arXiv subjects

Hai-Hu Wen

Publications and source records attributed to Hai-Hu Wen.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Heavily Sr-Doped La$_{2}$SrNi$_{2}$O$_{7-δ}$ as a Tetragonal Ruddlesden-Popper Phase at Ambient Pressure

High-temperature superconductivity has been found in bilayer Ruddlesden-Popper (RP) nickelates in bulk samples under high pressure, or in thin films via compressive strain. In the superconducting state, a tetragonal structure with a straight Ni-O-Ni bond along c-axis has been commonly observed, together with the suppression or diminishing of the density-wave orders. Therefore, it remains an open question whether these factors are sufficient for achieving superconductivity at ambient pressure. Here we report the first successful synthesis of heavily Sr-doped La$_{2}$SrNi$_{2}$O$_{7-δ}$ under high-pressure and high-temperature (HPHT) conditions with a flux method. X-ray diffraction and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) confirm that the material adopts a tetragonal (I4/mmm) structure with an 180$^{\circ}$ Ni-O-Ni bond angle along c-axis. Resistance measurements reveal metallic behavior with a low-temperature upturn and no density-wave features are observed. However, neither pressure nor oxygen variation induces superconductivity. Density functional theory calculations indicate that the holes introduced by Sr doping are predominantly doped into the Ni-3d$_{z^2}$ orbital, leading to the appearance of a very large $γ$ pocket on the Fermi surface at ambient pressure and significantly reducing the occupation of the Ni-3d$_{z^2 }$ orbital. Combining the experimental observations with theoretical calculations, we attribute the absence of superconductivity to the serious deviation from the half-filling state of the Ni-3d$_{z^2 }$ band, which is crucial for the interlayer antiferromagnetic interaction and thus for pairing. Our work unravels important issues for achieving superconductivity in bilayer nickelate system.

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arXiv2026

Expanding the trilayer Ruddlesden-Popper nickelate family: Synthesis and characterization of Sm$_4$Ni$_3$O$_{10-δ}$ single crystals

The discovery of high-temperature superconductivity in Ruddlesden-Popper (RP) nickelates has attracted significant attention. Bulk superconductivity emerges under pressure in trilayer nickelates La$_4$Ni$_3$O$_{10-δ}$ (T$_c$ $\approx$ 30 K) and Pr$_4$Ni$_3$O$_{10-δ}$ (T$_c$ $\approx$ 40.5 K), where the reduced ionic radius of Pr$^{3+}$ may generate internal chemical pressure and enhance T$_c$. However, synthesizing trilayer RP phases with smaller rare-earth elements (Ln) is extremely challenging. So far, only the La, Pr, and Nd analogues have been synthesized with stable phases in the single rare-earth form. Here we report the first successful high-pressure and high-temperature (HPHT) synthesis of samarium-based compound Sm$_4$Ni$_3$O$_{10-δ}$. Magnetization and transport measurements consistently confirm a density wave (DW) transition at ~180 K at ambient pressure. Through a careful fitting to the structural data of Sm$_4$Ni$_3$O$_{10-δ}$, it is found that the bond angle of (Ni-O-Ni) associating with the interlayer apical oxygen is much smaller than 180$^{\circ}$, which was assumed to be the key factor for the occurrence of superconductivity. By applying pressures up to 80 GPa, despite partial suppression of insulating behavior and the DW order, but superconductivity is not observed in our present study. Density functional theory calculations suggest that the 3d$_{z^2}$ and 3d$_{x^2-y^2}$ are separated from other t$_{2g}$ orbitals and make a primary contribution to the Fermi surface. The newly synthesized trilayer nickelate Sm$_4$Ni$_3$O$_{10-δ}$ offers a unique platform for probing the fundamental physics of RP nickelates.

