Excitations of the valence electrons in the high-temperature superconducting cuprate
La2−xSrxCuO4 were measured by Resonant Inelastic X-ray Scattering (RIXS). Several
types of electronic excitations resonant at the Cu 1s →4p transition were studied over a
wide range of dopings 0<x<0.35.
A 500 meV excitation was observed at a reduced momentum transfer q=(π 0) corresponding to the zone boundary, whose temperature and doping dependence was the
same as the two-magnon Raman scattering mode. The momentum dependence of this
2-magnon excitation agrees with recent theoretical calculations.
Momentum resolved measurements of the x=0 sample revealed a broad range of excitations
above and below the main charge transfer peak, and their dispersions were
measured across the Brillouin zone. These include a dispersionless ∼1.8 eV peak, which
is either a local crystal field (d-d excitation) or dipole-forbidden charge transfer excitation,
and a dispersive 2.2 eV peak identified as a Zhang-Ng type charge-transfer exciton.
The 2.2 eV peak was less dispersive than predicted from the theoretical models, due to
electron-phonon coupling, as illustrated by the temperature dependent shift in the peak
position.
With increased hole doping, the RIXS spectral weight transfers from higher to lower
energies, analogous to earlier optical conductivity studies. At the finite momentum of
q=(π 0), however, the changes are most systematic: an isosbestic point was observed
at 2.2 eV where the spectra of all dopings cross, and spectral weight is transferred from
high to low energies, with near-linear dependence on x, in a manner suggesting that
the integrated RIXS intensity is preserved. The intensity and energy variations of the
spectral peaks, as well as the isosbestic point and possible sum rule, could be explained
qualitatively by a rigid three-band model which includes the non-bonding oxygen, upper
Hubbard, and Zhang-Rice singlet bands. The estimated properties of the bands, such as
width and energy separation, are in reasonably quantitative agreement with current theoretical
models and angle-resolved photoemission measurements. Moreover, anomalies
in the doping dependence are similar to those observed in other types of spectroscopies.
These results underscore the relevance of the RIXS method in understanding the electronic
behavior of the Lanthanum cuprates.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:OTU.1807/24344 |
| Date | 15 April 2010 |
| Creators | Ellis, David |
| Contributors | Kim, Young-June |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | en_ca |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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