Spatial variation of superconducting properties of Gd123 Bulk superconductors with magnetic particles addition

Magnetic flux trapping and the homogeneity of the flux pinning are essential problems in the practical application of high-temperature superconductors. We have conducted study on the role of addition of soft magnetic Fe-B alloy particles contribute to the enhancement of the critical current density (J_c) under wide-range of magnetic field. Magnetic flux trapping was enhanced in Gd123 bulk superconductor with suitable amount of magnetic particles addition. In addition, it can be effective as pinning center enhance the J_c of the bulk in both the a–b growth sector and the c-growth sector under magnetic field. However, the T_c of the Gd123 bulk was decreased obviously by addition of magnetic particles. The study on the spatial variation of superconducting properties indicates that the performance of the upper part of the bulk is better than the bottom. By comparing the superconducting properties of the Gd123 bulk with magnetic particles addition and without magnetic particles addition, we concluded that there is a trace of the formation of homogeneous pinning properties in the magnetic particles addition Gd123 bulk.     

Effect of structural water on the critical characteristics of highly textured YBa2Cu3O6.9

The effect of low-temperature treatment (200°C) in a humid argon atmosphere and subsequent annealing (930°C) on the critical parameters of a highly textured YBa₂Cu₃O_6.9 has been studied. During annealing at T = 200°C, the absorbed water is incorporated into the structure of the compound, which is accompanied by the deterioration of its superconducting properties. However, after the recovery annealing at T = 930°C and subsequent oxidation, the superconducting characteristics (j _c , B _1c , and F _p ) are improved. This is explained by the formation of 124-type planar defects, which are effective pinning centers, especially in high fields applied perpendicular to the c axis (⊥ c). The optimum conditions of double annealing substantially increasing the critical current density (j _c ≥ 10⁴ A/cm²) in an external magnetic field up to 10 T and also the first critical fields have been found. In fields up to ～3 T, the critical current density j _c is isotropic despite the conservation of high texture in the samples.     

Self-similar magnetic structures and magnetic flux “Giant” creep

The penetration of a magnetic flux into a type-II high-T _c superconductor occupying the half-space x > 0 is considered. At the superconductor surface, the magnetic field amplitude increases in accordance with the law b(0, t) = b ₀(1 + t)^m (in dimensionless coordinates), where m > 0. The velocity of penetration of vortices is determined in the regime of thermally activated magnetic flux flow: v = v ₀exp?ub;?(U _0/T )(1-b?b/?x)?ub;, where U ₀ is the effective pinning energy and T is the thermal energy of excited vortex filaments (or their bundles). magnetic flux “Giant” creep (for which U ₀/T? 1) is considered. The model Navier-Stokes equation is derived with nonlinear “viscosity” v ∝ U ₀/T and convection velocity v _f ∝ (1 ? U ₀/T). It is shown that motion of vortices is of the diffusion type for j → 0 (j is the current density). For finite current densities 0 < j < j _c, magnetic flux convection takes place, leading to an increase in the amplitude and depth of penetration of the magnetic field into the superconductor. It is shown that the solution to the model equation is finite at each instant (i.e., the magnetic flux penetrates to a finite depth). The penetration depth x _eff ^A (t) ∝ (1 + t)^{(1 + m/2)/2} of the magnetic field in the superconductor and the velocity of the wavefront, which increases linearly in exponent m, exponentially in temperature T, and decreases upon an increase in the effective pinning barrier, are determined. A distinguishing feature of the solutions is their self-similarity; i.e., dissipative magnetic structures emerging in the case of giant creep are invariant to transformations b(x, t) = β^m b(t/β, x/β^{(1 + m/2)/2}), where β > 0.     

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.     

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.     

Can the effective pinning potential of MgB2 behave logarithmically in the high temperature range?

The pinning potential barrier U_o(T,H) is the main parameter describing the flux pinning of MgB₂. Comparing the experimental results published recently by Thompson et al. and Bygoslavsky et al., one can prove theoretically that in the high temperature range, U_o(T,H) is of logarithmic form similar to that suggested for high T_c superconductors by Zeldov et al.. Meanwhile, the major pinning centers of MgB₂ employ the planar pinning mechanism. Furthermore, it is found that U_o(T,H) depends on the temperature linearly and also on the magnetic field with the form H^−1∼−2 at high temperature range.     