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arXiv2026

Pressure-induced Structural Phase Transition, Metallization, and Superconductivity in layered metalloid dichalcogenide 1T-SiTe$_2$

Layered transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have attracted considerable attention as promising platforms for exploring emergent physics and potential device applications. In contrast, metalloid-based dichalcogenide counterparts remain largely underexplored. Here, we report the pressure-induced structural phase transition, metallization, and superconductivity in the layered metalloid dichalcogenide 1T-SiTe$_2$. At ambient pressure, 1T-SiTe$_2$ crystallizes in a trigonal crystal structure (space group: $P\bar{3}m1$) and exhibits intrinsic semiconducting transport characteristics. Upon pressurization, in concomitant with the suppression of semiconducting behavior in resistance, superconductivity emerges at around 6.7 GPa. The superconducting transition temperature (T$_c$) rises continuously with increasing pressure and finally saturates at approximately 5.5 K for pressures above 30 GPa. During the compression, 1T-SiTe$_2$ experiences three structural phase transitions, and the phase transition pressures are highly consistent with the anomalous transport responses observed experimentally, indicating that the changes of transport behavior of 1T-SiTe$_2$ under pressure are structurally-driven. Our work extends TMD superconductors into the realm of metalloid systems and provides a new platform for exploring novel physics in quasi two-dimensional materials without transition-metal elements.

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arXiv2025

Highly Anisotropic Charge Dynamics and Spectral Weight Redistribution in the Trilayer Nickelate La$_{4}$Ni$_{3}$O$_{10}$

We study the $ab$-plane and $c$-axis charge dynamics of La$_{4}$Ni$_{3}$O$_{10}$ using optical spectroscopy. While a pronounced Drude profile, i.e. metallic response, is observed in the $ab$-plane optical conductivity $σ_{1}^{ab}(ω)$, the $c$-axis optical spectra $σ_{1}^{c}(ω)$ exhibit semiconducting behavior. The zero-frequency extrapolation of the optical conductivity $σ_{1}(ω\rightarrow 0) \equiv 1/ρ_{\text{dc}}$ gives a resistivity anisotropy of $ρ_{c}/ρ_{ab} \simeq 366$ at 300~K for La$_{4}$Ni$_{3}$O$_{10}$, which is much larger than the values in iron-based superconductors but comparable to those in high-$T_{c}$ cuprates. The interband response is also highly anisotropic, showing salient orbital selectivity for light polarized in the $ab$ plane and along the $c$ axis. The interband-transition peaks in both $σ_{1}^{ab}(ω)$ and $σ_{1}^{c}(ω)$ are located at lower energies compared to density-functional-theory predictions, signifying considerable electronic correlations. By investigating the spectral weight transfer, we find that in the pristine phase, Coulomb correlations have a marked impact on the charge dynamics of \LNO, whereas in the density-wave state, a gap opens with the Ni-$d_{z^{2}}$ orbital being involved.

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arXiv2025

Distinct Modulation Behavior of Superconducting Coherence Peaks Associated with Sign-Reversal Gaps in FeTe$_{0.55}$Se$_{0.45}$

Using high-resolution scanning tunneling microscopy, we reveal two distinct types of superconducting (SC) gap modulations in bulk superconductor FeTe$_{0.55}$Se$_{0.45}$. By analyzing the phase relation between modulations at positive and negative bias, we identify in-phase (particle-hole asymmetric) and anti-phase (particle-hole symmetric) oscillations, corresponding to sign-reversing and sign-preserving scattering processes, respectively. The observed features are consistent with predictions from pair-breaking scattering interference (PBSI) theory and are distinguishable from other alternative mechanisms such as pair density waves. Our results provide compelling evidence that PBSI is the dominant mechanism behind the SC gap modulations in FeTe$_{0.55}$Se$_{0.45}$, offering new insights into the role of impurity scattering in iron-based superconductors.

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arXiv2025

Observation of Two Cascading Screening Processes in an Iron-based Superconductor

Understanding how renormalized quasiparticles emerge in strongly correlated electron materials provides a challenge for both experiment and theory. It has been predicted that distinctive spin and orbital screening mechanisms drive this process in multiorbital materials with strong Coulomb and Hund's interactions. Here, we provide the experimental evidence of both mechanisms from angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy on RbFe$_2$As$_2$. We observe that the emergence of low-energy Fe 3$d_{xy}$ quasiparticles below 90K is tied to spin screening. A second process changes the spectral weight at high energies up to room temperature. Supported by theoretical calculations we attribute it to orbital screening of Fe 3d atomic excitations. These two cascading screening processes drive the temperature evolution from a bad metal to a correlated Fermi liquid.

