cell mounted at the bottom of the probe and is suspended by springs to suppress vibrations caused by the pulse tube cryocooler. Two capillaries allow for the in situ control of helium exchange gas pressure in the cell that is required for thermal imaging. A nanoscale heater is used to create local temperature gradients in the sample, which enables quantitative characterization of relative vibrations between the tip and the sample. The spectrum of the vibrations shows distinct resonant peaks with a maximal power density of about 27 nm/Hz1/2 in the in-plane direction. The performance of the SQUID-on-tip microscope is demonstrated by magnetic imaging of the MnBi2Te4 magnetic topological insulator, magnetization and current distribution imaging in a SrRuO3 ferromagnetic oxide thin film, and thermal imaging of dissipation in graphene.
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(2023) Nano Letters. Abstract
Nitrogen vacancy (NV) center-based magnetometry has been proven to be a versatile sensor for various classes of magnetic materials in broad temperature and frequency ranges. Here, we use the longitudinal relaxation time T1 of single NV centers to investigate the spin dynamics of nanometer-thin flakes of α-RuCl3 at room temperature. We observe a significant reduction in the T1 in the presence of α-RuCl3 in the proximity of NVs, which we attribute to paramagnetic spin noise confined in the 2D hexagonal planes. Furthermore, the T1 time exhibits a monotonic increase with an applied magnetic field. We associate this trend with the alteration of the spin and charge noise in α-RuCl3 under an external magnetic field. These findings suggest that the influence of the spin dynamics of α-RuCl3 on the T1 of the NV center can be used to gain information about the material itself and the technique to be used on other 2D materials.
2022
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(2022) Nature (London). 607, 7917, p. 74-80 Abstract[All authors]
Vortices are the hallmarks of hydrodynamic flow. Strongly interacting electrons in ultrapure conductors can display signatures of hydrodynamic behaviour, including negative non-local resistance1,2,3,4, higher-than-ballistic conduction5,6,7, Poiseuille flow in narrow channels8,9,10 and violation of the Wiedemann–Franz law11. Here we provide a visualization of whirlpools in an electron fluid. By using a nanoscale scanning superconducting quantum interference device on a tip12, we image the current distribution in a circular chamber connected through a small aperture to a current-carrying strip in the high-purity type II Weyl semimetal WTe2. In this geometry, the Gurzhi momentum diffusion length and the size of the aperture determine the vortex stability phase diagram. We find that vortices are present for only small apertures, whereas the flow is laminar (non-vortical) for larger apertures. Near the vortical-to-laminar transition, we observe the single vortex in the chamber splitting into two vortices; this behaviour is expected only in the hydrodynamic regime and is not anticipated for ballistic transport. These findings suggest a new mechanism of hydrodynamic flow in thin pure crystals such that the spatial diffusion of electron momenta is enabled by small-angle scattering at the surfaces instead of the routinely invoked electron–electron scattering, which becomes extremely weak at low temperatures. This surface-induced para-hydrodynamics, which mimics many aspects of conventional hydrodynamics including vortices, opens new possibilities for exploring and using electron fluidics in high-mobility electron systems.
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(2022) Physical review letters. 128, 20, 207002. Abstract[All authors]
In the cuprates, high-temperature superconductivity, spin-density-wave order, and charge-density-wave (CDW) order are intertwined, and symmetry determination is challenging due to domain formation. We investigated the CDW in the prototypical cuprate La1.88Sr0.12CuO4 via x-ray diffraction employing uniaxial pressure as a domain-selective stimulus to establish the unidirectional nature of the CDW unambiguously. A fivefold enhancement of the CDW amplitude is found when homogeneous superconductivity is partially suppressed by magnetic field. This field-induced state provides an ideal search environment for a putative pair-density-wave state.
2020
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(2020) Nature Communications. 11, p. 990 Abstract
The charge density wave in the high-temperature superconductor YBa2Cu3O7−x (YBCO) has two different ordering tendencies differentiated by their c-axis correlations. These correspond to ferro- (F-CDW) and antiferro- (AF-CDW) couplings between CDWs in neighbouring CuO2 bilayers. This discovery has prompted several fundamental questions: how does superconductivity adjust to two competing orders and are either of these orders responsible for the electronic reconstruction? Here we use x-ray diffraction to study YBa2Cu3O6.67 as a function of magnetic field and temperature. We show that regions with F-CDW correlations suppress superconductivity more strongly than those with AF-CDW correlations. This implies that an inhomogeneous superconducting state exists, in which some regions show a fragile form of superconductivity. By comparison of F-CDW and AF-CDW correlation lengths, it is concluded that F-CDW ordering is sufficiently long-range to modify the electronic structure. Our study thus suggests that F-CDW correlations impact both the superconducting and normal state properties of YBCO.
