Electronic phase separation in lightly doped La2-xSrxCuO4

M. Matsuda, M. Fujita, K. Yamada, R. J. Birgeneau, Y. Endoh, G. Shirane

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

153 Scopus citations

Abstract

The hole concentration dependence of the magnetic correlations is studied in very lightly doped La2-xSrxCuO4 (x>0.02), which shows coexistence of a three-dimensional antiferromagnetic long-range-ordered phase and a spin-glass phase at low temperatures. It is found that the spin-glass phase in the coexistence region also shows a diagonal spin modulation as in the puse spin-glass phase in La2-xSrxCuO4 (0.02≥x≥0.055). Below x∼0.02 the diagonal stripe structure in the same as that in x∼0.02 with a volume fraction almost proportional to hole concentration, suggesting that electronic phase separation of the doped holes occurs so that some regions with hole concentration ch∼0.02 and the rest with ch∼0 are formed. To our best knowledge, this represents the most direct observation to date of electronic phase separation in lightly doped antiferromagnets. Such phase separation has been predicted by a number of theories.

Original languageEnglish
Article number134515
Pages (from-to)1345151-1345156
Number of pages6
JournalPhysical Review B - Condensed Matter and Materials Physics
Volume65
Issue number13
StatePublished - Apr 1 2002
Externally publishedYes

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Electronic phase separation in lightly doped La2-xSrxCuO4'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this