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arXiv2025

Enhanced superconductivity in the compressively strained bilayer nickelate thin films by pressure

The discovery of high temperature superconductivity in the nickelate system has stimulated enormous interest in the community of condensed matter physics. Recently, superconductivity with an onset transition temperature (Tc^onset) over 40 K was achieved in La3Ni2O7 and (La,Pr)3Ni2O7 thin films at ambient pressure due to in-plane compressive strain. This observation has sparked enormous attention because measurements on superconducting properties can be accessible with many commonly used experimental tools. On the other hand, the Tc in these thin films is much lower than that of the bulk bilayer nickelates under pressure. Here we report the enhancement of Tc^onset to over 60 K by applying hydrostatic pressure on the compressively strained superconducting bilayer nickelate thin films. The Tc^onset firstly ramps up with pressure, then it slightly drops down after reaching the maximum Tc^onset at about 61.5 K under a pressure of 9 GPa, showing a dome-like phase diagram. Hall effect measurements reveal that the dominant charge carriers are hole-like with a slight enhancement of charge carrier density with pressure in accompanying with the increase of Tc. Our theoretical results demonstrate that the enhancement of Tc arises from a cooperative amplification of magnetic fluctuations within and between the layers and increased metallicity under pressure. However, this enhancement exhibits saturation at higher pressures. These findings highlight the critical role of the interplay between interlayer and intralayer electronic correlations in bilayer nickelate superconductors and point to the potential of tuning Tc through controlled manipulation of the electronic structure and interactions.

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arXiv2025

Superconducting gap structure and bosonic mode in La2PrNi2O7 thin films at ambient pressure

The recent discovery of high temperature superconductivity in nickelate systems has generated tremendous interests in the field of superconductivity. The core issue to understand the superconductivity mechanism is about the superconducting gap and its symmetry. By using the substrate of SrLaAlO4(00l), we have successfully synthesized the superconducting thin film of La2PrNi2O7 with Tc(onset) = 41.5 K. Superconducting tunneling spectra are successfully measured on the terraces after we expose the superconducting layer by using the tip-excavation technique. The spectrum shows a two-gap structure with Delta1=19 meV, Delta2=6-8 meV, and fittings based on the Dynes model indicate that the dominant gap should have an anisotropic s-wave structure, this allows us to put the priority in selecting the s+- among the two arguable pairing models: s+- and d-wave. Furthermore, a clear bosonic mode with energy Omega=30+-2 meV is observed, which further supports a sign reversal gap. Our results shed new light in understanding the mystery of superconductivity in bilayer nickelate superconductors.

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arXiv2025

High Temperature Superconductivity Dominated by Inner Underdoped CuO$_2$ Planes in Quadruple-Layer Cuprate (Cu,C)Ba$_2$Ca$_3$Cu$_4$O$_{11+δ}$

The superconducting transition temperature ($T_{\mathrm{c}}$) of trilayer or quadruple-layer cuprates typically surpasses that of single-layer or bilayer systems. This observation is often interpreted within the ``composite picture", where strong proximity effect between inner CuO$_2$ planes (IPs) and outer CuO$_2$ planes (OPs) is crucial. Albeit intriguing, a straightforward scrutinization of this composite picture is still lacking. In this study, using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy to investigate (Cu,C)Ba$_2$Ca$_3$Cu$_4$O$_{11+δ}$ (CuC-1234) with a high $T_{\mathrm{c}}$ of 110~K, we found that the OPs are not superconducting at the $T_{\mathrm{c}}$ of the material. Instead, the large pairing strength and phase coherence concurrently emerge at the underdoped IPs, suggesting that the high $T_{\mathrm{c}}$ is primarily driven by these underdoped IPs. Given that the $T_{\mathrm{c}}$ of CuC-1234 is comparable to other trilayer or quadruple-layer cuprates, our findings suggest that the conventional ``composite picture" is not universally required for achieving high $T_{\mathrm{c}}$. More importantly, we demonstrate that CuO$_2$ planes free of apical oxygen can support superconductivity up to 110~K even at a doping level of 0.07 holes per Cu, a level that lies deep in the underdoped regime of single- and bilayer cuprates. These findings provide new insights into the origin of high $T_{\mathrm{c}}$ in multilayer cuprates.