2017
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(2017) Scientific Reports. 7, 17157. Abstract[All authors]
A combined resistivity and hard x-ray diffraction study of superconductivity and charge ordering in Ir Ir(1-x)PtxTe(2), as a function of Pt substitution and externally applied hydrostatic pressure, is presented. Experiments are focused on samples near the critical composition x(c)-0.045 where competition and switching between charge order and superconductivity is established. We show that charge order as a function of pressure in Ir0.95Pt0.05Te2 is preempted-and hence triggered - by a structural transition. Charge ordering appears uniaxially along the short crystallographic (1, 0, 1) domain axis with a (1/5, 0, 1/5) modulation. Based on these results we draw a charge-order phase diagram and discuss the relation between stripe ordering and superconductivity.
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(2017) Scientific Reports. 7, 17157. Abstract[All authors]
A combined resistivity and hard x-ray diffraction study of superconductivity and charge ordering in Ir Ir(1-x)PtxTe(2), as a function of Pt substitution and externally applied hydrostatic pressure, is presented. Experiments are focused on samples near the critical composition x(c)-0.045 where competition and switching between charge order and superconductivity is established. We show that charge order as a function of pressure in Ir0.95Pt0.05Te2 is preempted-and hence triggered - by a structural transition. Charge ordering appears uniaxially along the short crystallographic (1, 0, 1) domain axis with a (1/5, 0, 1/5) modulation. Based on these results we draw a charge-order phase diagram and discuss the relation between stripe ordering and superconductivity.
2016
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(2016) High Pressure Research. 36, p. 348 Abstract
Some of the most exotic material properties derive from electronic states with short correlation length (∼10−500 Å), suggesting that the local structural symmetry may play a relevant role in their behavior. Here, we discuss the combined use of polarized x-ray absorption fine structure and x-ray diffraction at high pressure as a powerful method to tune and probe structural and electronic orders at multiple length scales. Besides addressing some of the technical challenges associated with such experiments, we illustrate this approach with results obtained in the cuprate La1.875Ba0.125CuO4, in which the response of electronic order to pressure can only be understood by probing the structure at the relevant length scales.
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(2016) Nature Communications. 7, p. 11494 Abstract
The application of magnetic fields to layered cuprates suppresses their high-temperature superconducting behaviour and reveals competing ground states. In widely studied underdoped YBa2Cu3O6+x (YBCO), the microscopic nature of field-induced electronic and structural changes at low temperatures remains unclear. Here we report an X-ray study of the high-field charge density wave (CDW) in YBCO. For hole dopings ∼0.123, we find that a field (B∼10 T) induces additional CDW correlations along the CuO chain (b-direction) only, leading to a three-dimensional (3D) ordered state along this direction at B∼15 T. The CDW signal along the a-direction is also enhanced by field, but does not develop an additional pattern of correlations. Magnetic field modifies the coupling between the CuO2 bilayers in the YBCO structure, and causes the sudden appearance of the 3D CDW order. The mirror symmetry of individual bilayers is broken by the CDW at low and high fields, allowing Fermi surface reconstruction, as recently suggested.
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(2016) Science. 351, p. 576 Abstract
In underdoped cuprate superconductors, a rich competition occurs between superconductivity and charge density wave (CDW) order. Whether rotational symmetry-breaking (nematicity) occurs intrinsically and generically or as a consequence of other orders is under debate. Here, we employ resonant x-ray scattering in stripe-ordered superconductors (La,M)2CuO4 to probe the relationship between electronic nematicity of the Cu 3d orbitals, structure of the (La,M)2O2 layers, and CDW order. We find distinct temperature dependences for the structure of the (La,M)2O2 layers and the electronic nematicity of the CuO2 planes, with only the latter being enhanced by the onset of CDW order. These results identify electronic nematicity as an order parameter that is distinct from a purely structural order parameter in underdoped striped cuprates.
