Apparent color and Raman vibrational modes of the unconventional superconductor Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+δ}$ exfoliated flakes

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Main Authors: Figueruelo-Campanero, Ignacio, del Campo, Adolfo, Nieva, Gladys, González, Elvira M., Serrano, Aida, Menghini, Mariela
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Figueruelo-Campanero, Ignacio
del Campo, Adolfo
Nieva, Gladys
González, Elvira M.
Serrano, Aida
Menghini, Mariela
author_facet Figueruelo-Campanero, Ignacio
del Campo, Adolfo
Nieva, Gladys
González, Elvira M.
Serrano, Aida
Menghini, Mariela
contents Studying and controlling the properties of individual exfoliated materials is one of the first steps towards the fabrication of complex van der Waals systems. However, prolonged exposure to ambient conditions can affect the properties of very thin exfoliated materials altering their physical properties. For this reason, it is imperative to employ versatile characterization strategies compatible with reduced ambient exposure times. In this work, we demonstrate that optical microscopy and Raman spectroscopy are quick and non-invasive techniques to study flakes of the high-temperature superconductor Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+δ}$ (BSCCO-2212). The apparent color of BSCCO-2212 exfoliated flakes on SiO$_2$/Si has been studied allowing a rough and fast identification of the number of layers. Moreover, we find that thin flakes have a refractive index of around 1.7 in the visible range and 0.5 for the absorption coefficient near the maximum at 550 nm. We determine the optimal combination of illumination wavelength and substrate properties for the identification of different numbers of unit cells of BSCCO-2212. In addition, we report the hardening of the characteristic Raman modes at 116 cm$^{-1}$ and 460 cm$^{-1}$ as flake thickness decreases, possibly due to strain in the BiO and CuO$_2$ planes, respectively. Moreover, the evolution of the Raman modes establishes a second approach to determine the thickness of BSCCO-2212 thin flakes. As BSCCO-2212 is a challenging material to be due to its sensitivity to ambient conditions deriving in an insulating state, the present work provides a guide for the fabrication and characterization of complex van der Waals systems paving the way for studying heterostructures based on unconventional superconductors in the 2D limit.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2402_12941
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Apparent color and Raman vibrational modes of the unconventional superconductor Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+δ}$ exfoliated flakes
Figueruelo-Campanero, Ignacio
del Campo, Adolfo
Nieva, Gladys
González, Elvira M.
Serrano, Aida
Menghini, Mariela
Superconductivity
Strongly Correlated Electrons
Studying and controlling the properties of individual exfoliated materials is one of the first steps towards the fabrication of complex van der Waals systems. However, prolonged exposure to ambient conditions can affect the properties of very thin exfoliated materials altering their physical properties. For this reason, it is imperative to employ versatile characterization strategies compatible with reduced ambient exposure times. In this work, we demonstrate that optical microscopy and Raman spectroscopy are quick and non-invasive techniques to study flakes of the high-temperature superconductor Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+δ}$ (BSCCO-2212). The apparent color of BSCCO-2212 exfoliated flakes on SiO$_2$/Si has been studied allowing a rough and fast identification of the number of layers. Moreover, we find that thin flakes have a refractive index of around 1.7 in the visible range and 0.5 for the absorption coefficient near the maximum at 550 nm. We determine the optimal combination of illumination wavelength and substrate properties for the identification of different numbers of unit cells of BSCCO-2212. In addition, we report the hardening of the characteristic Raman modes at 116 cm$^{-1}$ and 460 cm$^{-1}$ as flake thickness decreases, possibly due to strain in the BiO and CuO$_2$ planes, respectively. Moreover, the evolution of the Raman modes establishes a second approach to determine the thickness of BSCCO-2212 thin flakes. As BSCCO-2212 is a challenging material to be due to its sensitivity to ambient conditions deriving in an insulating state, the present work provides a guide for the fabrication and characterization of complex van der Waals systems paving the way for studying heterostructures based on unconventional superconductors in the 2D limit.
title Apparent color and Raman vibrational modes of the unconventional superconductor Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+δ}$ exfoliated flakes
topic Superconductivity
Strongly Correlated Electrons
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2402.12941