Increased critical current density and pinning in thick Ag/YBa2Cu3O7−x multilayers

We have investigated the superconducting properties of Ag/YBa₂Cu₃O_7−x thick multilayers grown by Pulsed Laser Deposition, and found that the artificial pinning centres induced by Ag nanodots lead to a significant increase in critical current, especially in high applied magnetic fields. Transmission Electron Microscopy showed a columnar growth of YBa₂Cu₃O_7−x induced by Ag nanodots, while angle-dependent transport measurements revealed the existence of strong, both isotropic and c-axis correlated, artificial pinning centres.     

200 MeV Ag ion irradiation created columnar defects and enhanced critical current density of La-2125 type superconducting thin films

We have deposited c-axis oriented thin films of La_1.5Dy_0.5CaBa₂Cu₅O_z (La-2125) tetragonal superconductor on LaAlO₃(001) substrates by pulsed laser deposition. These films were irradiated with 200 MeV Ag⁺¹⁵ ions. Atomic force microscopy and elastic recoil detection analysis indicate that the irradiation has created columnar defects through the entire thickness (2000 Å) of these films. With ion irradiation up to 1×10¹¹ ions/cm², the critical current density (J_c(H)) enhances by fivefold, which is attributed to the augmented flux pinning by the columnar defects. A further increase in irradiation to 1×10¹² ions/cm² causes reduction in J_c(H) due to distorted morphology of the film. Our work shows that the enhancement in J_c(H) of the irradiated La-2125 film is comparable to that in irradiated RE-123 (RE = rare earth ion). Also, as the La-2125 type films have greater chemical stability than RE-123, La-2125 type superconductors are potential candidates for applications. It is interesting to note that there are partial flux jumps observed to occur symmetrically in the magnetic hysteresis of irradiated La-2125 thin films with enhanced J_c(H).     

Studies of resistance switching effects in metal/YBa2Cu3O7−x interface junctions

Current-voltage characteristics of planar junctions formed by an epitaxial c-axis oriented YBa₂Cu₃O_7−x thin film micro-bridge and Ag counter-electrode were measured in the temperature range from 4.2 K to 300 K. A hysteretic behavior related to switching of the junction resistance from a high-resistive to a low-resistive state and vice-versa was observed and analyzed in terms of the maximal current bias and temperature dependence. The same effects were observed on a sub-micrometer scale YBa₂Cu₃O_7−x thin film-PtIr point contact junctions using Scanning Tunneling Microscope. These phenomena are discussed within a diffusion model, describing an oxygen vacancy drift in YBa₂Cu₃O_7−x films in the nano-scale vicinity of the junction interface under applied electrical fields.     

c-Axis orientation control of YBa2Cu3O7−x films grown on inclined-substrate-deposited MgO-buffered metallic substrates

Biaxially textured YBa₂Cu₃O_7−x (YBCO) films were grown on non-textured metal substrates with inclined-substrate-deposited (ISD) MgO as template. The biaxial texture feature of the films was examined by X-ray pole-figure analysis, φ-scan, and 2θ-scan. A tilt angle of 32° of the MgO[001] with respect to the substrate normal was observed. Epitaxial growth of YBCO films with c-axis tilt angle of 32° with respect to the substrate normal was obtained on these substrates with SrTiO₃(STO) as buffer layer. Whereas, by choosing yttria-stabilized ZrO₂ and CeO₂ instead of STO as buffer layer, a c-axis untilted YBCO film was obtained. Higher values of T_c=91 K and J_c=5.5×10⁵ A/cm² were obtained on the c-axis untilted YBCO films with 0.46 μm thickness at 77 K in zero field. Comparative studies revealed a unique role of CeO₂ in controlling the orientation of the YBCO films grown on ISD-MgO buffered metal substrates.     

Residual surface stress measurements in YBa2Cu3Ox superconductors

XRD and residual surface stress (sin² ψ) measurements were carried out on YBa₂Cu₃O_x superconductors with varying oxygen stoichiometry (6.3 < x < 7.0). Slopes of the surface strain versus sin² ψ were plotted against oxygen content for certain reflections. Compressional surface stress has been found along the c-axis, while a tensile surface stress has been observed along the ab-plane. Both surface stresses were found to vary slightly with oxygen content. These findings qualitatively agree with a very small hydrostatic pressure effect on T_c for fully oxygenated YBa₂Cu₃O_x (x = 7) compared to oxygen deficient material at the surface.     

