Surface morphology and incommensurate modulation of self-flux grown Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x single crystals

✍ Scribed by P. Kumar; B. Kumar; I. Bdikin; A.L. Kholkin; G.C. Trigunayat

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 2004
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 522 KB
• Volume: 406
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0921-4534
• DOI: 10.1016/j.physc.2004.02.180

✦ Synopsis

Structural studies have been carried out in large size superconducting single crystals of Bi 2 Sr 2 CaCu 2 O 8þx grown by self-flux method. Surface morphology of the crystals in respect of growth steps, slip lines/bands and etch pits has been examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). A quantitative study of grain misorientation in the crystals has been conducted by X-ray diffraction, which has also revealed the existence of incommensurate modulation of the crystal structure. A detailed analysis of first and second order satellite reflections associated with the Bragg reflections 0 2 0 and 0 0 3 6, in terms of incommensurate b à -components and modulation wave vector q ¼ 0:21b à þ c à , has been made. It is proposed that while the second order satellite reflections observed around 0 0 3 6 are linked with the existent neighboring Bragg reflections, the first order satellite reflections are correlated with a forbidden reflection.