Direct Observation of Microscopic Inhomogeneities with Energy-Dispersive Diffraction of Synchrotron-Produced X-rays
- 11 March 1994
- journal article
- other
- Published by American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Science
- Vol. 263 (5152) , 1416-1418
- https://doi.org/10.1126/science.263.5152.1416
Abstract
Evidence of structural inhomogeneities in two high—transition-temperature superconductors, YBa2Cu3O7-δ and Nd2-xCexCuO4-y, is presented. When samples were illuminated by highly collimated x-rays produced on a synchrotron wiggler, small changes in the lattice were detected over a spatial scale of 10 micrometers. These changes are interpreted as evidence of variations in the oxygen content in one case and in the cerium content in the other; both affect the superconducting properties. The existence of such structural inhomogeneities brings into question whether exotic experimental results obtained from superconducting materials with high transition temperatures actually reflect intrinsic properties.Keywords
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