Effect of grain-boundary flux pinning in MgB2 with columnar structure

We studied the flux pinning properties by grain boundaries in MgB₂ films prepared by using a hybrid physical chemical vapor deposition method on the c-axis oriented sapphire substrates. All the films we report here had the columnar grains with the growth direction perpendicular to the substrates and the grain sizes in the range of a few hundred nanometers. At very low magnetic fields, no discernable grain-boundary (GB) pinning effect was observed in all measuring temperatures, but above those fields, the effect of GB flux pinning was observed as enhanced critical current densities (J_cs) and reduced resistances when an external magnetic field (B) was aligned parallel to the c-axis. We interpret the B dependence of J_c in the terms of flux line lattice shear inside the columnar grains activated by dislocations of Frank–Read source while the flux lines pinned by GB act as anchors for dislocations. Magnetic field dependence of flux pinning force density for B parallel to the c-axis was reasonably explained by the above model.     

A possible role of amorphous regions at grain-boundary vertex points as linear defects on flux pinning in MgB2 films with columnar grain structure

We measured the transport properties of MgB₂ films having columnar grain structure with their axis normal to the substrate. When an external magnetic field was applied parallel to the grain axis, an enhanced critical current density has been observed, and this result has been ascribed to flux pinning induced by grain boundaries. The shape of the angular dependence of critical current density and its magnetic field dependence showed a quite similar resemblance to those of YBa₂Cu₃O_x films containing columnar defects, implying a possible existence of linear defects in MgB₂ films of columnar structure. We propose that the amorphous regions at the vertex points of three or more grain boundaries observed in microstructural studies correspond to the linear defects and these linear defects anchor the end points of the flux line dislocations of Frank-Read sources, by which the shear in the flux line lattice is actuated. This assumed mechanism is found to reasonably explain the magnetic field dependence of the flux pinning force density of MgB₂ films with columnar grain structure.     

Irreversibility line and flux pinning properties in iron-based high-Tc superconductor SmFeAsO0.85

The irreversibility line and flux pinning properties of high-T_c superconductor SmFeAsO_0.85 were studied using DC magnetization data. Polycrystalline SmFeAsO_0.85 was prepared in a high pressure synthesis apparatus under the pressure of 6 GPa. The results of DC susceptibility showed the superconducting transition at about 55 K. A critical current density J_c(B) was calculated using Bean’s critical state model. At low temperatures (20 K), J_c(B) showed a relatively high value with weak dependence on an applied magnetic field. At higher temperatures, a stronger dependence of the magnetic field was observed, which resulted from decrease in a critical current density probably due to the flux creep effect. The irreversibility line (IL) agreed well with the flux creep theory of Matsushita et al. A comparison of normalized pinning force density with the theoretical models showed that the irreversible behavior in SmFeAsO_0.85 is dominated mainly by normal point pinning (δT_c) and surface pinning mechanisms.     

Effect of SiC buffer layer on flux pinning property of MgB2 tapes

In this paper we aimed at investigating the flux pinning property of MgB₂ films on hastelloy tapes which are buffered on various thicknesses of SiC layers. We have observed that the increase in thickness of the SiC buffer layer is very closely related with the systematic improvement of the field dependence of the critical current densities (J_c) of MgB₂ tapes while the values of J_c decreased. According to the analysis of the pinning force density (F_p), there exist two pinning sources both in the pure MgB₂ and in the MgB₂ film with the thinnest SiC buffer layer. On the while, the pinning source observed in the MgB₂ films with thicker SiC buffer layers appears to be different from those previously mentioned. The different pinning behaviors of MgB₂ films may suggest that there be an additional pinning center working on the MgB₂ films with thick SiC buffer layers. The microstructural analyses of MgB₂ films confirmed that intra-granular defects and columnar grain boundaries may be a dominant pinning mechanism in the pure MgB₂ and the MgB₂ film with 170 nm-thick SiC buffer layer. For the MgB₂ films with thicker SiC buffer layers, carbon diffusion into the MgB₂ film, which is defined by the Auger electron spectroscopy, may be the origin of the additional pinning mechanism.     

Dynamics of flux lines studied by modulated microwave absorption

The solution of the coupled differential equations of motion of a flux line in the pinning potential is obtained under the condition of a swept de field, modulation field and microwave field. It can explain the hysteresis which is observed when lock-in detected signal is recorded in forward and reverse field sweeps. The width of the hysteresis is proportional to the pinning potential. From the measurements in laser grown the films of YBa₂Cu₃O_7-δ, we have deduced field and temperature dependences of the pinning potential. The irreversibility line fits to the formB∞ (T _c-T)^β with β=2.3±0.3.     

