Spatially modulated susceptibility in thin film La$_{2-x}$Ba$_x$CuO$_4$

TL;DR

This study uses scanning SQUID imaging to reveal long-period, spatially modulated susceptibility in thin film La2-xBaxCuO4 near 1/8 doping, suggesting phase separation as a possible origin.

Contribution

It provides the first spatially resolved measurements of susceptibility modulations in LBCO, highlighting long-range stripe-like features and vortex trapping behavior.

Findings

Susceptibility modulations with 1-4 micron periods observed

No pronounced Tc depression at 1/8 doping in thin films

Vortices trap at regions of maximum diamagnetic susceptibility

Abstract

The high critical temperature superconductor Lanthanum Barium Copper Oxide (La2-xBaxCuO4 or LBCO) exhibits a strong anomaly in critical temperature at 1/8th doping, nematicity, and other interesting properties. We report here Scanning Superconducting Quantum Interference Device (SQUID) imaging of the magnetic fields and susceptibility in a number of thin film LBCO samples with doping in the vicinity of the 1/8th anomaly. Spatially resolved measurements of the critical temperatures of these samples do not show a pronounced depression at 1/8th doping. They do, however, exhibit strong, nearly linear modulations of the susceptibility ("straie") of multiple samples with surprisingly long periods of 1-4 microns. Counterintuitively, vortices trap in positions of largest diamagnetic susceptibility in these striae. Given the rich interplay of different orders in this material system and its known sensitivity to epitaxial strain, we propose phase separation as a possible origin of these features and discuss scenarios in which that might arise.