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arXiv2025

Density wave order with antiphase feature associated with the pseudogap in cuprate superconductor Bi2+xSr2-xCuO6+delta

The strong correlation effect in cuprate superconductors have greatly enriched the phase diagram showing the co-existence of superconductivity with many intertwined orders. One of the prominent issues concerning the superconductivity mechanism is about the pseudogap phase which behaves either as cooperator or competitor for superconductivity and its fundamental reason remains still elusive. Here we report the measurements of scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/STS) in the model superconducting system Bi2+xSr2-xCuO6+delta with a transition temperature Tc~7 K. Although this system is supposed to be slightly overdoped, a pseudogap feature can be easily observed in the energy region of about 20-60 meV. A modulation of local density of states (LDOS) with a periodicity of about 4a0/3 (a0: Cu-O-Cu bond length) can be easily observed, which is also supported by the Fourier transformation pattern with wavevectors at about (0,+-3pi/2a0) and (+-3pi/2a0,0). Surprisingly, we find that the LDOS exhibits a clear antiphase feature in the pseudogap energy region below and above the Fermi energy, indicating that it is an intrinsic feature of the pseudogap phase. We interpret this modulation and antiphase feature as a possible consequence of the pair density wave due to the Amperean pairing with finite momentum. Our results give a deep insight on the understanding of the pseudogap phase in cuprate superconductors.

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arXiv2025

Helical edge states and enhanced superconducting gaps in Bi islands on FeTe$_{0.55}$Se$_{0.45}$

By measuring scanning tunneling spectroscopy on some large Bi islands deposited on FeTe$_{0.55}$Se$_{0.45}$ superconductors, we observe clear evidence of topological in-gap edge states with double peaks at about $\pm 1.0$ meV on the spectra measured near the perimeter of the islands. The edge states spread towards the inner side of the islands over a width of 2-3 nm. The two edge-state peaks at positive and negative energies both move to higher values with increase of the magnetic field, and they disappear near the transition temperature $T_\mathrm{c}$ of FeTe$_{0.55}$Se$_{0.45}$. The edge states are interpreted as the counter-propagating topological edge states induced by the strong spin-orbit coupling effect of the Bi island, and the zero-energy mode emerges when the edge states touch each other in some small Bi islands. Meanwhile, enhanced superconducting gaps are observed in the central regions of these Bi islands, which may be induced by the enhanced pair potential of the topological surface state. Our observations provide useful message for the nontrivial topological superconductivity on specific Bi islands grown on FeTe$_{0.55}$Se$_{0.45}$ substrate.

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arXiv2025

"Half-Bogoliubons" as the intermediate states for the phase coherence in underdoped cuprates

Superconductivity is achieved by the pairing of electrons and phase coherence between the Cooper pairs. According to the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer theory, the quasiparticles with Bogoliubov dispersion exists and reveal particle-hole symmetric coherence peaks on the single particle tunneling spectrum. Here we report the observation of two kinds of tunneling spectra showing only one side of the "coherence peak" but with symmetric energies (about +-11 meV) in underdoped cuprate superconductor Bi2Sr2-xLaxCuO6 single crystals (p=0.114) with fractional superconductivity. Merging these two kinds of spectra can mimic the complete Bogoliubov dispersion, thus we name the electronic states associated with these half-peaked spectrum as "half Bogoliubons". In previous studies, it was shown that two doped holes may bind into a local pair within the 4a0 x 4a0 plaquette of CuO bonds (a0: distance between nearest Cu atoms). We attribute the "half-Bogoliubons" to the intermediate states for the phase coherence, and they correspond to the three-hole and one-hole states as the excited ones from the local pairing state of two holes. An entanglement of these two "half-Bogoliubons" would mean the dynamic hopping of charge freedom resulting in the phase coherence between the local paired states. Our results unravel a unique process for establishing the phase coherence through exchanging a charge between the regions with local pairs.

