Investigation of the magnetic field angle dependence of resistance, irreversibility field, upper critical field and critical current density in DC sputtered Bi-2223 thin film

We measured resistivity and transport critical current density, J_c, as a function of DC magnetic field and the angle (?) between the surface of the film and the magnetic field on ex-situ annealed, c-axis oriented Bi-2223 thin films fabricated by DC sputtering method. Irreversibility field (μ₀H_irr) and upper critical field (μ₀H_c2) were determined from the resistivity versus the applied magnetic field graph. It is observed that critical temperature (T_c), μ₀H_irr,μ₀H_c2 and J_c of the films strongly depend on the direction and strength of the field. While T_c of the film without magnetic field is observed to be about 102 K, it is found to decrease to 90 K (85 K) for the applied field perpendicular (parallel) to c-axis of the film. Not only were μ₀H_irr(0) and μ₀H_c2(0) values determined from the μ₀H_irr and μ₀H_c2 versus temperature graphs, respectively, but also penetration depths and coherence lengths were interpreted. Anisotropy of the film was also discussed by means of the change of irreversibility as a function of angle. Moreover at 4.2 K, J_c was observed to be 3000 A/cm² at zero field; however, it was found to abruptly decrease to 1982 (1 1 2 0) A/cm² under low magnetic field at ?=0° (?=90°), which indicates that anisotropic J_c behavior of the film is intrinsic. Furthermore, we provided a theoretical analysis of the obtained results in the framework of intrinsic pinning theory of superconductors. Microstructural properties of the produced films were also reinvestigated by X-ray diffractometer (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) measurements. XRD patterns indicate that the films are c-axis oriented based on the prominent (0 0 l) peaks. SEM images show needle-like grain structures dominate the surface morphology of the films.     

Angular dependence of the critical current density and the temperature scaling of the flux pinning force in YBCO thin film

In this paper, the critical current J_c(Θ) have been investigated as a function of magnetic-field angle Θ. Θ is the angle between the c-axis and the applied magnetic field direction. This investigation concerned three temperature values (60?K, 78?K and 81?K). The normalized pinning force f_p versus the normalized magnetic field h was also studied (f_p?=?F_p / F_pmax and h?=?H / H_max). The F_p expression was determined based on the Kramer model.The studied sample was a single crystal of YBaCuO thin film deposited by the ablation laser method on the surface (100) of a SrTiO₃ substrate.The results of this work show the existence of point core pinning of the normal centers in the low field regime and the occurrence of the flux creep in high field regime.     

A new model analysis of the third harmonic voltage in inductive measurement for critical current density of superconducting films

The critical current density J c is one of the most important parameters of high temperature superconducting films in superconducting applications,such as superconducting filter and superconducting Josephson devices.This paper presents a new model to describe inhomogeneous current distribution throughout the thickness of superconducting films applying magnetic field by solving the differential equation derived from Maxwell equation and the second London equation.Using this model,it accurately calculates the inductive third-harmonic voltage when the film applying magnetic field with the inductive measurement for J c.The theoretic curve is consistent with the experimental results about measuring superconducting film,especially when the third-harmonic voltage just exceeds zero.The J c value of superconducting films determined by the inductive method is also compared with results measured by four-probe transport method.The agreements between inductive method and transport method are very good.     

高温超导薄膜临界电流密度的无损测量研究

临界电流密度Jc是超导薄膜的一个重要参量,它可以衡量超导薄膜的功率承载能力。大面积高温超导薄膜制成后,其Jc需要被无损精确测量。文中提出了一种新的交流磁场下的高温超导薄膜临界态模型:(1)基于此模型对薄膜的临界电流密度进行了精确无损测量;(2)并将实验测量的三次谐波电压曲线进行拟合研究。首先,根据麦克斯韦方程和伦敦方程,计算外加直流磁场超导薄膜Meissner态下电流和磁场在薄膜内的分布;然后分析薄膜进入临界态后内部电流的变化,在考虑顶扎力作用的情况下,提出了临界态电流和磁场非均匀分布模型;最后根据其模型,推导出三次谐波电压的表达式。为了验证该理论,分别对四片超导薄膜在不同频率下进行了三次谐波和临界电流密度测量。实验结果表明:三次谐波电压的理论与实验曲线一致;与四点传输法的测量结果相比较,该方法测量超导薄膜临界电流密度的误差在5%左右,具有高精度、无损伤、方便快捷等优点。     

