Thesis advisor: Ziqiang Wang / One of the most unconventional electronic states in high transition temperature cuprate superconductors is the pseudogap state. In the temperature versus doping phase diagram, the pseudogap state straddles across the antiferromagnetic (AF) state near half filling and the superconducting (SC) dome on the hole doped side above the transition temperature Tc. The relationship between the pseudogap state and these two well known states - the AF state and the SC state is believed to be very important for understanding superconductivity and the emergent quantum electronic matter in doped Mott insulators. The pseudogap is characterized by the emergence of a soft gap in the single-particle excitation spectrum in the normal state in the temperature range between Tc and a characteristic temperature T*, i.e. Tc < T < T*. The most puzzling feature of the pseudogap is the nodal-antinodal dichotomy. Observed by ARPES in momentum space, the Fermi surface is gapped out in the antinodal region leaving a Fermi arc of gapless excitations near the nodes. Whether the pseudogap is an incoherent superconducting gap (onegap scenario) or it is a different gap governed by other mechanisms, other than superconductivity, (two-gap scenario) is still under debate. In this thesis I study the particle-particle channel and the particle-hole channel of the valence bond fluctuations away from half filling. Based on a strong-coupling analysis of the t-J model, I argue that the superexchange interaction J induced incommensurate bond centered density wave order is the driving mechanism for the pseudogap state. Low energy density of states (DOS) are eliminated by multiple incommensurate scatterings in the antinodal region at the Fermi level. I show that the interplay between the incommensurate bond centered d-wave density wave instability and the intrinsic electronic inhomogeneity in real cuprate materials is responsible for the observed pseudogap phenomena. Utilizing the spatially unrestricted Gutzwiller approximation, I show that the off-stoichiometric doping induced electrostatic disorder pins the low-energy d-wave bond density fluctuations, resulting in a VBG phase. The antinodal Fermi surface (FS) sections are gapped out, giving rise to a genuine normal state Fermi arc. The length of the Fermi arc shrinks with underdoping below the temperature T* determined by thermal filling of the antinodal pseudogap. Below Tc, the d-wave superconducting gap due to singlet pairing coexists and competes with the VBG pseudogap. The spatial, momentum, temperature and doping dependence of these two gaps are consistent with recent ARPES and STM observations in underdoped and chemically substituted cuprates. The temperature versus doping phase diagram captures the salient properties of the pseudogap phenomena and provides theoretical support for the two-gap scenario. In addition to resolving the complexities of the quantum electronic states in hole-doped cuprates, my unified theory elucidates the important role of the interplay between the strong electronic correlation and the intrinsic electronic disorder in doped transition metal oxides. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2011. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Physics.