Effect of target density on YBCO thin films deposited from nanograined targets

Nanograined YBa₂Cu₃O_6+x${\text{YBa}}_2{\text{Cu}}_3{\text{O}}_{6+x}$ (YBCO) targets with grain sizes of 25–45 nm and different densities were prepared with sol–gel method. The properties of the thin films laser deposited from these targets were systematically studied. It was found that most parameters are not clearly affected by the target density, although the surface roughness decreased with target density. A small effect of decreasing J_c$J_{\text{c}}$ with increasing target density was observed, but this can be interpreted as film to film variation. On the other hand, a negative correlation between the accommodation field, B^∗$B^{\ast }$, and zero field J_c$J_{\text{c}}$ was observed and B^∗$B^{\ast }$ was found to increase with increasing number of lattice defects. Thus target density is found not to have a large effects on the superconducting or structural properties of YBCO thin films.     

Effect of deposition conditions on YBa2Cu3O7−δ thin films by inverted cylindrical magnetron sputtering and substrate effects

The dependence of YBCO thin film properties on the deposition conditions was studied for different substrates. The deposition conditions were optimized for the epitaxial growth of high quality YBCO thin films of 1500 Å thickness onto single crystal (100-oriented) SrTiO₃ (STO), MgO and LaAlO₃ (LAO) substrates by DC Inverted Cylindrical Magnetron Sputtering (ICMS). The samples were investigated in detail by means of X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), EDX, AFM, ρ-T, magnetic susceptibility and current-voltage (I-V) characterizations. The samples show strong diamagnetic behavior and sharp transition temperatures of 89-91 K with ΔT<0.5 K. XRD of the samples exhibited highly c-axis orientation. The full width at half maximum (FWHM) values of the rocking curves were ranging typically from 0.22 to 0.28°. The samples have smooth surfaces as shown from AFM micrographs. The surface roughness, R_a, changed between 5-7 nm. I-V characteristics were obtained from the 20 μm-wide microbridges, which were patterned by a laser writing technique. The critical current densities (J_c, 1.06×10⁶ for LAO-based YBCO, 1.39×10⁶ for MgO-based YBCO, 1.67×10⁶ A/cm² for STO based YBCO) of the microbridges were evaluated from I-V curves at 77 K.     

Superconducting Transition Temperature and Metal--Semiconductor Transition Temperature in YBa2Cu4O8/La0.67Ca0.33MnO3/YBa2Cu4O8 Trilayer Films

YBa₂Cu₄O₈/La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃/YBa₂Cu₄O₈(YBCO/LCMO/YBCO) trilayer films were prepared by magnetron facing-target sputtering. For the first time, the oscillatory behaviour of superconducting transition temperature T_c,ON with the thickness of LCMO (d_L) has been observed. The strongest nonmonotonic information in the T_c,ON--d_L curves appears clearly when d_L is larger than the critical thickness d_L^CR. The metal--semiconductor transition temperature can only be detected at d_L>d_L^CR. The dependence on the ferromagnetic spacer layer in YBCO/LCMO/YBCO systems suggests strongly the interplay of ferromagnetic and superconducting couplings.     

涂层导体用金属基带表面对过渡层成核的机理研究

涂层导体用金属基带的表面状况对在其上制备的过渡层的形貌和取向有很大影响.在Ni单晶、轧制辅助双轴织构基带(RABiTS)Ni和经过硫化处理的Ni基带三种不同衬底上采用磁控溅射法制备了CeO₂过渡层.结果表明,在Ni单晶和硫化处理的Ni基带上制备的CeO₂薄膜取向较差,而在RABiTS Ni上制备的CeO₂薄膜完全呈c轴取向,表面平整致密.反射高能电子衍射图显示,RABiTS Ni具有的c(2×2)的S超结构对CeO₂薄膜的取向生长起到了很重要的作用. 关键词： 涂层导体 金属基带 超结构 过渡层     

Critical current density and flux pinning in La2−xPrxCa2x Ba2Cu4+2xOz (x=0.1-0.5) superconductors

Polycrystalline La_2−xPr_xCa_2xBa₂Cu_4+2xO_z (LPCaBCO) compounds with x=0.1-0.5 were synthesized by solid-state reaction method and studied by room temperature X-ray diffraction, dc resistivity, dc magnetization and iodometry. The superconducting transition temperatures in these tetragonal triple perovskite compounds increases from 32 to 62 K (T_c^onset values) with increasing dopant concentration. The mixing of rare earth La³⁺ and Pr^3+/4+ ions at rare earth site (La³⁺) along with substitution of divalent Ca²⁺ results in the shrinkage of unit cell volume. The contraction of unit cell volume due to larger ion being substituted by smaller ions, gives rise to creation of pinning centres in the unit cell leading to increase in critical current density and flux pinning.     

