title: Real-space localization and quantification of hole distribution in chain-ladder Sr3Ca11Cu24O41 superconductor.
abstract: Understanding the physical properties of the chain-ladder Sr3Ca11Cu24O41 hole-doped superconductor has been precluded by the unknown hole distribution among chains and ladders. We use electron energy-loss spectrometry (EELS) in a scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) at atomic resolution to directly separate the contributions of chains and ladders and to unravel the hole distribution from the atomic scale variations of the O-K near-edge structures. The experimental data unambiguously demonstrate that most of the holes lie within the chain layers. A quantitative interpretation supported by inelastic scattering calculations shows that about two holes are located in the ladders, and about four holes in the chains, shedding light on the electronic structure of Sr3Ca11Cu24O41. Combined atomic resolution STEM-EELS and inelastic scattering calculations is demonstrated as a powerful approach toward a quantitative understanding of the electronic structure of cuprate superconductors, offering new possibilities for elucidating their physical properties.
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Canadian Centre for Electron Microscopy, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4M1, Canada.
authors.forename: Matthieu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bugnet
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Canadian Centre for Electron Microscopy, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4M1, Canada.; Institute of Solid State Physics and University Service Centre for Transmission Electron Microscopy, Vienna University of Technology, Wiedner Hauptstraße 8-10, A-1040 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-0080-2495
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Löffler
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hawthorn
authors.affiliation: Brockhouse Institute for Materials Research, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4M1, Canada.
authors.forename: Hanna A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Dabkowska
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4M1, Canada.
authors.forename: Graeme M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Luke
authors.affiliation: Institute of Solid State Physics and University Service Centre for Transmission Electron Microscopy, Vienna University of Technology, Wiedner Hauptstraße 8-10, A-1040 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Schattschneider
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, 6224 Agricultural Road, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z1, Canada.
authors.forename: George A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Sawatzky
authors.affiliation: Institut de Minéralogie, de Physique des Matériaux et de Cosmochimie (IMPMC), Sorbonne Universités, Université Pierre et Marie Curie (UPMC), Paris 6, CNRS UMR 7590, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, IRD UMR 206, 4 Place Jussieu, F-75005 Paris, France.
authors.forename: Guillaume
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Radtke
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Canadian Centre for Electron Microscopy, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4M1, Canada.
authors.forename: Gianluigi A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Botton
mesh_terms: D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D008670:Metals / Q000737:chemistry*; D008958:Models, Molecular; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry*; D000072176:Superconductivity
chemical_list: D008670:Metals
keywords: Physics; STEM; atomic resolution; hole distribution; inelastic electron scattering calculations; quantitative EELS; spectrometry; superconductor