The transition width and critical current density measurements on slow-cooled YBa2Cu3O7−x superconductor

It is shown that by adopting a very gradual programmed cooling procedure in oxygen environment one can obtain a sharp transition (ΔT _c⋍1 K) in YBa₂Cu₃O_7−x while retaining the high-T _c value (⋍105 K) of samples prepared by a semi-wet route. This is attributed to a maximum occupancy of oxygen at 0 1/2 0 sites and a near-perfect ordering of vacancies at 1/2 0 0 sites in the orthorhombic unit cell which maximizes the availability of conduction paths in the form of continuous CuO₄ chains. Critical current densities (J _c) of 204 A cm⁻² are obtained for bulk samples at 77 K. It is suggested that the intergrain coupling is weak and thus limits the transportJ _c-values.     

Effects of surface damage on critical current density in MgB2 thin films

We investigated the influence of surface damage on the critical current density (J_c) of MgB₂ thin films via 140-keV Co-ion irradiation. The J_c(H) of the surface-damaged MgB₂ films was remarkably improved in comparison with that of pristine films. The strong enhancement of J_c(H) caused by a surface damage in MgB₂ films can be ascribed to additional point defects along with an atomic lattice displacement introduced through low-energy Co-ion irradiation, which is consistent with the change in the pinning mechanism, from weak collective pinning to strong plastic pinning. The irreversible magnetic field (H_irr) at 5 K for surface-damaged MgB₂ films with a thickness of 850 and 1300 nm was increased by a factor of approximately 2 compared with that of a pristine film. These results show that the surface damage produced by low energy ion irradiation can serve as an effective pinning source to improve J_c(H) in a MgB₂ superconductor.     

晶粒细化对MgB_2超导临界电流密度的作用

在多晶系统的MgB2超导体中存在晶粒间较小的整体电流和晶粒内大的局域电流.用改变升温速率的方法制备了不同晶粒大小和晶粒连接性的MgB2样品,并对它们的晶粒大小进行了统计.采用一种测量超导临界电流密度的Campbell法,分别测量和计算得到了它们的整体电流和局域电流密度.研究表明:长时间的烧结造成晶粒变大,材料有较大的整体临界电流密度,而短时间烧结的样品则相反;同时发现晶粒细化只提高了样品的局域临界电流密度,而且样品内部缺陷、杂质及晶界等因素是影响MgB2超导体整体电流传输的主要因素.     

The effect of interlayer coupling on critical current density in Bi2212 system

The dependences of critical current density J _c on the interlayer coupling strength and magnetic field in Bi2212 crystals were obtained by measuring the magnetic loop of the crystals with different interlayer coupling strengths. It was revealed that J _c decreases with the decrease in the interlayer coupling of the crystals. The relation of J _{c ∞ exp} (−H ^β) was also found in the crystals, and further analysis indicated that it was the result of Zeldov pinning potential model. __________ Translated from Chinese Journal of Low Temperature Physics, 2005, 27(1) (in Chinese)     

多层高温超导薄膜研究

文中以LaAlO3为衬底,制作了一层Tl-2212高温超导薄膜,并在薄膜上生长一层较薄的CeO2缓冲层,然后再在上面生长一层Tl-2212高温超导薄膜。经过测量,研究了多层膜结构对超导薄膜临界电流密度的影响。结果显示,在缓冲层的结晶过程中超导薄膜的晶格受到影响,结晶过程中的处理很容易诱导上面一层Tl-2212超导薄膜产生杂相,导致临界电流密度降低。     

Influence of correlation and temperature on the electronic structure of bulk and thin film GdN

The influence of correlation and temperature on the electronic structure of bulk and thin film GdN has been studied using the s-f model, which combines the one electron band structure with a many body procedure. The tight binding linear muffin tin orbital (TB-LMTO) method was used to obtain the one electron band structure of the system. The s-f exchange coupling constants for each band were obtained from the spin polarized band structure of the system using a mean field model. Correlation effects are found to be present in the system. However they are not sufficiently strong to cause a correlation induced splitting in the spectrum. Some bands of the thin films of GdN exhibit splitting at T=T_c and it is due to the combined effect of correlation and temperature. The conduction bands of both the bulk and the thin films of GdN exhibit a red shift with respect to temperature.     