Magnetic phase diagrams of Ho1−xDyxNi2B2C

We performed the magnetization measurement on Ho_1−xDy_xNi₂B₂C single crystals (x=0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, and 0.6) with magnetic field applied perpendicular and parallel to the c-axis. But only for the magnetic field perpendicular to the c-axis, the increase of Dy³⁺ concentration affects the magnetically ordered states of HoNi₂B₂C compound and makes the phase diagram more complicated. The antiferromagnetic ordering state attributed to Dy³⁺ sublattice starts to appear from a case of x=0.2 and finally the magnetic phase diagram becomes analogous to that of DyNi₂B₂C as x is increased which is consistent with the neutron scattering result.     

Spin-polarized quasiparticle injection effects in YBCO thin films

We report detailed transport studies on ferromagnet-superconductor heterostructures. Epitaxial heterostructures of half-metal colossal magnetoresistive La_2/3Ca_1/3MnO₃ (HM-CMR) and high T_c superconducting YBa₂Cu₃O₇ (YBCO) are grown on SrTiO₃ (100) single crystal substrates by pulsed laser deposition. Using the HM-CMR layer as source for spin-polarized quasiparticles, we show the effect of injection of spin-polarized quasiparticles into the ab-plane and along the c-axis of YBCO. The results show a drop in the ab-plane resistance R_ab (T) in the case of injection along the c-axis that is discussed to be related to the opening of a pseudogap.     

Effect of grain boundaries on paraconductivity of YBa2Cu3Ox

To investigate the effect of grain boundaries on paraconductivity of YBa₂Cu₃O_x, melt-textured and c-axis oriented thin films with controlled grain boundaries (superconducting transition width, ΔT, varying between 0.54 and 2.85 K) were prepared, and dc-conductivity has been measured as a function of temperature. In the logarithmic plots of excess-conductivity (Δσ) and reduced temperature (?), starting from low values of ?, we have observed three different regions namely critical region, mean field region and short wave fluctuation region. A correlation is observed between the range of critical region and ΔT, which is found to increase with ΔT. While for ΔT values smaller than 2.5 K only static critical region is observed, for higher ΔTs both static and dynamic critical regions are observed. In the mean field region a crossover from 3D to 2D was observed for all the samples. At ? values larger than 0.24, the excess-conductivity decreased sharply as ?⁻³, which suggested the existence of the short wave fluctuations.     

YBa2Cu3O7-x涂层导体的外延生长和性能对CeO2缓冲层的依赖性

利用倾斜衬底沉积法在无织构的金属衬底上生长了MgO双轴织构的模板层,在这一模板层上实现了YBa₂Cu₃O_7-x薄膜的外延生长.在外延YBa₂Cu₃O_7-x薄膜前,依次沉积了钇稳定的立方氧化锆和CeO₂作为缓冲层.利用X射线衍射2θ扫描、扫描、Ω扫描和极图分析测定了这些膜的结构和双轴织 关键词： 2Cu₃O_7-x镀膜导体')" href="#">YBa₂Cu₃O_7-x镀膜导体 2缓冲层')" href="#">CeO₂缓冲层 厚度依赖性 外延生长     

Effect of CeO2 buffer layer thickness on the structures and properties of YBCO coated conductors

Biaxially textured YBa₂Cu₃O_7−x (YBCO) films were grown on inclined-substrate-deposited (ISD) MgO-textured metal substrates by pulsed laser deposition. CeO₂ was deposited as a buffer layer prior to YBCO growth. CeO₂ layers of different thickness were prepared to evaluate the thickness dependence of the YBCO films. The biaxial alignment features of the films were examined by X-ray diffraction 2θ-scans, pole-figure, ?-scans and rocking curves of Ω angles. The significant influence of the CeO₂ thickness on the structure and properties of the YBCO films were demonstrated and the optimal thickness was found to be about 10 nm. High values of T_c = 91 K and J_c = 5.5 × 10⁵ A/cm² were obtained on YBCO films with optimal CeO₂ thickness at 77 K in zero field. The possible mechanisms responsible for the dependence of the structure and the properties of the YBCO films on the thickness of the CeO₂ buffer layers are discussed.     

