Photobleaching in GdBa2Cu3O7-d in a simultaneous Raman and electrical-transport experiment

S. BAHRS; J. GUIMPEL; A. R. GOÑI; B. MAIOROV; A. FAINSTEIN; G. NIEVA; C. THOMSEN

PHYSICAL REVIEW B - SOLID STATE

American Physical Society

Año: 2005 vol. 72 p. 1445011 - 1445016

0556-2805

We investigate the connection between persistent illumination-induced effects in underdoped RBa2Cu3O7- d known as persistent photoconductivity and Raman bleaching. Despite the long-standing assumption that the electrical and optical properties respond to the same light-induced change in the material, they have not been directly compared until now. We present a simultaneous experiment of Raman spectroscopy and electrical transport under visible illumination at low temperatures. The time dependence of the response in the two methods differs by two orders of magnitude, showing that the effects are connected but not identical. We discuss our results within the oxygen-vacancy reordering model of photobleaching and find that different Cu-O chain lengths affect the optical and the electrical response differently. Raman bleaching and persistent photoconductivity thus provide a different perspective on the microscopic oxygen vacancy distribution.