YBa2Cu3O7-δ外延薄膜的有效钉扎势

在0—7T磁场范围内，测量了不同测量电流密度下YBa₂Cu₃O_7-δ外延薄膜的电阻温度关系.实验结果表明，临界温度以下，混合态的耗散电阻率能很好地用热激活磁通蠕动描述.有效钉扎势的电流密度关系遵守Zeldov等人提出的对数关系，有效钉扎势的温度和磁场关系遵守U∝(1-T/T_c)H^-α关系，其中α=0.63，与热激活磁通点阵位错运动模型相一致，表明样品具有2D涡旋性质. 关键词：     

Pinning by twin boundaries and peak effect in YBaCuO high-T c superconductors

Measurements of the imaginary part of the ac magnetic susceptibility of single crystals and melt-textured samples of YBa₂Cu₃O_x (YBCO) at T=77 K in a magnetic field ranging between 1 and 20 kOe are reported. If the dc magnetic field H _dc is rotated in the ab plane of the sample, the magnetic susceptibility and critical current density j _c have peaks corresponding to the magnetic field aligned with twin boundaries. Peaks in the curve of j _c versus magnetic field are observed at angles corresponding to these peaks, where AH _dc in a wide range of magnetic fields. The results have been interpreted in terms of the theory describing twin boundaries as a system of quasi-planar pinning sites. The pinning is strong if the elastic displacements of flux lines are of the order of the vortex lattice constant d _f. These displacements decrease with the magnetic field because of the decrease in d _f, and the contribution of the elastic energy to the Gibbs potential is reduced accordingly, which is the cause of the peak effect. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 111, 2158–2174 (June 1997)     

高JcBi-2223银包套带材的电阻转变展宽与磁通钉扎

系统地研究了高J_cBi-2223相银包套带材在0—1T磁场下的电阻转变展宽.实验结果表明,Bi-2223带材的电阻转变具有热激活的性质.研究了磁通钉扎势与温度的关系,得到电阻转变曲线的温度关系为R(T)=R₀exp{-u₀(1-T/T_c)ⁿ/kT},其中磁场平行于ab面时,n=4.5;磁场垂直于ab面时,n=3.在磁场平行于ab面时,耗散与Lorentz力无关,只与平行于ab面的磁场大小有关,这可 关键词：     

Effect of an external magnetic field and a trapped magnetic flux on the current-voltage characteristics of a granular high-temperature superconductor YBa2Cu3O7−δ

A comparative study of the current-voltage characteristics of the high-temperature ceramic superconductor YBa₂Cu₃O_～6.95 at T = 77.3 K is performed over wide ranges of external magnetic fields H _ext and “treatment” fields H _treat. It is found that the field dependences of the parameters a and j _c involved in the exponential equation E = a(j ? j _c)^v describing the current-voltage characteristics depend substantially on the method used for applying the magnetic field, whereas the exponent v ～ 2 depends on neither the method of application nor on the magnetic field strength. The field dependence of the trapped magnetic field H _trap is determined.     

Strongly enhanced flux pining of GdBCO coated conductors with BaSnO3 nanorods by pulsed laser deposition

We report the effects of BSO addition on the crystallinity, texture, and the field dependency of critical current density (J_c) of GdBCO coated conductors (CCs) prepared by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). Undoped and BSO-doped GdBCO films showed only c-axis oriented growth, and the incorporated BSO nanorods exhibited epitaxial relationship with the GdBCO matrix. In comparison with undoped film, BSO-doped GdBCO film exhibited greatly enhanced J_c and higher pinning force densities in the entire field region of 0–5 T (H//c) at 77 and 65 K. The BSO-doped GdBCO film showed the maximum pinning force densities (F_p) of 6.5 GN/m³ (77 K, H//c) and 32.5 GN/m³ (65 K, H//c), ～2.8 times higher than those of the undoped sample. Cross-sectional TEM analyses exhibited nano-structured BSO nanorods roughly aligned along the c-axis of the GdBCO film, which are believed effective flux pinning centers responsible for strongly improved critical current densities in magnetic fields.     

Mechanisms of dissipation in a Josephson medium based on a high-temperature superconductor in a magnetic field

This paper reports on the results of an investigation into the influence of magnetic fields (0–60 kOe) on the temperature dependences of the electrical resistance R(T) of the Y_3/4Lu_1/4Ba₂Cu₃O₇ + CuO composites. The structure of these composites is considered to be a network of tunnel-type Josephson junctions in which a nonsuperconducting component (CuO) forms boundaries (barriers) between high-temperature superconducting crystallites. The temperature dependence R(T) of the composites has two steps characteristic of granular superconductors: (i) an abrupt change in the electrical resistance at the critical temperature of high-temperature superconducting crystallites and (ii) a smooth transition to the superconducting state under the influence of the boundaries between the crystallites. The experimental dependences R(T) are analyzed within the Ambegaokar-Halperin model of thermal fluctuations in Josephson junctions and the flux creep model. An increase in the magnetic field leads to a crossover from the Ambegaokar-Halperin mechanism to the flux creep mechanism. The temperature dependences R(T) in the range of weak magnetic fields (from 0 to 10² Oe) are adequately described by the relationship following from the Ambegaokar-Halperin model. In the range of strong magnetic fields (from 10³ to 6 × 10⁴ Oe), the dissipation obeys the Arrhenius law R ～ exp(?U(H)/T)], which is characteristic of the flux creep model with a temperature-independent pinning energy U(H). The effective Josephson coupling energies and the pinning energies corresponding to the Ambegaokar-Halperin and flux creep mechanisms are determined.     