Fabrication and properties of the meander nanowires based on ultra-thin Nb films

We report the fabrication and the study of superconducting properties of ultra-thin Nb superconducting meander nanowires, which can be used as superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors （SNSPDs）. The ultra-thin （about 7- nm thick） Nb films are patterned into micro-bridges, and 100-nm wide meander nanowires by using e-beam lithography （EBL）. The average transition temperature （Tc） of the nanowires is about 4.8 K and the critical current density jc is about 2.8 × 10^6 A/cm2. Superconducting characteristics of the specimens at different applied magnetic fields up to 8 T （parallel or perpendicular to the specimen） are systematically investigated. The normalized temperature t （= T/Tc） dependences of the parallel critical field （HcⅡ） for both the micro-bridge and the meander nanowire are almost the same, following the Ginzburg and Landau （GL） formalism for ultra-thin films. However, in perpendicular field and in the vicinity of Tc （〉 0.95Tc）, the critical field Hc⊥ of the nanowire exhibits a down-turn curvature nonlinear temperature dependence while the micro-bridge displays a linear temperature dependence. The nonlinear behavior of Hc⊥ in the nanowire is believed to be due to the fact that in the vicinity of Tc the coherence length becomes larger than the line width. Additionally, the localization of carriers in the nanowire could also contribute to the nonlinear behavior. The resistive transitions could be described by the phase-slip model for quasi-one-dimensional system. Moreover, the hysteresis in I-V curve of the meander nanowires can be illustrated by a simple model of localized normal hotspot maintained by Joule heating.     

Angular dependences of critical current density in YBCO thin films with crossed columnar defects

We investigated the dependences of the critical current density J_c on the magnetic field angle θ in YBa₂Cu₃O_7−δ thin films with the crossed configurations of the columnar defects (CDs). To install the crossed CDs, the films were irradiated using the high energetic Xe ions at two angles relative to the c-axis. The additional peak around the c-axis appears in the J_c(θ) for all irradiated films. In lower magnetic fields, the height of the J_c(θ) peak caused by the crossed CDs with the crossing angles θ_i = ±10° was higher than that for the parallel CDs. It is considered that the correlation of the flux pinning by the crossed CDs along the c-axis occurs even in the case of θ_i = ±25°, which was also suggested by the kink behaviors of the scaling parameters of the current–voltage characteristics near 1/3 of the matching field. In higher magnetic fields, on the other hand, the height and width of the J_c(θ) peak for the crossed CD configurations rapidly reduce with increasing the magnetic field compared to the parallel ones. In the crossed CD configurations, the dispersion in the direction of CDs would prevent the correlation of flux pinning along the c-axis in high magnetic fields, which occurs in the parallel CD configurations due to the collective pinning of flux lines including the interstitial flux lines between the directly pinned flux lines by CDs.     

Model of magnetization in thin magnetic films with one domain and two-domain basic structures

The magnetization processes in thin magnetic films are described by a model analysing the behaviour of one domain and two-domain basic structures (BS) in the applied magnetic field. These structures include the film areas with nearly constant crystal and magnetic parameters. The minimum of BS free energy including the energy in the internal magnetic field, the energy of the induced anisotropy and the domain-wall energy are taken into account. The initial and hysteresis curves of the sample depend on the function of distribution for the BSs are calculated. A good qualitative agreement with the results of other authors is observed if the films consists of one-domain or two-domain BS only. Our experimental data give also some support of the model.     

Magnetic field dependence of critical current density in YBa2Cu3O7

We have measured the transport critical current densityJ _cof sintered YBa₂Cu₃O₇, in various applied fields up to 185 Oe at 77 K. We find a sharp decay ofJ _cwith magnetic field. We show that this sharp decay is consistent with the low field hysteresis results of Groveret al. We argue that the observed field dependence is not caused by intragranular weak links.     

