Electron Localization in La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4 and the Role of Stripes
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arXiv:cond-mat/0408627v1 [cond-mat.supr-con] 28 Aug 2004ElectronLocalizationinLa2−xSrxCuO4andtheRoleofStripes
SeikiKomiya∗andYoichiAndo†
CentralResearchInstituteofElectricPowerIndustry,Komae,Tokyo201-8511,Japan
(Dated:February2,2008)
Thenormal-statein-planeresistivity(ρab)ismeasuredinlightlyZn-dopedLa2−xSrxCuO4(LSCO)
crystalswith0.06≤x≤0.17tosystematicallystudythelocalizationbehavior.Itisfoundthat
thelocalizationtemperature,Tloc,whereρab(T)turnsfrommetallic(dρab/dT>0)toinsulating
(dρab/dT<0),showsananomalousenhancementatx=0.12.Intriguingly,thedopingdependence
ofTlocinZn-dopedLSCOisfoundtobesimilartothatofZn-freeLSCOwheresuperconductivity
issuppressedbyahighmagneticfield.Thissuggeststhatthemechanismofthelocalizationisthe
sameinlightlyZn-dopedLSCOandinZn-freeLSCOundermagneticfield,andinbothcasesitis
probablycausedbythefreezingoftheelectronsintoaninhomogeneousstate,whichleadstothe
spinstripesatlowtemperatures.
PACSnumbers:74.25.Fy,74.25.Dw,74.72.Dn,74.20.Mn
InunderdopedLa2−xSrxCuO4(LSCO)superconduc-
tors,itisknownthatthetemperaturedependenceofthe
in-planeresistivityρab(T)becomesinsulatingatlowtem-
peratureswhenthesuperconductivityissuppressedby
ahighmagneticfield,1andthatthemetal-to-insulator
crossoverinthenormalstatetakesplaceatoptimum
doping.2Sinceitisunusualtohaveaninsulatingnor-
malstateinasuperconductor,itwouldbeofimpor-
tancetounderstandtheoriginofthispeculiarlocal-
izationinunderdopedLSCO.Ontheotherhand,itis
alsoknownthatametallictransport(dρab/dT>0)is
realizedinLSCOwithonly1%-Srdopingatmoderate
temperatures.3Thesetwopeculiaritiesmakeasystem-
aticstudyofthelocalizationbehavior,thetransition
fromhightemperaturemetallicρabtolowtemperature
insulatingρab,particularlymeaningfulinextendingour
knowledgeontheelectronicstateofunderdopedLSCO.
Sincethelocalizationbehaviorwasstudiedbythemea-
surementsinpulsedhighmagneticfieldonlyforafewx
values,2itisthepurposeofthepresentworktostudythe
xdependenceinmoredetailtounderstandthemecha-
nismofthelocalization.
AnotherpeculiarfeatureinunderdopedLSCOisthe
staticspinstripeswhichdevelopatlowtemperaturesand
areobservedbyelasticneutronscatteringexperiments.4,5
However,thereisstillnodirectevidenceforthepres-
enceofchargestripesinLSCO,althoughexperimen-
talresultsthatindirectlyindicatesomechargeinho-
mogeneityareaccumulating.6,7,8,9Theoretically,various
formsofchargeinhomogeneity(orchargeorder)have
beenproposedtoexistincuprates.10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18
Ifthechargeinhomogeneityindeedexistsinunderdoped
LSCO,thelocalizationphenomenamightbeassociated
withachangeinthechargedynamicsduetothefor-
mationofsuchastructure,asisthecasewiththe
Nd-dopedLSCOwherestaticchargestripesareknown
tobestabilizedandlocalizationtakesplacebelowthe
temperatureoflow-temperature-orthorhombic(LTO)to
thelow-temperature-tetragonal(LTT)structuralphase
transition.19,20,21
Inthiswork,wesystematicallystudythelocalizationTABLEI:ResultsoftheICP-AESanalysesforgrown
La2−xSrxCu1−yZnyO4singlecrystals.y=0.02foreachsam-
pleinnominalcomposition.
nominalx0.060.080.100.120.150.172
eachedgeparalleltothecrystallographicaxiswithinan
errorof1◦usingx-rayLauetechnique.Typicalsample
sizeis2.0×0.5×0.15mm3,wherethec-axisisper-
pendiculartotheplatelets.Thesamplesareannealedat
800◦Cfor40hoursinair,followedbyrapidquenching
toroomtemperature,toremoveoxygendefectsinthe
as-growncrystals.Thetemperaturedependenceofρabis
measuredusingastandardacfour-probemethodunder
dcmagneticfieldparalleltothec-axisupto18Tinthe
temperaturerangefrom3.2Kto300K.
Figure1showsthetemperaturedependenceofρabin
zeroand18-Tfieldswiththeverticalaxisinlogarith-
micscale.Inzerofield,exceptforthex=0.12sample
(onwhichweelaboratelater),thebehaviorofρab(T)
atmoderatetemperaturesdoesnotqualitativelychange
withx,whichisthesameasthebehaviorofZn-free
LSCOcrystals.3Insampleswithx≤0.10,supercon-
ductivityissuppressedcompletelywith2%-Znsubstitu-
tionandρab(T)becomesinsulatingatlowtemperatures,
whichisalsosimilartothebehaviorofZn-freeunder-
dopedLSCOwhensuperconductivityissuppressedby
pulsedhighmagneticfield.1
Inordertoadditionallysuppresssuperconductivity,
18-Tmagneticfieldisappliedalongthec-axis.Insam-
pleswithx≤0.10,nosignificantchangeisobservedupon
applying18-Tmagneticfield.Inthex=0.12sample,
superconductivityisalmostcompletelysuppressedunder
the18-Tmagneticfieldandρab(T)showsaninsulating
behaviordowntolowtemperatures.Insampleswith
0.11
0100200300ρab (mΩcm)
T (K)x=0.06
x=0.08
x=0.10
x=0.12
x=0.15
x=0.17La2-xSrxCu0.98Zn0.02O4
02040600.160.18
ρab(mΩ cm)
T (K)x = 0.15 H = 18 T
(kFl = 10)
FIG.1:Temperaturedependencesofρabfor2%-Zn-doped
LSCOsinglecrystalswithx=0.06–0.17.Solidlinesand
dottedlinesrepresentthedatainzerofieldandin18-Tfield,
respectively.Inset:Enlargedviewofthedataforthex=0.15
samplein18-T
field.00.51