非铁磁性管套法硼化镁带材的基本物理特性

采用粉末管套法,在不锈钢、铜和铝非铁磁性金属管套中制备了MgB2超导带材。电阻温度特性测量表明,以不锈钢管为包套制备的MgB2超导带材具备较好的电输运性能:临界转变温度最高(Tc=33.7K)、转变宽度最窄(零电阻转变ΔTc=1.2K,完全抗磁转变Tm=1.9K)。XRD测量显示,三种管套都能够使MgB2良好成相,MgB2和MgO相的相含量比例R(SS、Cu、A l)分别为7.15、2.45、3.77,样品中MgO相应该是Mg和管套中残余的氧反应的结果,铜管和铝管中还分别检测到了Cu2Mg和A l3Mg2相。对不锈钢管套MgB2带材的热导率测量显示,在超导转变温度以下热输运能力单调下降,满足多晶导体内热运动随温度变化的理论结果。     

MgB2 thick films with remarkable ductility on stainless steel substrate

We fabricated several superconducting MgB₂ thick films on stainless steel (SS) substrates by using hybrid physical-chemical vapor deposition (HPCVD) technique. The thickness was in the 10μm to 20μm range, and the onset critical transition temperature T _c (onset) and the width of the superconducting transition (ΔT) were about 37.8 and 1.2 K. They were dense and textured along (101) direction with high tenacity, despite the existence of a little amount of MgO and Mg. We bent the films at different degrees and studied the ductility and transport properties of these MgB₂ thick films under applied force. The results demonstrated that the superconducting properties of these thick films, prepared by HPCVD, stay almost unaffected even with the films bent to a large degree with a curvature of 0.5 mm. This indicated that the superconducting wires or tapes of MgB₂ with a core of SS had the advantages of avoiding rigidity and brittleness in industrial handling. The technique of HPCVD has, therefore, a high application potential. __________ Translated from Chinese Journal of Low Temperature Physics, 2005, 27(2) (in Chinese)     

Anisotropic effect of appearing superconductivity on the electron transport in FeSe

A theoretical model has been proposed to describe the conductivity of a layered anisotropic normal metal containing small superconducting inclusions at an arbitrary eccentricity of spheroidal superconducting islands. The electron transport and magnetic properties of FeSe single crystals have been measured. The results indicate the existence of superconductivity at temperatures much higher than the critical superconducting transition temperature corresponding to vanishing electrical resistance. Within the proposed model, quantitative agreement has been achieved between the volume fraction of superconducting inclusions and its temperature dependence determined from the transport and magnetic measurements.     

Electron transport in gated InGaAs and InAsP quantum well wires in selectively grown InP ridge structures

The purpose of this work is to fabricate ribbon-like InGaAs and InAsP wires embedded in InP ridge structures and investigate their transport properties. The InP ridge structures that contain the wires are selectively grown by chemical beam epitaxy (CBE) on pre-patterned InP substrates. To optimize the growth and micro-fabrication processes for electronic transport, we explore the Ohmic contact resistance, the electron density, and the mobility as a function of the wire width using standard transport and Shubnikov–de Haas measurements. At low temperatures the ridge structures reveal reproducible mesoscopic conductance fluctuations. We also fabricate ridge structures with submicron gate electrodes that exhibit non-leaky gating and good pinch-off characteristics acceptable for device operation. Using such wrap gate electrodes, we demonstrate that the wires can be split to form quantum dots evidenced by Coulomb blockade oscillations in transport measurements.     

Superconducting proximity effect in the presence of strong spin scattering

We report measurements of the four terminal temperature dependent resistance of narrow Au wires implanted with 100 ppm Fe impurities in proximity to superconducting Al films. The wires show an initial decrease in resistance as the temperature is lowered through the superconducting transition of the Al films, but then show an increase in resistance as the temperature is lowered further. In contrast to the case of pure Au wires in contact with a superconducting film, the resistance at the lowest temperatures rises above the normal state resistance. Analysis of the data shows that, in addition to contributions from magnetic scattering and electron-electron interactions, the temperature dependent resistivity shows a substantial contribution from the superconducting proximity effect, which exists even in the presence of strong spin scattering.     

