YBCO/Nb bulk junctions: Observation of the Josephson effect

Summary The fabrication procedure of reliable YBCO-based bulk junctions with a Nb film as a counterelectrode is described. Typical currentvoltage characteristics are presented, clearly showing the presence of the Josephson effect.     

Observation of a near-surface structural phase transition in SrTiO3 by optical second harmonic generation

A near-surface structural phase transition on a SrTiO3 single crystal, occurring at T(*) about 45 K above the bulk cubic-to-tetragonal transition, is observed by means of optical second harmonic generation. The temperature dependence of the second harmonic field in the vicinity of T(*) is described with a phenomenological Landau-type model.     

YBCO高温超导带材大电流冲击特性实验研究

随着第二代高温超导带材的性能不断提高和商业化供应,基于YBCO材料的超导电力技术应用研究也在逐步向多领域深入进行。超导带材的大电流冲击性能对于超导电缆的短路电流冲击耐受能力、电阻型限流器的限流性能等有着直接的影响。以不锈钢加强型超导带材样品为研究对象进行了实验研究,并对常压液氮浸没环境中,不同冲击时长、不同冲击电压条件大电流冲击过程中温升、冷却时长等特性开展了实验研究,总结了温升与冲击时长、冷却时间的关系和规律。实验是以超导限流器用超导带材为研究对象进行的。超导带材在故障电流下的发热量及其散热结构设计将成为超导电缆、超导限流器等超导电力装置设计成功与否的关键。     

Energy dependence of current noise in superconducting/normal metal junctions

Interference of electronic waves undergoing Andreev reflection in diffusive conductors determines the energy profile of the conductance on the scale of the Thouless energy. A similar dependence exists in the current noise, but its behavior is known only in a few limiting cases. We consider a metallic diffusive wire connected to a superconducting reservoir through an interface characterized by an arbitrary distribution of channel transparencies. Within the quasiclassical theory for current fluctuations we provide a general expression for the energy dependence of the current noise.     

Magnetization-orientation dependence of the superconducting transition temperature in the ferromagnet-superconductor-ferromagnet system: CuNi/Nb/CuNi

The superconducting critical temperature (T(c)) of ferromagnet-superconductor-ferromagnet systems has been predicted to exhibit a dependence on the magnetization orientation of the ferromagnetic layers such that T(AP)(c)>T(P)(c) for parallel (P) and antiparallel (AP) configurations of the two ferromagnetic layers. We have grown CuNi/Nb/CuNi films via magnetron sputtering and confirmed the theoretical prediction by measuring the resistance of the system as a function of temperature and magnetic field. We find an approximately 25% resistance drop occurs near T(c) in Cu0.47Ni0.53(5 nm)/Nb(18)/CuNi(5) when the two CuNi layers change their magnetization directions from parallel to antiparallel, whereas there is no corresponding resistance change in the normal state.     

Nb/Al-AlO_x/Nb超导隧道结的制备

在高阻硅衬底上采用光刻、直流磁控溅射、反应离子刻蚀(RIE)、等离子体增强化学气相沉积法(PECVD)等方法研究制备了高质量的Nb/Al-Al Ox/Nb超导隧道结。在4.2K下,测量了直径8μm的圆形结样品,得到临界电流密度约为1.6k A/cm2,漏电流约为50μA。制结工艺流程的重复性较好。     

Mechanism of the size dependence of the superconducting transition of nanostructured Nb

A direct measurement of the superconducting energy gap by point contact spectroscopy in nanostructured Nb films shows that the gap decreases with a reduction in the average particle size. The superconducting T(c), obtained from transport and magnetic measurements, also decreases with size and scales with the energy gap. The size dependence of the superconducting properties in this intermediate coupling type II superconductor is therefore governed by changes in the electronic density of states rather than by phonon softening. Consistent with the Anderson criterion, no T(c) was observed for sizes below 8 nm.     

Determination of the field dependence of the intergranular critical current in a YBCO tube by horizontal traversals

The magnetic flux density in the cavity of a sintered tube of Yttrium Barium Copper Oxide (YBCO) is measured as a function of H, the axial magnetic field impressed and removed after zero field cooling (ZFC). We note that, in a short thick-walled hollow cylinder of a weak-linked polycrystalline high-T_c superconductor, the magnetic field in the cavity of the tube, H_z hole, rises above the applied field H when it is initially increasing. Consequently the standard approach to determine the critical current density from an ascending sweep of H alone, or a descending sweep alone cannot be exploited. However the field dependence of the intergranular critical current density J_cm can be reliably obtained from the horizontal traversals of H_z hole vs H. Comparison of the experimental data with model calculations for the horizontal traversals of the hysteresis curves show that the intergranular critical current density in the YBCO tube has a Kim-like field dependence. The magnetization of the grains has a significant influence on the flux density in the cavity of the tube.     