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(2016) Nature Materials. 15, p. 616 Abstract
Recent theories of charge-density-wave (CDW) order in high-temperature superconductors have predicted a primarily d CDW orbital symmetry. Here, we report on the orbital symmetry of CDW order in the canonical cuprate superconductors La1.875Ba0.125CuO4 (LBCO) and YBa2Cu3O6.67 (YBCO), using resonant soft X-ray scattering and a model mapped to the CDW orbital symmetry. From measurements sensitive to the O sublattice, we conclude that LBCO has predominantly s′ CDW orbital symmetry, in contrast to the d orbital symmetry recently reported in other cuprates. Furthermore, we show for YBCO that the CDW orbital symmetry differs along the a and b crystal axes and that these both differ from LBCO. This work highlights CDW orbital symmetry as an additional key property that distinguishes the different cuprate families. We discuss how the CDW symmetry may be related to the ‘1/8–anomaly’ and to static spin ordering.
2015
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(2015) Phys. Rev. B. 92, p. 174525 Abstract
The relationships among charge order, spin fluctuations, and superconductivity in underdoped cuprates remain controversial. We use neutron scattering techniques to study these phenomena in La1.93Sr0.07CuO4, a superconductor with a transition temperature of Tc=20 K. At T≪Tc we find incommensurate spin fluctuations with a quasielastic energy spectrum and no sign of a gap within the energy range from 0.2 to 15 meV. A weak elastic magnetic component grows below ∼10 K, consistent with results from local probes. Regarding the atomic lattice, we have discovered unexpectedly strong fluctuations of the CuO6 octahedra about Cu-O bonds, which are associated with inequivalent O sites within the CuO2 planes. Furthermore, we observed a weak elastic (3¯30) superlattice peak that implies a reduced lattice symmetry. The presence of inequivalent O sites rationalizes various pieces of evidence for charge stripe order in underdoped La2−xSrxCuO4. The coexistence of superconductivity with quasistatic spin-stripe order suggests the presence of intertwined orders; however, the rotation of the stripe orientation away from the Cu-O bonds might be connected with evidence for a finite gap at the nodal points of the superconducting gap function.
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(2015) Phys. Rev. B. 92, p. 155144 Abstract
We report 139La nuclear magnetic resonance studies performed on a La1.875Ba0.125CuO4 single crystal. The data show that the structural phase transitions (high-temperature tetragonal→low-temperature orthorhombic→low-temperature tetragonal phase) are of the displacive type in this material. The 139La spin-lattice relaxation rate T−11 sharply upturns at the charge-ordering temperature TCO=54 K, indicating that charge order triggers the slowing down of spin fluctuations. Detailed temperature and field dependencies of the T−11 below the spin-ordering temperature TSO=40 K reveal the development of enhanced spin fluctuations in the spin-ordered state for H∥[001], which are completely suppressed for large fields along the CuO2 planes. Our results shed light on the unusual spin fluctuations in the charge and spin stripe ordered lanthanum cuprates.
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(2015) Nature Communications. 6, p. 10064 Abstract
Charge density wave (CDW) order appears throughout the underdoped high-temperature cuprate superconductors, but the underlying symmetry breaking and the origin of the CDW remain unclear. We use X-ray diffraction to determine the microscopic structure of the CDWs in an archetypical cuprate YBa2Cu3O6.54 at its superconducting transition temperature ∼60 K. We find that the CDWs in this material break the mirror symmetry of the CuO2 bilayers. The ionic displacements in the CDWs have two components, which are perpendicular and parallel to the CuO2 planes, and are out of phase with each other. The planar oxygen atoms have the largest displacements, perpendicular to the CuO2 planes. Our results allow many electronic properties of the underdoped cuprates to be understood. For instance, the CDWs will lead to local variations in the electronic structure, giving an explicit explanation of density-wave states with broken symmetry observed in scanning tunnelling microscopy and soft X-ray measurements.