Einfluß der Bestrahlung mit hochenergetischen Sauerstoffionen auf die kritische Stromdichte supraleitender Nb3Sn-Schichten

Nb₃Sn diffusion layers were irradiated with 24 MeV oxygen ions at fluences from 3.2×10¹³ up to 1.6×10¹⁵ cm^?2. The enhancement of the superconducting critical current density Δj _c has been measured as a function of fluence and of the external magnetic fieldH _a(j _c⊥H _a). The thermal annealing treatment of the defects concerning thej _c and induced by irradiation, has been investigated in the temperature region from 200 to 800 °C. The results are compared with the measurements of irradiation of Nb₃Sn with protons and deuterons. The measured data are discussed in connection with size of defects, cluster distance, fluxline distance and pinning-force.     

Enhanced critical current density of MgB2 thin films deposited at low temperatures by ZnO seed impurity

We report a facile method to enhance the critical current density (J_c) of superconducting MgB₂ thin films. MgB₂ thin films were deposited on zinc acetate dehydrate (Zn(CH₃COO)₂2H₂O) spin-coated Al₂O₃ (000l) substrates by using a hybrid physical-chemical vapor deposition system at low temperatures. Synthesis of MgB₂ at low temperatures can reduce the substitution of Zn into the Mg site, hence avoiding the reduction of superconducting critical temperature. MgB₂ thin films grown on ZnO-buffered layers showed a significant enhancement of J_c in the magnetic field due to the creation of additional pinning sources, namely point defects and grain boundaries. Broad peaks were observed in the magnetic field dependence of the flux pinning force density, indicating competition of different pinning sources.     

Flux pinning in columnar-structured and single crystalline MgB2 films

We have investigated the flux pinning effect of columnar grain boundary in columnar-structured and single crystalline MgB₂ films. The MgB₂ films with columnar structure showed much higher J_c than that of single crystalline thin film, and sample having smaller grain size had a higher J_c in high magnetic fields. At 5 K, the MgB₂ film with grain size of 460 nm showed an abnormal double-peak behavior in pining force density, F_p(B), caused by competition of different types of pinning sites, such as planar defects and point defects. Field dependences of F_p in columnar-structured films suggest that the columnar grain boundary is a strong pinning source in the MgB₂ film and it plays a crucial role in enhancing J_c over a wide range of magnetic fields and temperatures.     

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.     

Study of the critical current in YBaCuO films under reactor-neutron irradiation in the low-temperature helium circuit in the 25–300 K range

Changes in the temperature and dose dependences of I-V characteristics and of the critical current j _c of YBaCuO films on MgO and SrTiO₃ substrates under neutron irradiation has been studied at 25–80 K. The transport properties of YBaCuO films on MgO (M1) and SrTiO₃ (S1) substrates were found to behave differently. It is shown that the M1 films have granular structure, and their transport properties were considered within the concept of percolation over weak intergranular links. The S1 are single-crystal films, and their properties are analyzed within a resistive-state theory associated with thermal activation of Abrikosov vortices. It is shown that the degradation rate of the critical temperature T _c of S1 films is 3.5 times smaller than that of the M1 films. The dose dependence of j _c has an exponential character, j _c=j _c(0)exp(−kΦ), where k is related to the number of displaced atoms per neutron and is the same for the M1 and S1 films, irrespective of the irradiation temperature. The pinning energy has been derived from the I-V characteristics and it has been found that the U/kT ratio lies within 20–25 and is independent of neutron flux. It is shown that the radiation-induced disorder changes the pinning mechanism, from pinning at the boundaries of misoriented crystals to that at spatial inhomogeneities, apparently radiation induced. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 40, 1961–1967 (November 1998)     

Increase of YBa2Cu3O7 critical currents by Mo substitution and high-pressure oxygen annealing

We have previously shown for powders that Mo substitution into the CuO chains of YBa₂Cu₃O₇ can create effective pinning centres which significantly increase the critical current density (j_c) in 7 T field by a factor of 4 and 10 at 50 and 60 K, respectively (Rogacki et al., 2006) [1]. The present work reports on the influence of the Mo substitution and high-pressure oxygen annealing on the pinning properties and critical currents of YBa₂Cu_3-xMo_xO_7-d by comparing pure (x = 0, d > 0) and substituted (x = 0.03, d < 0) single crystals. Pinning properties have been investigated by measurements of magnetization loops and calculations of j_c in the ab-plane, in the temperature range from 2 to 90 K and in fields up to 14 T. Depending on the Mo substitution and the oxygen treatment, several types of pinning centres increasing j_c have been revealed and analysed in the frame of Dew-Hughes’ and Kramer's models.     

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.     

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.