Chemical Potential Shift in Nd_(2-x)Ce_(x)CuO₄: Contrasting Behaviors of the Electron- and Hole-Doped Cuprates

We have studied the chemical potential shift in the electron-doped superconductor Nd$_{2-x}$Ce$_{x}$CuO$_{4}$ by precise measurements of core-level photoemission spectra. The result shows that the chemical potential monotonously increases with electron doping, quite differently from La$_{2-x}$Sr$_{x}$CuO$_{4}$, where the shift is suppressed in the underdoped region. If the suppression of the shift in La$_{2-x}$Sr$_{x}$CuO$_{4}$ is attributed to strong stripe fluctuations, the monotonous increase of the chemical potential is consistent with the absence of stripe fluctuations in Nd$_{2-x}$Ce$_{x}$CuO$_{4}$. The chemical potential jump between Nd$_{2}$CuO$_{4}$ and La$_{2}$CuO$_{4}$ is found to be much smaller than the optical band gaps.