P. Dore

Effect of the Al content on the optical phonon spectrum in Mg1-xAlxB2

Raman and infrared absorption spectra of Mg(1-x)Al(x)B(2) have been collected for 0<x<0.5 in the spectral range of optical phonons. The x-dependence of the peak frequency, the width and the intensity of the observed Raman lines has been carefully analized. A peculiar x-dependence of the optical modes is pointed out for two different Al doping ranges. In particular the onset of the high-doping structural phase previously observed in diffraction measurements is marked by the appearence of new spectral components at high frequencies. A connection between the whole of our results and the observed suppression of superconductivity in the high doping region is established.

INFRARED ABSORPTION FROM CHARGE DENSITY WAVES IN MAGNETIC MANGANITES

The infrared absorption of charge density waves coupled to a magnetic background is first observed in two manganites La{1-x}Ca{x}MnO{3} with x = 0.5 and x = 0.67. In both cases a BCS-like gap 2 Delta (T), which for x=0.5 follows the hysteretic ferro-antiferromagnetic transition, fully opens at a finite T{0} < T{Neel}, with 2 Delta(T{0})/kT{c} close to 5. These results may also explain the unusual coexistence of charge ordering and ferromagnetism in La{0.5}Ca{0.5}MnO{3}.

Preparation and characterization of LaMnO3 thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition

We have grown LaMnO3 thin films on (001) LaAlO3 substrates by pulsed laser deposition. X-ray diffraction confirms that the films are only slightly relaxed and are oriented “square on square” relative to the substrate. The measured Raman spectra closely resemble that observed in bulk LaMnO3, which indicates no relevant distortions of the MnO6 octahedra induced by the epitaxial strain. Therefore, no detectable changes in the lattice dynamics occurred in our LaMnO3 strained films relative to the bulk case. Mn55 nuclear magnetic resonance identifies the presence of localized Mn4+ states. Superconducting quantum interference device magnetization measures TN=131(3)K and a saturation moment μ=1.09μB∕Mn, revealing a small concentration of Mn4+ and placing our films within the antiferromagnetic insulating phase.

Pressure tuning of electron-phonon coupling: The insulator to metal transition in manganites

An extended temperature and pressure-dependent investigation is carried out on a La0.75Ca0.25MnO3 sample exploiting the infrared absorption technique coupled to a diamond anvil cell. The pressure dependence of the insulator to metal transition temperature T(IM) is determined for the first time up to 11.2 GPa. The T(IM)(P) curve we propose to model the present data has an exponential-like behavior with an associated characteristic pressure P* playing the role of a decay constant. It is found that the equivalence between an external and an internal (chemical) pressure holds over a limited range of pressure, namely, P< or =2P*. Moreover, a certain universality character is associated with the proposed model curve in its ability to account for a large class of low-disorder manganites characterized by intermediate electron-phonon coupling.

Infrared properties of chemical-vapor deposition polycrystalline diamond windows

Low-resolution transmittance and reflectance spectra of high-quality chemical-vapor deposition (CVD) diamond windows were measured in the infrared in the 2.5-500-mum wavelength range (20-4000 cm(-1)). High-resolution measurements on a window with nearly parallel surfaces show well defined interference fringes at low frequencies. By standard procedures the optical constants n and k of CVD diamond were determined, for the first time to the authors knowledge, in the far-infrared region. It is shown that a window with a large wedge angle, close to 1 degrees , does not produce appreciable interference fringes. Modeling of these results confirms that interference fringes can be avoided by use of properly wedged CVD diamond windows. This result is of considerable relevance to the use of CVD diamond windows in spectroscopic applications for which fringe suppression is a major requirement.

Infrared optical properties of perovskite substrates for high-Tc superconducting films

Abstract Perovskite-like compounds like LaAlO 3 , LaGaO 3 , and NdGaO 3 have been recently proposed as substrates for high- T c superconducting films with optimum mechanical and dielectric properties. Measurements of room temperature and 25 K reflectance have been performed from 100 to 20 000 cm -1 in these compounds. The complex dielectric functions ~ϵ, as well as phonon mode parameters, have been obtained by a best fitting procedure in terms of Lorentzian oscillators. The use of these compounds in the study of the optical properties of thin films is discussed.

Charge-localization effects in the infrared transmittance of layered perovskites

In a previous study it has been shown that the formation of charged superlattices in Ni- and Mn-based perovskites opens a gap in their infrared polaronic background. This signature of charge localization is here used to compare the behavior of the polaronic carriers in Sr2MnO4, La2NiO4+y, Nd2CuO4−y and Nd1.85Ce0.15CuO4−y. It is shown that, as the temperature decreases, the carriers tend to localize in the nickelate and the manganite, to slightly increase their mobility in both cuprates.

Combined experimental and computational study of the pressure dependence of the vibrational spectrum of solid picene C22H14

We present high-quality optical data and density functional perturbation theory calculations for the vibrational spectrum of solid picene (C

The optical phonon spectrum of SmFeAsO

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Analysis of translational band observed in gaseous and liquid Kr–Ar mixtures

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