Origin of nonlinear transport across the magnetically induced superconductor-metal-insulator transition in two dimensions

We have studied the effect of perpendicular magnetic fields and temperatures on nonlinear electronic transport in amorphous Ta superconducting thin films. The films exhibit a magnetic field-induced metallic behavior intervening the superconductor-insulator transition in the zero temperature limit. We show that the phase-identifying nonlinear transport in the superconducting and metallic phases arises from an intrinsic origin, not from an electron heating effect. The nonlinear transport is found to accompany an extraordinarily long voltage response time.     

Numerical modelings of superconducting wires for AC loss calculations

Superconducting properties of superconducting wires as well as the influence of their composite structure and twisting should be taken into account for their numerical modeling for AC loss calculations. Furthermore, complicated electromagnetic conditions in electrical apparatuses under which superconducting wires are used influence their AC loss properties; superconducting wires carry their transport current and are exposed to the external magnetic field whose direction and magnitude vary spatially. A series of numerical models of superconducting tapes based on the finite element method has been developed. In each model, some of the above-mentioned factors that could influence the AC loss properties are taken into account. The models are formulated with the current vector potential and the scalar magnetic potential (T–Ω method). Superconducting property is given by the E–J characteristic represented by a power law. The current distributions in non-twisted and twisted superconducting tapes carrying their transport current and/or exposed to the external magnetic field are calculated with these models to estimate their AC loss. The current distribution in a short piece of superconducting tape exposed to AC magnetic field is also calculated.     

Ferromagnet–superconductor hybrids

The new class of phenomena described in this review is based on the interaction between spatially separated, but closely located ferromagnets and superconductors, the so-called ferromagnet–superconductor hybrids (FSH). Typical FSH are: coupled uniform and textured ferromagnetic and superconducting films, magnetic dots over a superconducting film, magnetic nanowires in a superconducting matrix, etc. The interaction is provided by the magnetic field generated by magnetic textures and supercurrents. The magnetic flux from magnetic structures or topological defects can pin vortices or create them, changing the transport properties and transition temperature of the superconductor. On the other hand, the magnetic field from supercurrents (vortices) strongly interacts with the magnetic subsystem, leading to formation of coupled magnetic–superconducting topological defects.

The proximity of ferromagnetic layer dramatically changes the properties of the superconducting film. The exchange field in ferromagnets not only suppresses the Cooper-pair wavefunction, but also leads to its oscillations, which in turn leads to oscillations of observable values: the transition temperature and Josephson current. In particular, in the ground state of the Josephson junction the relative phase of two superconductors separated by a layer of ferromagnetic metal is equal to?π?instead of the usual zero (the so-called π-junction). Such a junction carries a spontaneous supercurrent and possesses other unusual properties. Theory predicts that rotation of magnetization transforms s-pairing into p-pairing. The latter is not suppressed by the exchange field and serves as a carrier of long-range interaction between superconductors.     

Measurement of improved pressure dependence of superconducting transition temperature

We describe a technique for making electrical transport measurements in a diamond anvil cell at liquid helium temperature having in situ pressure measurement option, permitting accurate pressure determination at any low temperature during the resistance measurement scan. In general, for four-probe resistivity measurements on a polycrystalline sample, four fine gold wires are kept in contact with the sample with the help of the compression from the soft solid (usually alkali halides such as NaCl, KCl, etc.) acting as a pressure-transmitting medium. The actual pressure on the sample is underestimated if not measured from a ruby sphere placed adjacent to the sample and at that very low temperature. Here, we demonstrate the technique with a quasi-four-probe resistance measurement on an Fe-based superconductor in the temperature range 1.2–300 K and pressures up to 8 GPa to find an improved pressure dependence of the superconducting transition temperature.     

Effect of sheath materials on the microstructure and superconducting properties of SmO0.7F0.3FeAs wires

Fe/Ti, Nb, and Ta sheathed SmO_0.7F_0.3FeAs wires were manufactured using the powder-in-tube method. A comparative study was made of the effect of sheath material on the microstructure and superconducting properties of the SmO_0.7F_0.3FeAs wires. Among these sheath materials, the penetration depth of Ta into the superconducting core is the largest. There was nearly no difference in the critical transition temperature of the SmO_0.7F_0.3FeAs wires sheathed with different materials, and the upper critical fields were approximately the same. On the other hand, it was found that Nb-sheathed wires had a higher superconducting current density than the others. Impurities existing in the superconducting core were thought to be one of the most important factors that affected the critical current density of the SmO_0.7F_0.3FeAs wires.     

