Charge density wave origin of cuprate checkerboard visualized by scanning tunneling microscopy

TL;DR

This study visualizes a static checkerboard charge density wave in cuprates using scanning tunneling microscopy, linking it to the pseudogap phase and its doping-dependent properties, providing insights into high-temperature superconductivity.

Contribution

It demonstrates the existence and doping dependence of a static charge density wave in cuprates, clarifying its role in the pseudogap phase and high-Tc superconductivity.

Findings

Checkerboard modulation is static and non-dispersive.

Periodicity increases with hole doping.

Charge density wave originates from the anti-nodal Fermi surface region.

Abstract

One of the main challenges in understanding high TC superconductivity is to disentangle the rich variety of states of matter that may coexist, cooperate, or compete with d-wave superconductivity. At center stage is the pseudogap phase, which occupies a large portion of the cuprate phase diagram surrounding the superconducting dome [1]. Using scanning tunneling microscopy, we find that a static, non-dispersive, "checkerboard"-like electronic modulation exists in a broad regime of the cuprate phase diagram and exhibits strong doping dependence. The continuous increase of checkerboard periodicity with hole density strongly suggests that the checkerboard originates from charge density wave formation in the anti-nodal region of the cuprate Fermi surface. These results reveal a coherent picture for static electronic orderings in the cuprates and shed important new light on the nature of the pseudogap phase.