La présente thèse s’articule autour de deux sujets. Le premier concerne la localisation des électrons en présence d’impuretés ou d’interfaces dans le réseau hexagonal. Le deuxième, en revanche, traite de l’accumulation de spin dans un supraconducteur hors-Équilibre de type s.Le graphène est la principale motivation de la première partie. Ce matériau bidimensionnel consiste en un feuillet d’atomes de carbones et peut être décrit comme un réseau hexagonal, c’est-à-dire un réseau de Bravais triangulaire avec un motif diatomique. La structure de bande électronique révèle alors l’existence d’électrons de Dirac sans masse et chiraux à basse énergie.D’une part, il est possible d’annihiler ces fermions chiraux en étirant de façon uni-Axiale le matériau. Pour une valeur seuil de l’étirement, les électrons deviennent massiques et non-Relativistes, ce qui définit une transition de phase dite de Lifshitz. Afin de caractériser cette transition, nous étudions la diffusion des électrons sur des impuretés en fonction de l’étirement. Une impureté localisée induit des interférences quantiques dans la densité électronique, connues sous le nom d’oscillations de Friedel. Etant sensibles à la nature chirale des électrons, nous montrons que ces oscillations décroissent selon des lois de puissances qui permettent de caractériser chacune des phases de la transition. La même étude est réalisée dans le cas limite où le diffuseur est une lacune.D’autre part, le motif diatomique du réseau hexagonal propose aussi une incursion dans le monde des isolants et supraconducteurs topologiques. Pour ces systèmes, la caractérisation topologique de la structure de bande électronique permet de prédire l’existence d’états de bord aux interfaces. Nous développons notamment un modèle de supraconducteur topologique basé sur le réseau hexagonal du graphène, en présence de supraconductivité de type singulet (s ou d). Lorsque la symétrie par renversement du temps est brisée par un champ Zeeman, et en présence de couplage spin-Orbit Rashba, nous donnons une prescription qui permet de caractériser les différentes phases topologiques possibles et de prédire l’apparition d’états de bord (états de Majorana) dans des nano-Rubans de graphène.La seconde partie discute l’accumulation de spin dans un supraconducteur hors-Équilibre, joint à un ferromagnétique. Lorsqu’il est à l’équilibre, le supraconducteur est composé de quasiparticules et d’un condensat. L’injection de particules polarisées en charge et en spin, à savoir des électrons polarisés en spin, induit une accumulation de spin et de charge à l’intérieur du supraconducteur. Si l’injection cesse, les populations de spin et de charge vont relaxer vers l’équilibre, mais pas nécessairement sur des échelles de temps identiques. Récemment, la réalisation d’une expérience a mis en évidence que le la charge pouvait relaxer bien plus rapidement que le spin. Afin de confirmer cet effet, une nouvelle expérience a été réalisée grâce à des mesures établies dans le domaine fréquentiel. Ici, nous adressons un model relatif à cette dernière expérience, dans le but d’extraire le temps caractéristique de relaxation du spin qui s’avère être de l’ordre de quelques nanosecondes. / Two fields of research define the framework in which the present thesis can be apprehended. The first one deals with impurity and boundary modes in the hexagonal lattice. The second one concerns a spin accumulation in an out-Of-Equilibrium superconductor.Two fields of research define the framework in which the present thesis can be apprehended. The first one deals with impurity and boundary modes in the hexagonal lattice. The second one concerns a spin accumulation in an out-Of-Equilibrium superconductor.Graphene is the main motivation of the first part. From a crystallographic perspective, the carbon atoms in graphene, a graphite layer, design a triangular Bravais lattice with a diatomic pattern. This gives rise to an extra degree of freedom in the electronic band structure that crucially reveals chiral massless Dirac electrons at low-Energy. First of all, it is possible to make these chiral fermions annihilate when a uniaxial strain stretches the graphene layer. For a critical value of the strain, all the fermions become massive and nonrelativistic, which defines a Lifshitz transition. We study the impurity scattering as a function of the strain magnitude. A localised impurity yields quantum interferences in the local density of states that are known as Friedel oscillations. Because they are affected by the chiral nature of the electrons, we show that the decaying laws of these oscillations are specific to the phase the system belongs to. Thus, the impurity scattering offers the possibility to fully characterise the transition.Second, the diatomic pattern of the graphene lattice can also be considered as an invitation to the world of topological insulators and superconductors. The existence of edge states in such systems relies on the topological characterization of the band structure. Here we especially introduce a model of topological superconductor based on the honeycomb lattice with induces spin-Singlet superconductivity. When a Zeeman field breaks the time-Reversal invariance, and in the presence of Rashba spin-Orbit interactions, we give a prescription to describe the topological phases of the system and predict the emergence of Majorana modes (edge states) in strained and doped nanoribbons.The second part discusses the study of a spin accumulation in an out-Of-Equilibrium s-Wave superconductor. At the equilibrium, the superconductor is made of particles coupled by a s-Wave pairing, as well as unpaired quasiparticles. Injecting spin-Polarised electrons into the superconductor induces charge and spin imbalances. When the injection stops, it may happen that charge and spin do not relax over the same time-Scale. The first experiment that points out such a spin-Charge decoupling has recently been realised. In order to confirm this chargeless spin-Relaxation time, a new experiment has been developed [96], based on measurements in the frequency domain. Here, we address a model that fits the experimental data and thus enables the extraction of this characteristic time that is of the order of a few nanoseconds.