2014
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(2014) Phys. Rev. B . 90, p. 054514 Abstract
To explore the doping dependence of the recently discovered charge-density-wave (CDW) order in YBa2Cu3Oy, we present a bulk-sensitive high-energy x-ray study for several oxygen concentrations, including strongly underdoped YBa2Cu3O6.44. Combined with previous data around the so-called 1/8 doping, we show that bulk CDW order exists at least for hole concentrations (p) in the CuO2 planes of 0.078≲p≲0.132. This implies that CDW order exists in close vicinity to the quantum critical point for spin-density-wave (SDW) order. In contrast to the pseudogap temperature T∗, the onset temperature of CDW order decreases with underdoping to TCDW∼90 K in YBa2Cu3O6.44. Together with a weakened order parameter this suggests a competition between CDW and SDW orders. In addition, the CDW order in YBa2Cu3O6.44 shows the same type of competition with superconductivity as a function of temperature and magnetic field as samples closer to p=1/8. At low p the CDW incommensurability continues the previously reported linear increasing trend with underdoping. In the entire doping range the in-plane correlation length of the CDW order in b axis direction depends only very weakly on the hole concentration, and appears independent of the type and correlation length of the oxygen-chain order. The onset temperature of the CDW order is remarkably close to a temperature T† that marks the maximum of 1/(T1T) in planar 63Cu NQR/NMR experiments, potentially indicating a response of the spin dynamics to the formation of the CDW. Our discussion of these findings includes a detailed comparison to the charge stripe order in La2−xBaxCuO4.
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(2014) Phys. Rev. B. 90, p. 220506(R) Abstract
The cuprate high temperature superconductors exhibit a pronounced trend in which the superconducting transition temperature Tc increases with the number of CuO2 planes n in the crystal structure. We compare the magnetic excitation spectrum of Bi2+xSr2−xCuO6+δ (Bi-2201) and Bi2Sr2Ca2Cu3O10+δ (Bi-2223), with n=1 and 3, respectively, using Cu L3-edge resonant inelastic x-ray scattering. Near the antinodal zone boundary we find the paramagnon energy in Bi-2223 is substantially higher than that in Bi-2201, indicating that multilayer cuprates host stronger effective magnetic exchange interactions, providing a possible explanation for the Tc vs n scaling. In contrast, the nodal direction exhibits very strongly damped, almost nondispersive excitations. We argue that this implies that the magnetism in the doped cuprates is partially itinerant in nature.
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(2014) Phys. Rev. B. 90, p. 224516 Abstract
We present a polarization-dependent infrared reflectivity study of the spin-ladder compound Sr2.5Ca11.5Cu24O41 under pressure. The optical response is strongly anisotropic, with the highest reflectivity along the ladders/chains (E∥c) revealing a metallic character. For the polarization direction perpendicular to the ladder plane, an insulating behavior is observed. With increasing pressure the optical conductivity for E∥c shows a strong increase, which is most pronounced below 2000cm−1. According to the spectral weight analysis of the E∥c optical conductivity the hole concentration in the ladders increases with increasing pressure and tends to saturate at high pressure. At ∼7.5 GPa the number of holes per Cu atom in the ladders has increased by Δδ=0.09(±0.01), and the Cu valence in the ladders has reached the value +2.33. The optical data suggest that Sr2.5Ca11.5Cu24O41 remains electronically highly anisotropic up to high pressure, also at low temperatures.
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(2014) Phys. Rev. Lett. . 112, p. 047003 Abstract
High resolution polar Kerr effect measurements were performed on La1.875Ba0.125CuO4 single crystals revealing that a finite Kerr signal is measured below an onset temperature TK that coincides with the charge ordering transition temperature TCO. We further show that the sign of the Kerr signal cannot be trained with the magnetic field, is found to be the same on opposite sides of the same crystal, and is odd with respect to strain in the diagonal direction of the unit cell. These observations are consistent with a chiral “gyrotropic” order above Tc for La1.875Ba0.125CuO4; similarities to other cuprates suggest that it is a universal property in the pseudogap regime.
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(2014) Phys. Rev. B. 89, p. 134510 Abstract
The influence of external pressure on the charge-density-wave (CDW) ground state of the quasi-one-dimensional two-leg ladder compound Sr10Ca4Cu24o41 has been studied by optical reflectivity measurements as a function of temperature (10–300 K) and pressure P (0.3–4.3 GPa) over the spectral range 580–6000 cm1. With increasing pressure the CDW transition temperature TCDW decreases with the linear pressure coefficient ≈−70 K/GPa, and above ≈3 GPa the CDW phase is suppressed at all temperatures. This behavior is similar to that in compounds Sr14−xCaxCu24o41 with increasing Ca content x at ambient pressure, with the simple scaling x≈3×P(GPa). The size of the CDW gap decreases with increasing pressure, whereas the dimensionality of the high-temperature insulating phase in Sr10Ca4Cu24o41 within the ladder plane is hardly affected by external pressure.
