Abstract
We performed scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy on untwinned crystals of underdoped YBa2Cu3O7- δ at δ = 0.4. A comprehensive statistical analysis of our topographic data indicates a doping dependent cleaving behavior of this material. We find in particular that at δ = 0.4 the material primarily cleaves in multiples of one unit cell along the c-axis with a high corrugation of the topmost layer. Our data suggest that the low temperature cleaving mainly results in a disruption of the CuO chain layers involving a redistribution of the layer atoms onto the two cleaving planes. In a few instances, fractional step heights (in terms of the c-axis lattice constant) are observed as well. Scanning tunneling spectroscopy reveals that such fractional steps connect surfaces which differ significantly in their tunneling conductance.
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Urbanik, G., Hänke, T., Hess, C. et al. Surface of underdoped YBa2Cu3O7- δ as revealed by STM/STS. Eur. Phys. J. B 69, 483–489 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1140/epjb/e2009-00198-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1140/epjb/e2009-00198-y