Cu Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance Study of La_{2-x}Sr_xCu_{1-y}Zn_yO_4 (x=0.10, 0.15 and 0.20): Zn-induced Wipeout Effect near the Magnetic and Electric Instability

TL;DR

This study investigates how zinc substitution affects the electronic and magnetic properties of La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4 high-temperature superconductors using Cu NQR, revealing a wipeout effect linked to Zn-induced magnetism and stripe formation near magnetic and electric instabilities.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the Zn-induced wipeout effect and its relation to magnetic and charge-spin stripe phenomena in different doping regimes of La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4.

Findings

Full NQR signal disappearance in underdoped samples below 40 K.

Partial wipeout in optimally doped samples below 50 K.

No wipeout observed in overdoped samples.

Abstract

We studied Zn-substitution effect on the high-T_c superconductors, underdoped La_{2-x}Sr_xCu_{1-y}Zn_yO_4 (x=0.10; y=0, 0.01, 0.02), optimally doped (x=0.15; y=0, 0.02), and overdoped (x=0.20; y=0, 0.03, 0.06) in a temperature range of T=4.2-300 K, using Cu nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) spin-echo technique. We found full disappearance of the Cu NQR signals for the Zn-substituted, Sr-underdoped x=0.10 samples below about 40 K, partial disappearance for the Sr-optimally doped ones below about 50 K, but not for the overdoped x=0.20 ones. From the Zn-doping, the Sr-doping and the temperature dependence of the wipeout effect, we associate the wipeout effect with Zn-induced Curie magnetism or its extended glassy charge-spin stripe formation.