Reciprocal Space Imaging of a BSCCO Single Crystal

The introduction of large area detectors allows for the imaging of large contiguous volumes of reciprocal space of single crystals, leading to a 3D Pair Distribution Function (PDF) containing information on both the average structure and local disorder [1]. Here, we present the 3D PDF obtained from a large reciprocal space map of a single crystal of the cuprate superconductor BSCCO. The unit cell of the measured 3D PDF matches the 3D PDF determined from the unit cell structure of BSCCO found in literature [2]. The incommensurate lattice modulations (ILM) along the b-axis with a periodicity of 4.7 lattice units [3] are also recovered. In addition, using a method introduced by Weber and colleagues [4] we are able to separate the 3D PDF into a part containing the average BSCCO crystal structure originating from the Bragg peaks and ILMs and another part containing the local disorder originating from the diffuse scattering. In the diffuse scattering PDF we can quantify the local disorder in the BSCCO crystals as a function of temperature. These results demonstrate the power of the 3D PDF technique in investigating local disorder in crystalline materials.

[1] M. Krogstad et al, Nature Materials 19, 62 (2020)

[2] M. Hervieu et al, Modern Physics Letters B 2, 491 (1988)

[3] N. Poccia et al, Physical Review Materials 4, 114007 (2020)

[4] T. Weber et al, Zeitschrift für Kristallographie 227, 238 (2012)