YBa2Cu3Oy中氧缺位的磁通钉扎效应

制备了一组不同氧含量(T_cmid>90K)的YBa₂Cu₃O_y单相多晶样品。对其结构、超导电性和磁通钉扎行为的观测结果表明:氧缺位导致临界电流密度J_c和钉扎力密度F_p同时增加,存在一最佳的氧缺位浓度,可使J_c和F_p有最大程度提高。与氧含量y=6.96和6.83时的情况不同,对y=6.94和6.86的样品,其J_c 关键词：     

Influence of non-uniform J<Subscript>c</Subscript> distributions on flux jumps in high-temperature superconductors

The influence of non-uniform J_c distributions on flux jumps in high-temperature superconductors is investigated with the simplified models in the form of a composite superconducting slab consisting of different pinning regions. The magnetization loops and flux jumps for the simplified models are calculated with the modified recursion formulas which could predict the flux-jump fields. The valid ranges of the temperature and sweep rate for B_fj1 are specified and the fields of the subsequent jumps after the first flux jump of the inhomogeneous models are obviously lower than that of the homogeneous models. The results indicate that flux jump instability could be stimulated by non-uniform J_c distributions and with the increase of the discrepancy of J_c between different pinning regions the instability also increase.     

Study of magnetic flux pinning in granular YBa2Cu3O7 − y /nanoZrO2 composites

In this work, the effect of ZrO₂ nanoparticles prepared in a low-pressure arc discharge plasma on magnetic flux pinning of granular YBa₂Cu₃O_{7 ? y} /nanoZrO₂ composites has been studied. It has been shown that the ZrO₂ nanoparticles do not change the superconducting transition and the microstructure of superconductors. At a temperature of 5 K, the addition of 0.5 and 1 wt % of ZrO₂ nanoparticles may lead to the additional effect of magnetic flux pinning and the increase in the critical current density J _c. The J _c value for composites with 1 wt % is two times larger than that for the reference sample. The fishtail effect is observed for YBa₂Cu₃O_{7 ? y} /nanoZrO₂ composites at the temperatures of 20 and 50 K. The problems associated with the additional effect of magnetic flux pinning of granular YBa₂Cu₃O_{7 ? y} /nanoZrO₂ composites and the appearance of the fishtail effect have been discussed.     

Vortex pinning: A probe for nanoscale disorder in iron-based superconductors

The pinning of quantized flux lines, or vortices, in the mixed state is used to quantify the effect of impurities in iron-based superconductors (IBS). Disorder at two length scales is relevant in these materials. Strong flux pinning resulting from nm-scale heterogeneity of the superconducting properties leads to the very disordered vortex ensembles observed in the IBS, and to the pronounced maximum in the critical current density j_c at low magnetic fields. Disorder at the atomic scale, most likely induced by the dopant atoms, leads to “weak collective pinning” and a magnetic field-independent contribution j_c^coll. The latter allows one to estimate quasiparticle scattering rates.     

The flux distribution and hysteresis losses in highT c superconductors including viscous forces on flux lines

By comparing the contributions of pinning and viscous forces to the restoring force on flux ines in type II and highT _c superconductors, it is shown that the flux flow in highT _c superconducto rs should play an important role in determining the magnetic flux distribution and hence the hyste resis losses in a.c. fields. Both quantities are calculated in the extreme case of very large viscous forces with respect to the pinning force. The magnetic field and frequency dependence of the losses are changed with respect to the results obtained from the critical state model. The theoretical results are qualitatively confirmed by a.c. susceptibility measurements at different magnetic field amplitudes and frequencies. The quantitative differences indicate that the flux flow effects in highT _c superconductors are by far not so strong as expected and supposed by some theories. The reasons for these discrepancies are discussed.     

Embedding of insulating nano-inclusions in Y-123 superconductor as pinning centers: The influence of size

The optimization of flux line pinning in superconductors is one of the most efficient ways to improve the transport properties of these materials. The generation of effective artificial pinning centers in a controlled way and with optimal dimensions can contribute to the enhancement of pinning capability and to the improvement of the critical current densities J_c. In this work, we examined the effectiveness of an insulating inclusion in a type II superconductor as a pinning center with a size close to the penetration depth λ instead of the coherence length ξ. To this effect, insulating nano-pinning centres (100–150 nm) have been successfully embedded into superconducting YBa₂Cu₃O_7?d (Y-123) matrix by slightly doping with nano-particle alumina dispersions. Two alumina nano-particle dispersions with mean size diameters of about 130 nm and 150 nm which are considerably larger than the coherence length ξ of Y-123 were used. A systematic study of the relationship of J_c(H,T) with different amounts of D₁ and D₂-nanoalumina additions was performed to determine the optimum nano-particle doping contents. The results indicate that slight inclusions of D₁ or D₂-nanoalumina can effectively enhance the flux pinning capability of samples. The best flux pinning was observed in the sample with 10^?2 wt.% D₁-alumina and 3 × 10^?2 wt.% D₂-alumina. The present work suggests that the use of sufficiently large insulating inclusions in the nanometer sub-scale can stabilize the flux-line lattice. It also shows that the optimal size for an insulating inclusion, acting as a pinning center in bulk material, is more likely related to λ than to ξ.     

