Giant Domain Walls and Intrinsic Heterogeneity in 214 Cuprate Superconductors

TL;DR

This study uses advanced X-ray diffraction to reveal intrinsic microstructural heterogeneity in cuprate superconductors, showing how structural distortions influence the competition between superconductivity and charge density waves.

Contribution

It provides the first spatially resolved microstructural analysis of phase coexistence in cuprates, linking structural heterogeneity to electronic order competition.

Findings

Wide tetragonal-like domain walls at 300 K

Orthorhombic-like stripes within tetragonal matrix at 100 K

Structural heterogeneity influences superconductivity and charge order

Abstract

The intricate interplay of structural, charge and spin orders in layered cuprates leads to emergent phenomena, most notably high-temperature superconductivity. However, there is growing awareness that both the structure and electronic ordering that underpin them are not fully homogeneous. Here, we employ scanning three-dimensional X-ray diffraction to spatially resolve structural distortions in La$_{1.675}$Eu$_{0.2}$Sr$_{0.125}$CuO$_{4}$, a prototypical system that exhibits a strong competition between superconductivity and charge density wave order, across its low-temperature orthorhombic to tetragonal phase transition. We uncover two forms of intrinsic microstructural heterogeneity: at 300 K, we reveal remarkably wide tetragonal-like domain wall regions within the nominally orthorhombic crystal structure, and, upon cooling to 100 K, a fine microstructure of orthorhombic-like stripes embedded within the tetragonal matrix emerges. This spatially resolved view directly defines the microstructural architecture of phase coexistence in this system, demonstrating how structural distortions generate intrinsic heterogeneity that shapes the balance between superconductivity and charge density wave order as constrained by the restrictive orthorhombic and tetragonal structures, offering a pathway to control correlated phenomena.