Surface and Grain Boundary Analysis of High Temperature Superconductors

Authors

F. J. Himpsel, T. J. Watson Research Center
A. G. Schrott, T. J. Watson Research Center

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to survey the methods that are available for probing surfaces and grain boundaries of high temperature superconductors. Various surface-sensitive spectroscopies are applied to the analysis of YBa₂Cu₃O_7-x and Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O_8+x including photoelectron spectroscopy, spatially-resolved electron energy loss spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). One of the major sources of contamination at surfaces and grain boundaries is found to be BaCO₃. The cleavage surface of single crystal Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O_8+x is inert and can be used to probe bulk properties of superconductors, even with surface-sensitive techniques. The orbital character of the superconducting oxygen 2p holes is found to be P_x,y, with x,y in the a,b plane. Photoemission at the Fermi level indicates a Fermi liquid nature of these states.

Recommended Citation

Himpsel, F. J. and Schrott, A. G. (1989) "Surface and Grain Boundary Analysis of High Temperature Superconductors," Scanning Microscopy: Vol. 3: No. 3, Article 2.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/microscopy/vol3/iss3/2