Thesis advisor: Vidya Madhavan / <p>It has been more than two decades since the first high temperature superconductor was discovered. In this time there has been tremendous progress in understanding these materials both theoretically and experimentally. Some important questions however remain to be answered; one of them is the temperature dependence of the superconducting gap which is in turn tied to question of the origin of the pseudogap and its connection with superconductivity.</p> <p> In this thesis, we present detailed Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM) spectroscopic studies of an electron doped superconductor, Pr<subscript>0.88</subscript>LaCe<subscript>0.12</subscript>CuO<subscript>4-&#948;</subscript> (PLCCO). The electron doped compounds form an interesting venue for STM studies for many reasons. In the hole-doped materials, especially in the underdoped side of the phase diagram, there is mounting evidence of a second gap that survives to high temperatures (high temperature pseudogap) that may have a different origin from superconductivity. This complicates studies of the temperature dependence of the superconducting gap in these materials. In PLCCO however, there is little evidence for a high temperature pseudogap potentially allowing us to address the question of the temperature evolution of the superconducting gap without the complication of a second gap. Secondly, the low T<subscript>c</subscript> of the optimally doped materials makes it easily accessible to temperature dependent STM studies. Finally, while hole-doped materials have been extensively studied by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), there have been no detailed STM spectroscopic studies on the electron doped compounds. </p> <p> In the first part of the thesis, we investigate the effect of temperature on the superconducting gap of optimally doped PLCCO with T<subscript>c</subscript> = 24K. STM spectroscopy data is analyzed to obtain the gap as a function of temperature from 5K to 35K. The gap is parameterized with a d-wave form and the STM spectra are fit at each temperature to extract the gap value. A plot of this gap value as a function of temperature shows clear deviations from what is expected from BCS theory. We find that similar to the hole-doped superconductors a fraction of the surface still shows a gap above T<subscript>c</subscript>. The implications of our finding to the pseudogap phase are discussed.</p> <p> In the second part of the thesis, STM spectra are analyzed to determine the effect of impurities or vacancies on the local density of states. Electron doped superconductors require a post-annealing process to induce superconductivity. It is claimed that Cu vacancies in the CuO<subscript>2</subscript> planes which suppress superconductivity are healed by this process. This implies that for the same doping, a sample with higher T<subscript>c</subscript> should have fewer impurities compared to a sample with lower T<subscript>c</subscript>. We studied two PLCCO samples with 12% Ce doping; one with higher T<subscript>c</subscript> (24K) and the other with lower T<subscript>c</subscript> (21K). Through quasiparticle scattering study we find that there are more impurities in 21K samples than 24K sample, consistent with the picture of Cu vacancies in as grown samples. Finally, we present a discussion of the bosonic modes observed in the STM spectra and their connection to the spin excitations measured by neutron scattering.</p> / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2009. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Physics.

Thesis advisor: Stephen D. Wilson / This dissertation investigates the cubic type II superconductor, Ca₃Ir₄Sn₁₃, discovered by Remeika and the coauthors more than 30 years ago. It was originally discovered be to a superconductor and later suggested to host ferromagnetic spin fluctuations, which lead to a peak-like anomaly in thermodynamic and transport measurements. Later detailed x-ray single crystal structural refinement associated the peak-like anomaly in transport and magnetization measurements with a charge density wave phase transition at the same temperature. The potential charge density wave phase transition T* can be suppressed either by pressure or chemical potential through substitution on the Ca and Ir site such that a temperature-pressure/composition phase diagram can be constructed. Upon investigating magnetism in this compound, polarized neutron scattering and μSR data from our group and other researchers did not reveal any magnetic order or magnetic spin fluctuations at the time scale of μSR . However, through the partial substitution of Ir by Rh, we realized a structural quantum critical point at ambient pressure with 30% of Ir substituted by Rh--providing the research community a valuable material's platform for studying the interplay between 3D charge density wave order and superconductivity. On the other hand, our surprising discovery of the weak HHL (L=odd) type of super-lattice peaks from neutron scattering led us to a tentative model of a distorted Ca sublattice in this material. The similarity of the lattice instabilites of the Remeika compound and A15 superconductors are discussed, which may give us more insight into its role in the formation of the superconducting phase. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2015. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Physics.

Les pastilles supraconductrices peuvent produire des forts champs magnétiques très supérieurs aux aimants permanents. Plusieurs méthodes d’aimantation de ces pastilles existent néanmoins une seule est principalement utilisée pour les applications en génie électrique, l’aimantation par champ magnétique impulsionnel (Pulsed Field Magnetization). Afin de maîtriser l’aimantation de ces pastilles supraconductrices par PFM, nous avons étudié l’influence de la forme de l’inducteur sur le champ magnétique piégé où nous trouvons une influence significative de la forme de l’inducteur sur le champ piégé dans la pastille supraconductrice. Afin de prévoir la mise en oeuvre des pastilles supraconductrices dans des applications en génie électrique, nous avons étudié l’aimantation de ces pastilles dans un circuit magnétique et l’influence de ce circuit sur le champ piégé. Nous remarquons une nette amélioration du champ piégé dans la pastille en utilisant le circuit magnétique. Nous avons étudié, également, l’influence d’un champ démagnétisant impulsionnel et alternatif sur le champ piégé dans une pastille supraconductrice aimantée. Les dégradations observées ne montrent pas de contre-indication à l’utilisation des pastilles supraconductrices aimantées dans les applications en génie électrique. / The superconducting bulks can produce very strong magnetic fields greater than those of permanent magnets can. Several methods of magnetization of the superconducting bulks exist, however one is mainly used for the electrical applications, the Pulsed Field Magnetization. In order to control the magnetization of the superconducting bulks by PFM, we studied the influence of the shape of the inductor on the trapped magnetic field where we find a significant influence of the shape of the inductor on the trapped magnetic field in the anticipate superconducting bulk. In order to the implementation of the superconducting bulk in the electrical applications, we studied the magnetization of these bulks in a magnetic core and the influence of this magnetic core on the trapped magnetic field. We notice an important improvement of the trapped magnetic field in the superconducting bulk by using the magnetic core. We studied also the influence of a pulsed and an alternating demagnetizing field on the trapped magnetic field in a superconducting bulk. The observed degradation does not show any contraindication to use the superconducting magnetic bulks in the electrical engineering applications.