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arXiv2025

Growth of (Cu,C)Ba$_{2}$Ca$_{2}$Cu$_3$O$_{9\pmδ}$ thin films on flexible Hastelloy tapes

The applications of superconducting cable or magnet require that the superconductors are made into wires or tapes. For cuprate superconductors, this is a big challenge because of the strong flux motion induced by high anisotropy, very short coherence length and strong thermal fluctuation, etc. One of the ways is to fabricate superconducting films on flexible metallic tapes with oxide buffer layers. The successful one so far is the REBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_7$ (REBCO, RE=rare earth elements) films in tape form, as called the coated conductors. While the superconducting transition temperature of REBCO system is limited to about 90 K. Here we report the successful fabrication of another new non-toxic superconducting film, namely (Cu,C)Ba$_{2}$Ca$_{2}$Cu$_3$O$_{9\pmδ}$ on these flexible metallic tapes with LaMnO$_3$ and CeO$_2$ as the top layers. The onset superconducting transition occurs at 112 K and 110 K, and the zero-resistance transition temperatures are about 96 K and 98 K, respectively. The temperature dependent resistivity under magnetic fields in different directions reveal a relatively small anisotropy. Further optimization of the films will improve the zero resistance transition temperature, thus can also improve the characteristic properties for applications. Our results show that the (Cu,C)Ba$_{2}$Ca$_{2}$Cu$_3$O$_{9\pmδ}$ is a promising candidate material for the high power applications in liquid nitrogen temperature region.

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arXiv2025

Unprecedentedly large gap in HgBa$_2$Ca$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{8+δ}$ with the highest $T_c$ at ambient pressure

In cuprate superconductors, the highest $T_c$ is possessed by the HgBa$_2$Ca$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{8+δ}$ (Hg-1223) system at ambient pressure, but the reason remains elusive. Here we report the scanning tunneling measurements on the Hg-1223 single crystals with $T_c$ = 134 K. The observed gaps determined from the tunneling spectra (STS) can be categorized into two groups: the smaller gap $Δ_1$ ranges from about 45 to 70 meV, while the larger gap $Δ_2$ from about 65 to 98 meV. The STS was measured up to 200 K and the larger gap can persist well above $T_c$, indicating a pseudogap feature which may reflect the strong pairing energy in the inner layer. Interestingly, an extremely strong particle-hole asymmetry is observed in associating with a very robust coherence-like peak at the bias of the larger gap in the hole branch of the Bogoliubov dispersion. We argue that the observed asymmetry results may be from the interplay of a flat band (van Hove singularity) in the electronic spectrum and the large gap in the underdoped (inner) layer. A theoretical approach based on a trilayer model with an interlayer coupling can give a reasonable explanation. Our results provide deep insight into understanding the mechanism of superconductivity in cuprate superconductors.

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arXiv2025

Three Magnetization Peaks in HgBa$_2$Ca$_2$Cu$_3$O$_8$ Single Crystals

By measuring magnetization hysteresis loops of the superconducting HgBa$_2$Ca$_2$Cu$_3$O$_8$ single crystals ($T_{\rm c}$ = 133 K), we observed three magnetization peaks in a wide temperature region. This is in contrast to the previous observation that there are only two magnetization peaks in many superconductors. Detailed analysis finds that the second peak here evolves from a kinky structure at low temperatures and gets enhanced at high temperatures; the third peak evolves from a general broad peak at low temperatures and evolves into a sharp peak and even a step-like one at high temperatures. We propose a general phase diagram to interpret these peaks, the second peak is corresponding to the order-disorder transition, while the third peak is associated with the elastic-plastic crossover. Our work unifies the understanding of different "second peak" structures in different systems and thus sheds new light in understanding the vortex dynamics in type-II superconductors.