Textured superconducting phase in the heavy fermion CeRhIn5

When antiferromagnetism and unconventional superconductivity coexist in CeRhIn(5) there is a significant temperature difference between resistively and thermodynamically determined transitions into the superconducting state. In this state, anisotropic transport near the superconducting transition reveals the emergence of textured superconducting planes that appear without a change in translational symmetry of the lattice. CeRhIn(5) is not unique in exhibiting these behaviors, indicating that textured superconductivity may be a general consequence of coexisting orders in correlated electron materials.     

The electron charge distribution in V3Si

The electron charge distribution in a martensitically transforming single- crystal of V₃Si in the superconducting state has been obtained from accurate X-ray diffraction measurements. The most significant differences between the electron density maps at room temperature and below the superconducting transition are the disappearance of the bond between the Si atom and the V-V bond on a chain at the lower temperature and the appearance of two anisotropic rings around each V-V bond at 13.5 K. By comparing our results with various physical properties, we conclude that, on cooling, V₃Si begins to anticipate a martensitic transformation at about 130 K even though this transformation does not actually occur before ～ 21 K.     

Size effects in electrical and magnetic properties of quasi-one-dimensional tin wires in asbestos

Bulk composites have been prepared based on one-dimensional fibers of natural chrisothil-asbestos with various internal diameters (d = 6–2.5 nm) filled with tin. The electrical and magnetic properties of quasi-one-dimensional Sn wires have been studied at low temperatures. The electrical properties have been measured at T = 300 K at a pressure P = 10 kbar. It has been found that the superconducting (SC) characteristics of the nanocomposites (critical temperature T_c and critical magnetic field H_c) increase as the Sn filament diameter decreases. The temperature spreading of the resistive SC transition also increases as the Sn filament diameter decreases, which is explained by the SC order parameter fluctuations. The size effects (the increase in critical temperature T_c and transition width ΔT_c) in Sn nanofilaments are well described by the independent Aslamazov–Larkin and Langer–Ambegaokara fluctuation theories, which makes it possible to find the dependence of T_c of the diffuse SC transition on the nanowire diameter. Using the temperature and magnetic-field dependences of the magnetic moment M(T, H), it has been found that the superconductor–normal metal phase diagram of the Sn–asbestos nanocomposite has a wider region of the SC state in T and H as compared to the data for bulk Sn. The magnetic properties of chrisotil-asbestos fibers unfilled with Sn have been studied. It has been found that the Curie law is fulfilled and that the superparamagnetism is absent in such samples. The obtained results indicate the absence of magnetically ordered impurities (magnetite) in the chrisotil-asbestos matrix, which allowed one to not consider the problem of the interaction of the magnetic subsystem of the asbestos matrix and the superconducting subsystem of Sn nanowires.     

122型铁基超导线带材实用化研究进展

在种类众多的新型铁基超导材料中,122型铁基超导体具有高转变温度、超高上临界场、低各向异性、高临界电流密度等优点,因此成为高场应用领域最具竞争力的铁基超导材料.目前122型铁基超导线带材在4.2 K,10 T下的传输临界电流密度已经超过10⁵A/cm²这一实用化门槛值,表现出十分广阔的应用前景.本文回顾了新型铁基超导体的发现及发展历程,结合122型铁基超导体的自身特点,就如何制备高性能122型铁基超导线带材展开讨论,同时对粉末装管法制备流程中影响线带材性能的几大关键因素进行了详细分析.重点介绍了近年来122型铁基超导线带材的实用化研究进展,包括高强度线带材的制备、圆线的研制、多芯线材及长线的制备、超导接头的研究、力学性能及各向异性的研究等.对122型铁基超导线带材实用化研究进行了总结,并对其未来的发展趋势进行了展望.     