Structural state of second-generation HTSCs obtained by laser ablation

The structure of buffer layers and deposited YBa₂Cu₃O _x (Y123) films with a high critical current density (～10⁶ A/cm²) has been investigated by different methods. These superconducting films and buffer layers are found to have a fine-grained structure, which, along with the high texture of Y123 films of the (001) type, is believed to be responsible for the high critical current density. An unusual texture is revealed in buffer layers, which differs from that of substrates and Y123 films. The superconducting films deposited on buffer CeO₂ layers exhibit a system of orthogonal lines; in the case under consideration, this is a manifestation of a domain structure with Y123 particles at boundaries.     

Superconducting properties of Sm0.33Eu0.33Gd0.33Ba2Cu3Oy films by metal-organic deposition using metal 2-ethylhexanates

We have prepared Sm_0.33Eu_0.33Gd_0.33Ba₂Cu₃O_y (SEGBCO) films on LaAlO₃ single-crystal substrates by metal-organic deposition using 2-ethylhexanate solutions which contain no fluorine. The SEGBCO film fired at 850 °C under a low oxygen partial pressure of 2 × 10⁻⁶ atm exhibited strong c-axis oriented X-ray diffraction peaks and weak a/b-axis oriented peaks of the SEGBCO phase, and had a granular surface. High resolution cross-sectional transmission electron microscope images indicated the epitaxial growth of the SEGBCO film on the substrate with overgrowth of a/b-axis oriented grains. The critical temperature and critical current density values of the SEGBCO film was 86.5 K and 1.29 MA/cm², respectively, at 77.3 K at the self-field.     

Magnetic properties of R2Fe17−xGax (R=Y and Gd) compounds

The magnetic properties of Y₂Fe_17−xGa_x for 3≤x≤7 and Gd₂Fe_17−xGa_x for 5≤x≤7 have been investigated using ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy. These compounds have the rhombohedral Th₂Zn₁₇ structure. X-ray diffraction analysis of aligned powders shows that the easy direction of magnetization is parallel to the c-axis in Y₂Fe₁₀Ga₇ and Gd₂Fe₁₀Ga₇ and is perpendicular to the c-axis in Y₂Fe₁₄Ga₃, Y₂Fe₁₂Ga₅, Gd₂Fe₁₂Ga₅ and Gd₂Fe₁₁Ga₆. Mössbauer studies indicate that those samples are ordered ferromagnetically. The ⁵⁷Fe hyperfine field decreases with increasing Ga content. This decrease results from the decreased magnetic exchange interactions resulting from Ga substitution. The average isomer shift, δ, for R₂Fe_17−xGa_x (R=Y and Gd) at room temperature is positive and the magnitude of δ increases with increasing Ga content.     

Optical study of RE 1 + x Ba 2 - x Cu 3 O 6 (RE = Nd, Sm) aaand YBa 2 Cu 3 O 6 in the mid infrared range

Infrared reflectance, and transmission measurements as well as Raman scattering have been used to study the RE_1+xBa_2-xCu₃O₆ (RE = Nd, Sm) and YBa₂Cu₃O₆ absorption bands in the 1100-1500 cm^-1 infrared range as a function of temperature and beam polarization. In addition to two-phonon absorption between 1100 and 1170 cm^-1, we observe excitations around 1400 cm^-1, occurring in oxygen rich enclosures within the samples, and assign them to an excitation involving two-phonons plus the 270 cm^-1 local mode related to Cu-O broken chains. Thus, the previously reported possible magnetic origin of the 1436 cm^-1 sharp absorption band in YBa₂Cu₃O₆ is contested. Received 14 February 2001 and Received in final form 12 April 2001     

Influence of oxygen pressure on critical current density and magnetic flux pinning structures in YBa2Cu3O7-x fabricated by chemical solution deposition

This paper studies the effect of oxygen partial pressure on the fabrication of YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 x films on (00l) LaAlO 3 substrates by metalorganic deposition using trifluoroacetates (TFA-MOD).As the oxygen partial pressure increases to 1500 Pa,a great increase in the superconducting properties is observed at high magnetic fields parallel to the YBCO c axis.The cross-sectional transmission electron microscope images show that a high density of stacking faults in the size range of 10-15 nm may act as flux pinning centres to enhance the critical current density of the YBCO films