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arXiv2025

Preformed Cooper Pairs in a Triclinic Iron Pnictide Superconductor

Electron pairing along with phase coherence generates superconductivity below the critical temperature ($T_c$). In underdoped high-$T_c$ cuprates, these two quantum phenomena may occur at separate temperatures, which was lately confirmed in the quasi-two-dimensional (quasi-2D) iron chalcogenide superconductors. Here, we report a systematic investigation on the pre-pairing behavior in a triclinic iron pnictide superconductor (Ca$_{0.85}$La$_{0.15}$)$_{10}$(Pt$_3$As$_8$)(Fe$_2$As$_2$)$_5$ with $T_c \approx $ 30 K, where the superconductivity is quasi-2D manifested by the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless behaviors. Inelastic neutron scattering experiments unambiguously reveal a spin resonance peak around $E_R =$ 13 meV in the superconducting state, but its intensity continuously decreases when warming up across $T_c$, accompanied with an anomaly around $T^{*}\approx$ 45 K in spin correlations, and a suppression by an in-plane magnetic field persisting to the same temperature. Below $T^{*}$, a significant Nernst signal and a reduction of density of states at the Fermi level are also observed. These results suggest that the precursor of spin resonance is highly related to the preformed Cooper pairs driven by phase fluctuations, much like the pseudogap case in cuprates.

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arXiv2024

Growth and characterization of the La$_{3}$Ni$_{2}$O$_{7-δ}$ thin films: dominant contribution of the $d_{x^{2}-y^{2}}$ orbital at ambient pressure

By using the pulsed-laser-ablation technique, we have successfully grown the La$_{3}$Ni$_{2}$O$_{7-δ}$ thin films with $c$-axis orientation perpendicular to the film surface. X-ray diffraction shows that the (00l) peaks can be well indexed to the La$_{3}$Ni$_{2}$O$_{7-δ}$ phase. Resistive measurements show that the samples can be tuned from weak insulating to metallic behavior through adjusting the growth conditions. Surprisingly, all curves of $ρ-T$ in the temperature region of 2$\sim$300~K do not show the anomalies corresponding to either the spin density wave or the charge density wave orders as seen in bulk samples. Hall effect measurements show a linear field dependence with the dominant hole charge carriers, but the Hall coefficient $R_{H}=ρ_{xy}/H$ exhibits strong temperature dependence. The magnetoresistance above about 50~K is positive but very weak, indicating a weakened or absence of multiband effect. However, a negative magnetoresistance is observed at low temperatures, which shows the delocalization effect by magnetic field. Detailed analysis on the magnetoresistance suggests that the delocalization effect at low temperatures is due to the Kondo-like effect, rather than the Anderson weak localization. Our transport results suggest that, the electronic conduction is fulfilled by the $d_{x^{2}-y^{2}}$ orbital with holes as the dominant charge carriers, while the interaction through Hund's coupling with the localized $d_{z^{2}}$ orbital plays an important role in the charge dynamics.

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arXiv2024

Decoupling between $d_{x^2-y^2}$ and $d_{z^2}$ orbitals in hole doped La$_3$Ni$_2$O$_7$

Through Sr and Ca doping to the La sites, we successfully obtained the hole doped La$_{3-x}$A$_x$Ni$_2$O$_7$ (A = Sr and Ca) thin films by using the pulsed-laser deposition technique. Temperature dependent resistivity shows an upturn at low temperatures, but some clear instabilities, either due to structure or the releasing of strain between the film and substrate, occur at high temperatures. After annealing the films under high pressure of oxygen atmosphere, the upturn at low temperatures is strongly suppressed; the high temperature instability is completely removed. Hall effect measurements show a clear hole-charge carrier behavior with the carrier density of an order of magnitude higher compared with the undoped films. Surprisingly, it is found that the Hall coefficient is almost temperature independent in the whole temperature region, indicating the absence of multiband effect and suggesting the decoupling of the $d_{x^2-y^2}$ and $d_{z^2}$ orbitals. This is contradicting to the rigid band picture of a bonding $d_{z^2}$ band just below the Fermi energy in the pristine sample.

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