IS THERE A CORRELATION BETWEEN T-C AND THE FEATURES OF THE B-1G RAMANCONTINUUM IN YBA2CU3O7-DELTA

The B-1g-symmetry Raman spectra of lightly Co-substituted YBa2(Cu3-xCo x)O-6.95 (x=0-0.05, T-c=91.4K-86K) thin films have been investigated. We find that the low temperature peak in the B-1g continuum, at simila r to 500 cm(-1), shifts to higher frequencies with increasing Co-subst itution, corresponding to a reduction of T-c in the slightly underdope d region. Comparing these findings with published results on slightly overdoped YBa2Cu3O7 we conclude that the B-1g Raman continuum peak fre quency scales inversely with hole doping within the T-c approximate to 90K doping plateau of the Y123 system. The lack of a correlation betw een T-c and the frequency of the B-1g continuum peak suggests that thi s peak is not due to scattering across a superconducting gap.