2013
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(2013) Phys. Rev. B. 88, p. 060507(R) Abstract
The interplay between stripe correlations, local structure, and superconductivity in La1.875Ba0.125CuO4 is studied with concomitant polarized x-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) and x-ray diffraction measurements at high pressure. Long-range order of the CuO6 octahedral tilt pattern that pins charge-stripe order vanishes at a pressure-induced structural transition (P=1.8 GPa at T=5 K). Diffraction shows that static charge stripe and associated octahedral tilt correlations which survive in the high-pressure phase are effectively suppressed above 3.5 GPa. In contrast, XAFS analysis shows that instantaneous local correlations of the characteristic octahedral tilt pattern remain robust to at least 5 GPa. The decreasing local tilt angle is well correlated with a gradual increase in the superconducting transition temperature, suggesting that orientational pinning of charge correlations can survive the loss of static stripe order.
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(2013) Phys. Rev. B. 87, p. 174505 Abstract
139La NMR and relaxation measurements have been performed on La1.8−xEu0.2SrxCuO4 (x=0.13 and 0.2) single crystals. The temperature dependence of the 139La NMR spectra in all the structural phases [high-temperature tetragonal (HTT) → low-temperature orthorhombic (LTO) → low-temperature tetragonal (LTT)] reveals the nonvanishing tilt angle of the CuO6 octahedra in the HTT phase, opposed to the case of La2−xSrxCuO4 where the tilt angle disappears immediately above the transition. Since 139La relaxation data provide evidence of the thermodynamic critical fluctuations associated with the structural phase transitions, HTT → LTO and LTO → LTT, we conclude that the structural transitions in Eu-doped La2−xSrxCuO4 should be of the order-disorder type rather than of the displacive type observed in La2−xSrxCuO4. The change of the nature of the structural transitions caused by doping with Eu appears to be consistent with the LTO → LTT transition that is absent in La2−xSrxCuO4.
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(2013) Phys. Rev. Lett.. 110, p. 137004 Abstract
X-ray diffraction measurements show that the high-temperature superconductor YBa2Cu3O6.54, with ortho-II oxygen order, has charge-density-wave order in the absence of an applied magnetic field. The dominant wave vector of the charge density wave is qCDW=(0,0.328(2),0.5), with the in-plane component parallel to the b axis (chain direction). It has a similar incommensurability to that observed in ortho-VIII and ortho-III samples, which have different dopings and oxygen orderings. Our results for ortho-II contrast with recent high-field NMR measurements, which suggest a commensurate wave vector along the a axis. We discuss the relationship between spin and charge correlations in YBa2Cu3Oy and recent high-field quantum oscillation, NMR, and ultrasound experiments.
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(2013) Phys. Rev. B. 87, p. 064509 Abstract
We explore the evolution of superconductivity in La2−xBaxCuO4 with x=0.095 in magnetic fields of up to 35 T applied perpendicular to the CuO2 planes. Previous work on this material has shown that perpendicular fields enhance both charge- and spin-stripe order within the planes. We present measurements of the resistivity parallel and perpendicular to the planes, as well as the Hall effect. Measurements of magnetic susceptibility for fields of up to 15 T applied both parallel and perpendicular to the planes provide complementary measures of the superconductivity. We show that fields sufficient to destroy pair tunneling between the planes do not disrupt the superconducting correlations within the planes. In fact, we observe an onset of large-amplitude but phase-disordered superconductivity within the planes at approximately 30 K that is remarkably insensitive to field. With further cooling, we observe a phase-transition-like drop in the in-plane resistivity to an apparent state of superconductivity despite the lack of phase coherence between the layers. These observations raise interesting questions concerning the identification of the upper critical field, where pairing is destroyed, in underdoped cuprates.
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(2013) Phys. Rev. B. 87, p. 014501 Abstract
The effect of a magnetic field on the charge stripe order in La2−xBaxCuO4 has been studied by means of high-energy (100 keV) x-ray diffraction for charge carrier concentrations ranging from strongly underdoped to optimally doped. We find that charge stripe order can be significantly enhanced by a magnetic field applied along the c axis, but only at temperatures and dopings where it coexists with bulk superconductivity at zero field. The field also increases stripe correlations between the planes, which can result in an enhanced frustration of the interlayer Josephson coupling. Close to the famous x=18 compound, where zero field stripe order is pronounced and bulk superconductivity is suppressed, charge stripe order is independent of a magnetic field. The results for La2−xBaxCuO4 resemble recent observations in YBa2Cu3O6+δ and, independent of potential differences in the microscopic origin of charge order in these two compounds, imply a very similar competition with three-dimensionally coherent superconductivity.