Stripe-like nanoscale structural phase separation in superconducting BaPb(1-x)Bi(x)O3.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 26373890.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/ncomms9231 and PMC identifier 4595596.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
The phase diagram of BaPb(1-x)Bi(x)O3 exhibits a superconducting dome in the proximity of a charge density wave phase. For the superconducting compositions, the material coexists as two structural polymorphs. Here we show, via high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, that the structural dimorphism is accommodated in the form of partially disordered nanoscale stripes. Identification of the morphology of the nanoscale structural phase separation enables determination of the associated length scales, which we compare with the Ginzburg-Landau coherence length. We find that the maximum Tc occurs when the superconducting coherence length matches the width of the partially disordered stripes, implying a connection between the structural phase separation and the shape of the superconducting dome.