Stacked commercial second generation (2G) high temperature superconducting (HTS) tapes has been demonstrated to have great field trapping ability, with superior mechanical, thermal properties and crossed-field performance to HTS bulks. HTS stacks are considered as a very promising candidate for superconducting permanent magnets, which can be used for many applications like superconducting machines and levitation devices. However, the current magnetization methods for HTS stacks are the conventional magnetization methods developed for HTS bulks decades ago, which have various limitations. On the other hand, the recent progress on HTS flux pumping technology enables HTS coils to be successfully magnetized in an effective and efficient way. In this thesis, these two concepts were combined for the first time. Flux pumping for HTS stacks was proposed and developed as a new magnetization technique. I employed two types of flux pumps, the rotating magnet flux pump and the rectifier type flux pump, to magnetize the modified HTS stacks. The design of the flux pumps, the experimental results and the analysis of the observed behaviours are presented in the thesis. This research provides a new direction in the magnetization of HTS permanent magnets, which has the potential to make HTS permanent magnets more practical with lighter, more compact and efficient magnetization setups.

La supraconductivité s’établit par une organisation collective des électrons, décrite dans le cadre de la théorie BCS par une même fonction d’onde macroscopique. En présence de fort désordre, la situation est plus complexe : le désordre induit un renforcement des interactions coulombiennes et une localisation des électrons, s’opposant à l’établissement de la supraconductivité. Pour un désordre critique, la supraconductivité est détruite et le système devient métallique ou isolant. A 2D, en l’absence de fortes interactions coulombiennes, la théorie de la localisation d’Anderson interdit l’existence d’un état métallique : le désordre induit une Transition Supraconducteur-Isolant (TSI). Durant cette thèse, nous avons étudié les propriétés de transport à très basse température de films minces amorphes de NbxSi1-x. Nous avons effectué des mesures de résistance à basse fréquence à travers la TSI et initié des mesures d’impédance complexe à hautes fréquences (quelques GHz), afin de sonder la dynamique du système à travers la TSI. L’étude du transport statique s’est focalisée sur l’évolution du NbxSi1-x avec le recuit. Ce paramètre induit une variation progressive du désordre microscopique de notre système, ce qui nous a permis d’étudier finement la TSI. Nous avons ainsi mis en évidence deux états dissipatifs, séparant les états supraconducteurs et isolants, et non-prédits par les théories actuelles. Par ailleurs, nous avons mis au point un dispositif de mesure de réflectométrie micro-onde large bande. Nous avons en particulier développé une méthode de calibration, utilisant non pas la mesure de références externes comme il est usuel, mais un ensemble d’hypothèses sur la réponse électrodynamique des échantillons. Cette méthode permet de s’affranchir de l’environnement micro-onde de ceux-ci. Les résultats obtenus permettent une première validation de cette démarche et constituent donc un premier pas vers la détermination de la réponse dynamique absolue du système à travers la TSI. / Superconductivity is established by the collective organization of electrons, then described within the BCS theory through a single macroscopic wave function. In the presence of strong disorder, the situation becomes more complex: disorder enhances Coulomb interactions and induces the localization of electrons. These two phenomena act against superconductivity. For a critical disorder, the superconducting state is destroyed and the system becomes either metallic or insulating. In 2D, in the absence of strong Coulomb interactions, the theory of Anderson localization prevents the existence of a metallic state. Disorder thus induces a Superconductor-Insulator Transition (SIT). We have studied the transport properties of amorphous NbxSi1-x thin films at very low temperature. We have performed resistance measurements at low frequencies through the SIT and initiated measurements of the complex impedance at higher frequencies (a few GHz) in order to probe the dynamics of the system through this quantum phase transition. The study of the static properties of NbxSi1-x films have focused on the effect of annealing. This parameter induces a gradual variation of the microscopic disorder of this system, which allowed us a very fine tuning of the SIT. We have thus evidenced two dissipative states, non-predicted by the current theories of the SIT, which separate the superconducting and insulating ground states. In parallel, we have set up a broadband microwave reflectometry experiment. In particular, we have developed a calibration procedure based on hypotheses on the electrodynamic response of the samples and not on the measure of external references as it is usual. This method allows us to measure the sample’s response independently from the experimental setup. The results we have obtained provide a first validation of this approach and therefore constitute a first step towards the determination of the absolute dynamical response of the system through the SIT.