Adhesion and stress of magnesium oxide thin films: Effect of thickness, oxidation temperature and duration

Nanoscale magnesium oxide thin films have been deposited on glass substrate by thermal oxidation (in air) of vacuum evaporated magnesium films. X-ray diffraction (XRD) showed orientation along (2 0 0) and (2 2 0) directions. The mechanical properties of the MgO thin films were found to be the function of thickness (300, 450 and 600 nm), oxidation temperature (573, 623 and 673 K) and oxidation duration (90 and 180 min). As oxidation temperature and oxidation duration increases, adhesion and intrinsic stress were found to increase. Intrinsic stress decreased whereas adhesion increased due to increase in thin film thickness. The value of intrinsic stress was in range 28.902-73.212 (×10⁷ N/m²) and that of adhesion was 12.1-27.4 (×10⁴ N/m²) for the thin film of thickness 300 nm.     

临界电流密度对场冷超导磁悬浮力的影响研究

基于Kim临界态模型,通过考虑超导块材内部屏蔽电流的穿透历史过程,讨论了场冷条件下临界电流密度对高温超导悬浮系统磁悬浮排斥力和吸引力的影响.结果显示:最大超导磁悬浮排斥力和吸引力均随临界电流密度的增加呈指数关系增加,并趋于饱和;场冷条件下的磁悬浮力回滞能量损耗远高于零场冷情况;存在一个磁悬浮力比率κ,κ值对于评价大电流...     

Nanocrystalline soft ferromagnetic Ni-Co-P thin film on Al alloy by low temperature electroless deposition

Soft ferromagnetic ternary Ni-Co-P films were deposited onto Al 6061 alloy from low temperature Ni-Co-P electroless plating bath. The effect of deposition parameters, such as time and pH, on the plating rate of the deposit were examined. The results showed that the plating rate is a function of pH bath and the highest coating thickness can be obtained at pH value from 8 to10. The surface morphology, phase structure and the magnetic properties of the prepared films have been investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and vibrating magnetometer device (VMD), respectively. The deposit obtained at optimum conditions showed compact and smooth with nodular grains structure and exhibited high magnetic moments and low coercivety. Potentiodynamic polarization corrosion tests were used to study the general corrosion behavior of Al alloys, Ni-P and Ni-Co-P coatings in 3.5% NaCl solution. It was found that Ni-Co-P coated alloy demonstrated higher corrosion resistance than Ni-P coating containing same percent of P due to the Co addition. The Ni-Co-P coating with a combination of high corrosion resistance, high hardness and excellent magnetic properties would be expected to enlarge the applications of the aluminum alloys.     

Deposition of ZnS thin film by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis: effect of thickness on the crystallographic and electrical properties

Zinc sulfide (ZnS) thin films have been deposited on Si (1 0 0) substrate using ultrasonic spray pyrolysis. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed that the films are (0 0 2) preferentially oriented with c-axis-oriented wurtzite structure. The crystallinity has been found to improve with film thickness in the 180–6000 nm range. Film structure has been analyzed by XRD, scanning electron microscope, FTIR, and Raman spectroscopies, while the stoichiometry has been verified by energy-dispersive spectroscopy and particle-induced X-ray emission techniques. Electrical properties of the grown films were characterized by current–voltage and capacitance–voltage measurements where, the films show better conducting behavior at higher thickness.     

Determination of thin film refractive index and thickness by means of film phase thickness

A new approach for determination of refractive index dispersion n(λ) (the real part of the complex refractive index) and thickness d of thin films of negligible absorption and weak dispersion is proposed. The calculation procedure is based on determination of the phase thickness of the film in the spectral region of measured transmittance data. All points of measured spectra are included in the calculations. Barium titanate thin films are investigated in the spectral region 0.38–0.78 μm and their n(λ) and d are calculated. The approach is validated using Swanepoel’s method and it is found to be applicable for relatively thin films when measured transmittance spectra have one minimum and one maximum only.