Magnetism and superconductivity in the ErBa2Cu3OA system

Transverse field μSR studies of the system ErBa₂Cu₃O_x with x=6.4, 6.53 and 7 reveal a split signal with each component displaying a distinct paramagnetic or Knight shift related to the Er 4f-moments. This implies the presence of transferred hyperfine fields even in the superconducting state.     

Zero-field μSR study of ErBa2Cu3Ox for various oxygen contentx

Results from zero-field μSR experiments are presented, performed on the high-T _c compounds ErBa₂Cu₃O_x for various oxygen contentx with 6≤x≤7 at temperatures between 40 mK and 300 K. The aim was to study the magnetic ordering behavior of the Cu moments and the Er moments, and its interplay with superconductivity.     

Interface microstructure in epitaxial YBa2Cu3Ox/PrBa2Cu3Ox/YBa2Cu3Ox ramp-type Josephson junctions

The interfaces in ramp-type YBa₂Cu₃O_x/PrBa₂Cu₃O_x/YBa₂Cu₃O_x Josephson junctions with different ramp slopes were characterized electrically and structurally. From the cross-sectional TEM images, it has been found that the epitaxy remains through all layers even on the ramp surface, providing the ramp angle is less than 45°. No big defects such as grain boundaries and secondary phases occurred at the interface. The major defects which appeared at the interface are antiphase boundaries which were formed by lattice shifts with c/3 unit between PrBa₂Cu₃O_x and YBa₂Cu₃O_x. The interface between YBa₂Cu₃O_x base-layer and PrBa₂Cu₃O_x barrier is more defective in comparison with that between PrBa₂Cu₃O_x barrier and top-layer. Alteration of the ramp slope from 10° to 45° leads to a significant increase in the density of defects near the base-YBa₂Cu₃O_x/PrBa₂Cu₃O_x interface. The average roughness of the ramp surface created by ion milling is about 10 nm, which seems insensitive to the ramp slope. The damaged ramp surface could be repaired during the subsequent deposition process, leading to a negligible interface resistance.     

Contributions to photodoping in oxygen-deficient YBa2Cu3Ox films

We report our studies on the superconducting and normal-state properties of metallic thin films ( 52 K) exposed to long-term white-light illumination (photodoping). It was observed that the effects of photoexcitation strongly depended on the temperature at which the photodoping was performed. At low temperatures, both the Hall mobility and the Hall number were photoenhanced, whereas, at temperatures slightly below room temperature, the Hall mobility initially showed an abrupt increase followed by a long-term decrease, and the Hall number increased even stronger than at low temperatures. The enhancement of the film's superconducting transition temperature T_c, caused by photodoping, exhibited the same temperature dependence as the enhancement of the Hall number, being largest ( 2.6 K) at high temperatures. From the asynchronous behavior of the Hall quantities, we conclude that both the photoassisted oxygen ordering and charge transfer mechanisms contribute to photodoping. The relative contributions of both mechanisms and, thus, the electronic properties of the photoexcited state are strongly temperature dependent. Studies of the relaxation of the photoexcited state at 290 K showed an unexpectedly short relaxation time of the Hall mobility after termination of the illumination. The relaxation saturated somewhat below the initial, undoped value, similarly to the decrease of the Hall mobility, observed upon long illumination. These latter findings give evidence for a competition between the oxygen ordering and thermal disordering processes during and after the photoexcitation in the high-temperature range. Received: 13 October 1997 / Accepted: 19 November 1997     

120 K superconductivity and the zero-field absorption in the BiCaSrCu2Ox system

Onset transition temperature (123±1) K was observed in the BiCaSrCu₂O_x bulk materials prepared by means of conventional ceramic technique. The resistance and AC susceptibility measurements show that there are two highT _c phases. EPR measurement shows that belowT _c (R=0), an intense line at zero field was observed. It is either associated with the glass feature or the spin triplet transition of Cu²⁺–Cu²⁺ pair via exchange interaction.The Project Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China     

Angular dependences of the peak effect in Yba2Cu3Ox single crystals

Angular dependences of the magnetization hysteresis loops have been studied at T=77 K on YBCO single crystals exhibiting the peak effect. The peak effect is shown to be related to the pinning of longitudinal vortices along the c axis at twin boundary-type ordered defects. The behavior of the peak effect at intermediate angles is explained by anisotropic magnetic field penetration into quasi-two-dimensional superconductors. In thin crystals with a dilute ordered-defect structure this can result in an enhanced peak effect due to formation of a vortex kink structure and to “internal” pinning of transverse vortex segments at Cu-O sheets. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 39, 425–431 (March 1997)