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We have studied the effect of Se substitution on Eu valence in a layered Eu0.5La0.5FBiS2-x Se-x superconductor using a combined analysis of x-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES)and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements. Eu L-3-edge X Lambda NES spectra reveal that Eu is in the mixed valence state with coexisting Eu2+ and Eu3+. The average Eu valence decreases sharply from similar to 2.3 for x = 0.0 to similar to 2.1 for x = 0.4. Consistently, Eu 3d XPS shows a clear decrease in the average valence by Se substitution. Bi 4f XPS indicates that effective charge carriers in the BiCh(2) (Ch = S, Se) layers are slightly increased by Se substitution. On the basis of the present results it has been discussed that the metallic character induced by Se substitution in Eu0.5La0.5FBiS2- x Se-x is likely to be due to increased in-plane orbital overlap driven by reduced in-plane disorder that affects the carrier mobility.

Temperature dependent single-crystal x-ray diffraction (XRD) in transmission mode probing the bulk of the newly discovered K0.8Fe1.6Se2 superconductor (Tc = 31.8 K) using synchrotron radiation is reported. A clear evidence of intrinsic phase separation at 520 K between two competing phases, (i) a first majority magnetic phase with a ThCr2Si2-type tetragonal lattice modulated by the iron vacancy ordering and (ii) a minority non-magnetic phase having an in-plane compressed lattice volume and a weak superstructure, is reported. The XRD peaks due to the Fe vacancy ordering in the majority phase disappear by increasing the temperature at 580 K, well above phase separation temperature confirming the order-disorder phase transition. The intrinsic phase separation at 520K between a competing first magnetic phase and a second non-magnetic phase in the normal phase both having lattice superstructures (that imply different Fermi surface topology reconstruction and charge density) is assigned to a lattice-electronic instability of the K0.8Fe1.6Se2 system typical of a system tuned at a Lifshitz critical point of an electronic topological transition that gives a multi-gaps superconductor tuned a shape resonance., 10 pages, 4 figures

We have investigated charge ordering in an oxygen doped La 2 CuO 4.1 crystal by high resolution x-ray diffraction using synchrotron radiation. Thanks to the high brilliance synchrotron radiation it has been possible to record a large number of weak superstructure spots due to charge ordering around the main peaks of the average structure. A study of the charge modulations with stage 3.5, and their behaviour as a function of the temperature and the intensity of the x-ray incident flux is reported. We are able to distinguish a microscopic decomposition in; 1) a stable domain, due to charges self trapped into a crystal of static ordered strings of finite length (~ 145 Å) and; 2) bubbles of 'superstripes' showing, as a function of photon dose, a decreasing coherence length at T = 220 K.