Charge-transfer hole-lifetime broadening of the Cu Auger-electron spectra of high Tc superconductors

The satellite intensity in the Cu L23-VV Auger-electron spectrum of the high Tc superconductor (YBa2Cu3O7−x, 123) is much more enhanced as compared to that of CuO. This enhancement was previously interpreted by Ramaker et al. [D.E. Ramaker, N.H., Turner, F.L. Hutson, Phys. Rev. B 38 (1988) 11368] as a result of the mixing between the ddp and dpp states. Here, d is a hole in the Cu 3d band and p is a hole in the O 2p band. However, the dramatic Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) spectral lineshape change from CuO to 123 is not only in the charge-transfer (CT) satellite but also in the main-line width. The change arises from the transit of the “pairing” of two bound d holes in the ddp state to that of two bound p holes in the dpp state. As a result, in CuO there is no CT satellite but the dd state becomes a resonant state broadened by the CT hole-lifetime broadening, whereas in 123 the dd state becomes a mixture of a resonant-like state and nonresonant band states. The present many-body theory can explain the overall AES lineshape change from CuO to 123.