Probing Spatial Correlations of Charge Density Waves and Structural Variations in YBCO Using Scanning X-ray Diffraction Microscopy (SXDM)

We propose to study the correlation between the structural properties, in particular, the lattice strain, of the high temperature superconductor (HTS) YBa2Cu3O7-x with the onset of charge density waves (CDW) in the material. STM measurements on CeTe showed that strain only indirectly determines the onset of CDWs in a material through the modification of the local lattice parameters. This experiment looks to confirm the generality of this phenomenon in charge density wave materials. Furthermore, due to the diametric opposition between the phenomena of superconductivity and CDW existence, we aim to visualize the vortex lattice in a field cooled YBCO superconductor through characterization of the CDWs present in the vortices.

本研究旨在探究高温超导体（high temperature superconductor，HTS）YBa₂Cu₃O₇₋ₓ（钇钡铜氧，YBCO）的结构特性——尤以晶格应变为核心——与该材料中电荷密度波（charge density waves，CDW）的临界起始之间的关联。此前针对碲化铈（CeTe）开展的扫描隧道显微镜（scanning tunneling microscope，STM）研究表明，应变仅通过调控局部晶格参数，间接决定材料中电荷密度波的临界起始。本实验旨在验证该现象在电荷密度波材料中的普适性。此外，鉴于超导电性与电荷密度波的存在呈现截然拮抗的竞争关系，本研究拟通过表征涡旋内部的电荷密度波，实现场冷钇钡铜氧超导体中涡旋晶格的可视化。