Parametric phase conjugation for the second harmonic of a nonlinear ultrasonic beam

The effect of phase conjugation for the second harmonic of a focused ultrasonic beam was investigated experimentally and by numerical simulation. An ultrasonic pulse with the carrier frequency f=3 MHz was emitted into water and focused at a point between the source and the phase conjugating system. The phase conjugation for the second harmonic of the incident wave (2f=6 MHz) was performed in a magnetostrictive ceramic as a result of the parametric interaction of the incident wave with the pumping magnetic field (the pumping frequency was f_p=4f=12 MHz). The axial and focal distributions of sound pressure in the incident and conjugated beams were measured using a broadband PVDF membrane hydrophone. The corresponding calculations were performed by solving numerically the Khokhlov-Zabolotskaya-Kuznetsov (KZK) equation allowing for the nonlinearity, diffraction, and thermoviscous absorption. The results of measurements agreed well with the calculations and showed that the field of a conjugate wave adequately reproduces the field of the second harmonic of the incident wave. A certain advantage of focusing with the phase conjugation for the second harmonic was demonstrated in comparison with the operation at the doubled frequency of the incident wave. The results of this study can serve as a basis for the utilization of the phase conjugation of harmonics in ultrasonic tomography and nondestructive testing.     

电镀铜对YBCO超导带材临界电流影响的研究

钇系超导带材(YBCO)由于载流能力强、不可逆场高,是近年来高温超导材料领域的研究热点,并在电力行业实现示范应用。YBCO超导带材由基底、缓冲层、超导层和保护层组成,可通过电镀铜工艺实现保护层的制备。目前,有关电镀铜对YBCO超导带材临界电流的影响还鲜有报道。因此,本研究对比了镀铜前后YBCO超导带材的表面形貌和临界电流。实验结果表明:电镀铜在提高带材机械强度的同时,对其超导电性并无明显影响。     

Magnetic properties of a higher than second order superconducting phase transition

Based on the measurement of the magnetic characteristics of In−Bi, In−Tl, In−Pb, Sn−Bi and Sn−Sb superconducting alloys it was stated that the phase transition type I→ type II superconductivity is of higher than second order. Comparing the experimental data with the Lifshitz’s theory it is shown that the addition falls between the values of 0.63 and 0.77.

     

Temperature dependence of the current to sustain a normal hotspot is superconducting microbridges

A modification of the boundary condition to determine the SN boundary in the hotspot model of superconducting microbridges is proposed and successfully applied to the interpretation of recent measurements of the hotspot-sustaining current by Mizuno and Aomine. It is shown that suppression of the order parameter due to the applied current gives rise to an additional temperature dependence of the hotspot-sustaining current in the extreme vicinity of the transition temperature.     

Observation of the second harmonic in Thomson scattering from relativistic electrons

A free relativistic electron in an electromagnetic field is a pure case of a light-matter interaction. In the laboratory environment, this interaction can be realized by colliding laser pulses with electron beams produced from particle accelerators. The process of single photon absorption and reemission by the electron, so-called linear Thomson scattering, results in radiation that is Doppler shifted into the x-ray and gamma-ray regions. At elevated laser intensity, nonlinear effects should come into play when the transverse motion of the electrons induced by the laser beam is relativistic. In the present experiment, we achieved this condition and characterized the second harmonic of Thomson x-ray scattering using the counterpropagation of a 60 MeV electron beam and a subterawatt CO2 laser beam.     

Thickness dependence of the maximum DC Josephson current in superconducting proximity junctions

We investigated the maximum dc Josephson current I_M in NbNb_xO_yCu/Pb junctions as a function of normal layer thickness d_Cu. Theoretical calculations based on the McMillan proximity effect model are in good agreement with the experimental data. The monotonous decrease of RI_M (R is the normal tunneling resistance) indicates the absence of any oscillatory behaviour or anomaly in the pair amplitude F_Cu(d_Cu) of the Cu/Pb sandwich, in contradiction with theoretical prediction.     

Observation of second harmonic generation by surface waves in a gas discharge plasma

The propagation of a second harmonic surface wave in a gas discharge plasma is investigated experimentally. The results are compared with those obtained for surface waves excited directly.