EFFECT OF THE Ba VACANCY ON THE FLUX PINNING IN YBaxCu3O7-δ SYSTEM

A series of Y123 single phase samples with various Ba vacancy concentration was prepared by making their Ba contents deviate from the stoichiometric composition. The measurements of their structure, superconductivity and flux pinning behaviour were systematically carried out. It is found that, compared with YBa₂Cu₃O_6.96 sample, the strength of the flux pinning in YBa_xCu₃O_7-δ(1.8≤x<2.0) samples is increased, and that there is an optimum value of Ba vacancy concentration for the maximum flux pinning force density. The possible origin of the flux pinning centers to determine the flux pinning behavior at higher field is discussed in detail. We suggest that the flux pinning effect at lower field may stein from the interaction between the vortex and the surfaces of grains, and that the flux pinning mechanism at higher field belongs to the core interaction.     

Nernst effect in Tl-Ba-Ca-Cu-O superconducting films due to infrared laser heating

A Nernst effect has been observed in a high temperature superconductor for the first time. Irradiating superconducting Tl–Ba–Ca–Cu–O thin films by short pulses of a TEA-CO₂ laser, a photovoltaic signal is detected perpendicular to a magnetic field applied parallel to the film surface. The signal is attributed to magnetic flux line depinning and flux line transport driven by the laser induced temperature gradient. The results are described by thermal flux line activation leading to a calculated distribution of pinning energies from 100 K to 4000 K.     

Flux penetration in high-Tc superconductors: Implications for magnetic suspension and shielding

Two new effects associated with flux penetration and pinning in superconducting YBa₂Cu₃O_x are demonstrated. One of these is focussing of magnetic field lines by the superconductor and the other is magnetic suspension. The existence of stable equilibrium in suspension is shown to be related directly to hysteresis observed in the force-separation relation for a magnet and the superconductor. We also observe that the levitation height of a magnet increases with the magnet volume, contrary to results in the literature.     

Absence of correlated flux pinning by columnar defects in irradiated epitaxial Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 thin films

Using heavy-ion irradiation, we produced columnar defects of different density and orientation in epitaxial Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O₈ thin films. Although this increases the normal state resistivity and the critical temperature is reduced proportionally to the volume fraction of damaged material, pinning-related quantities like critical current density, activation energy and depinning field are enhanced in external magnetic fields. Transport measurements in dependence of the magnetic field and its orientation consistently indicate two-dimensional pinning of pancake vortices at the columnar defects. We observe the absence of correlated flux pinning by columnar defects and compare to heavy-ion-irradiated single crystals and tapes, where line-like correlations have been observed.     

中子辐照熔融织构YBa2Cu3Oy的临界电流

测量了中子辐照熔融织构YBa₂Cu₃O_y样品从1.5K到85K之间一系列温度下的磁化曲线。磁场H平行于c轴时,在6K观察到磁通跳跃。中子辐照可使临界电流提高一个数量级。分析了临界电流的各向异性,辐照增强与磁场的关系和主要的钉扎中心。讨论了磁通跳跃的物理模型。 关键词：     

Radio-frequency absorption study of the parameters of high-T c materials irradiated with fast reactor neutrons

The magnetic properties of YBa₂Cu₃O_7−x ceramics of various densities and Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O₈ quasicrystals irradiated with neutrons at fluences of 10¹⁶–10¹⁹ cm⁻² are investigated by a radio-frequency method (in the frequency range f=100–150 MHz). The electromagnetic absorption is used to estimate the parameters of a Josephson medium: the lower critical field, the critical current density, the grain size and intergranular distances, and the penetration depth of the magnetic field in the sample. The hysteresis of electromagnetic absorption in the indicated superconductors is investigated; the hysteresis effect can be used to obtain data on flux pinning processes and flux creep dynamics. It is shown that an increase in the critical current density is observed as a result of the injection of radiation-induced pinning centers. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 39, 28–34 (January 1997)     

A.C. loss and related effects in type II superconductors

This review gathers together information important to the understanding of superconducting materials under a.c. conditions, and points out some features which are at present not too well understood. The idea is to try to build a consistent picture of the performance of superconductors rather than to present a historical account of the subject.

The basic behaviour of fluxons in the bulk of type II superconductors can be explained by the critical state model, but some of the details of flux pinning and the method of flux motion are in doubt. Flux instabilities under d.c. conditions have received a lot of attention and so have the methods of stabilization, but instabilities under a.c. conditions have not been studied in so much detail, and the problem of stabilization is more difficult than for f.c.

Generally surface effects are less well understood than bulk effects, partly because there are a number of possible phenomena to contend with. A.C. loss in the Meissner state can be explained by field enhancement and flux penetration at peaks in the surface. For fields between H _c3 and H _c2 present solutions of the Ginzburg-Landau equations for the currents in the surface sheath do not give sufficient agreement with experiment and some alternative explanation, such as flux pinning, may be necessary. There are a number of effects between H _c2 and H _c1, but the most important are Meissner currents and flux pinning.