Electrical transport and superconducting properties of Pb3BiSx film compounds

The electrical resistivity and superconducting properties of a newly synthesized superconducting material of the form Pb₃BiS_x (x = 1.5–3.0) composed of all non-transition elements are presented. The sample film is fabricated by quick evaporation of the original sintered material. It is found that temperature dependence of electrical resistivity has anomalous behavior as represented by broad maximum in higher temperature region and minimum in lower temperature region. The critical temperature is about 8K and the critical field is 35 kOe at 4.2 K for the sample with x = 1.9. The transition width is very broad for the magnetic transition, in contrast to the sharp transition at T_c. The gap structure of a Pb₃BiS_x-I-Sn tunnel junction is also presented.     

The onset of superconductivity in the time dependent Ginzburg-Landau theory

The fluctuations of the local order parameter above the superconducting transition temperature give rise to singularities in the electrical conductivity and the diamagnetic susceptibility. Using the time dependent Ginzburg-Landau equation the fluctuation of the current density is calculated. By means of the fluctuation-dissipation theorem and a dispersion relation the electromagnetic response function is then determined for small frequencies and wave-numbers. The dynamical conductivity for bulk material, thin films, and thin wires shows an increasing peak at zero frequency the width of which decreases as the transition temperature is approached. This structure should be observable in microwave experiments.     

Material modifications induced by swift heavy ions in NbTi superconducting wires

The Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR) to be built at GSI in Darmstadt will be equipped with superconducting magnets. Due to the high ion beam intensities and related beam losses, radiation damage of the Cu/NbTi superconducting wires used in the magnet coils has to be considered. Here we report first experimental results on NbTi multifilament wires exposed to 2.6 GeV U ions at room temperature. Radiation-induced effects were examined using X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. With increasing ion fluence the amount of the α-Ti phase decreases. This is crucial because α-Ti precipitates are the main flux-pinning centres in the Nb–Ti superconducting alloy. The equilibrium hcp α-Ti transforms into the hexagonal ω-Ti phase.     

Mechanisms of modification of the energy spectrum in high-temperature superconductors of the bismuth,thallium, and mercury systems upon doping and increase in the number of copper-oxygen layers

This paper reports on the results of a comparative investigation of the specific features of the electron transport and superconducting properties in chain-free high-temperature superconductors of the bismuth, thallium, and mercury systems with different levels and types of doping, as well as with different numbers of copper-oxygen layers. It has been shown that the asymmetric narrow band model provides a means for adequately describing the available data on temperature dependences of the thermopower coefficient for all the studied systems, which has proved the possibility of applying this model as a universal method for describing and analyzing the specific features of the electron transport in high-temperature superconductors of different systems. The parameters of the energy spectrum and the system of charge carriers in the normal phase have been determined, and the general regularities in the transformation of the energy spectrum due to the doping and an increase in the number of copper-oxygen layers in different systems have been revealed. The conclusions have been drawn about the character and mechanisms of influence of the parameters of the energy spectrum in the normal state on the superconducting properties of chain-free high-temperature superconductors in the optimally doped and underdoped regimes. It has been demonstrated that, in the underdoped regime, regardless of the type of doping, the dependence of the critical temperature on the effective width of the conduction band has a close-to-universal character in all the studied systems for each of the phases with different numbers of copper-oxygen layers.     

Nanowire acting as a superconducting quantum interference device

We present the results from an experimental study of the magnetotransport of superconducting wires of amorphous indium-oxide having widths in the range 40-120 nm. We find that, below the superconducting transition temperature, the wires exhibit clear, reproducible, oscillations in their resistance as a function of magnetic field. The oscillations are reminiscent of those that underlie the operation of a superconducting quantum interference device.     

Symmetric behavior of vortex states of superconducting networks in a magnetic field

We present magnetic field dependence of phase transition temperature and vortex configuration of superconducting networks based on theoretical study. The applied magnetic field is called “filling field” that is defined by applied magnetic flux (in unit of the flux quantum) per unit loop of the superconducting network. If a superconducting network is composed of very thin wires whose thicknesses are less than coherence length, the de Gennes–Alexander (dGA) theory is applicable. We have already shown that field dependences of transition temperature curves have symmetric behavior about the filling field of 1/2 by solving the dGA equation numerically in square lattices, honeycomb lattices, cubic lattices and those with randomly lack of wires networks. Many experimental studies also show the symmetric behavior. In this paper, we make an explicit theoretical explanation of symmetric behaviors of superconducting network respect to the applied field.