The local structure of the CuO2 planes in Nd2-xCexCuO4-delta (x = 0, 0.15;
delta similar to 0.01) has been examined by temperature-dependent Cu K-edge
extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy. Three diffe
rent Cu-O distances can be extracted up to at least 100 K, indicating that
the atomic structure of the CuO2 planes deviates from the T' structure much
more than it was expected. Positions of the displaced O1 atoms for x = 0.1
5 were obtained from comparative analysis of the experimental and calculate
d polarized Cu K-edge X-ray absorption near-edge structure, taking into acc
ount many-body excitations in the CuO2 planes. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.
V. All rights reserved.