Both the conditions of the epitaxial growth of YBCO thin films on silicon and the MOS devices operation at 77 K are well known. So, we have defined the technological solutions for the monolithic integration of high temperature superconductor bolometers (YBCO) and amplifiers based on PMOS devices. We have replaced their Al metallization by a Pt/Ti structure. The drain and source contacts were obtained by the preliminary formation of Mo-Si compounds. The YBCO thin film was deposited on silicon using CeO2/Yttria-Stabilized-Zirconia (Y SZ) buffer layers and showed a Tc of 86K. The bolometers and the transistors were successfully tested separetely at 300K and 77K. The co-fabrication on the same silicon substrate of YBCO and PMOS devices is a very promising starting point for a new generation of integrated circuits combining the advantages of the superconductive properties of YBCO and electronics in silicon technolgy.

We carried out systematic neutron scattering experiments to investigate the magnetic properties and their relationship to the high-$T_c$ superconductivity, when the materials are tuned from their antiferromagnetic (AF) parent compounds to the superconducting regime. We observed resonance mode in the electron doped cuprate Nd$_{1.85}$Ce$_{0.15}$CuO$_4$, demonstrating that the resonance is a general phenomenon in cuprate superconductors regardless of hole- or electron-doping. In Pr$_{0.88}$LaCe$_{0.12}$CuO$_4$, the local susceptibility displays two distinct energy scales that are broadly consistent with the bosonic modes revealed by scanning tunneling microscopy experiments. These results indicate the presence of very strong electron spin excitations couplings in electron doped cuprates. Shortly after the discovery of high-$T_c$ superconductivity in the Fe pnictides, we discovered that the magnetic phase diagram of CeFeAsO$_{1-x}$F$_x$ is remarkably similar to that of the cuprates. Besides CeFeAsO, similar magnetic and lattice structures are also observed in PrFeAsO and SrFe$_2$As$_2$ systems. Neutron scattering measurements show that in SrFe$_2$As$_2$, the spectrum of magnetic excitations consists of a Bragg peak at the elastic position, a spin gap, and sharp spin-wave excitations at higher energies. Based on the observed dispersion relation, we estimated the effective magnetic exchange coupling using a Heisenberg model. In order to study the nature of the exchange interactions in the parent compound of Fe pnictides, we studied the high energy spin-wave excitations in CaFe$_2$As$_2$. Although the spin waves in the entire Brillouin zone can be described by an effective three-dimensional anisotropic Heisenberg Hamiltonian, the magnetism in this system is neither purely local nor purely itinerant; rather it is a complicated mix of the two. When the Fe pnictide is tuned into superconducting regime with doping, the low energy spin fluctuation is dominated by a resonance mode. In the optimally electron doped BaFe$_{1.9}$Ni$_{0.1}$As$_2$, application of a magnetic field that suppresses the superconductivity and superconducting gap energy also reduces the intensity and energy of the resonance. These results suggest that the energy of the resonance is proportional to the electron pairing energy, and thus indicate that spin fluctuations are intimately related to the mechanism of high $T_c$ superconductivity.

Ce travail se compose de deux parties : la première partie traite de la formation de dépôts épais du composé YBa2Cu3O7-x par la technique électrophorétique (EPD) tandis que la seconde décrit la réalisation de dépôts par la technique de projection plasma. Dans le cadre de la méthode EPD, des suspensions aqueuses et non-aqueuses ont été étudiées. Plus particulièrement, des suspensions à base dacétone en présence ou non diode ont été caractérisées de manière approfondie. A laide de ces résultats, un mécanisme de charge des particules a été proposé. La cinétique de dépôt de lYBa2Cu3O7-x par EPD a également été étudiée. Les dépôts formés ont montré des propriétés supraconductrices sur substrat dAg. Une densité de courant critique Jc (77 K, H=0) de lordre de 103 A/cm² a été obtenue. Finalement, une méthode de texturation sous champ magnétique appliquée à lEPD a été explorée. Pour la technique de projection plasma, différents paramètres opératoires ont été étudiés. Par un traitement thermique adéquat du dépôt sur substrat de Ni, la phase supraconductrice a été obtenue.