Fermi surface of Bi-cuprates with variable number of CuO2 planes

Since our photoemission knowledge on high-T-c compounds especially below T-c is established to a great extent on the two-layer material Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 this investigation deals with Bi-based high-T-c's with emphasis on the one-CuO2-layer material Bi2Sr2-xLaxCuO6+delta and Bi2Sr2Ca3Cu3O10 with three CuO2 layers. To access the universal properties of this class of materials a number of investigations such as on the Fermi surface (FS) topology defined by the CuO2-derived band crossing EF were performed. In the context of the current debate on the overall FS topology our results confirm the established view of a hole-like FS also for n = 1 and n = 3 material. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.