TEM investigation of YBa2Cu3O7 thin films on SrTiO3 bicrystals

YBa₂Cu₃O₇ films in c-axis orientation on bicrystalline SrTiO₃ substrates are investigated by TEM. The films and the substrates are examined in cross-section and in plane view. The grain boundary of the bicrystal substrate contains (110) faceted voids, but is otherwise straight on a nanometer scale. Contrary to this, the film grain boundary is not straight grain boundary can be up to 100 nm for a 100 nm thick film. The deviation from the intended position of the YBCO grain boundary can already occur at the film/substrate interface where it can be as much as ±50 nm.     

The effect of duration of diffusion on Ag diffusion coefficients in YBa2Cu3O7

The Ag diffusion in superconducting YBa₂Cu₃O₇ (YBaCuO) ceramic has been studied over the duration of the diffusion range 5-24 h in the temperature range 700-850 °C by the energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) technique. For the excitation of silver atoms, an annular Am-241 radioisotope source (50 mCi) emitting 59.543 keV photons was used. The temperature dependences of silver diffusion coefficients in grains (D₁) and over the grain boundaries in the range 700-850 °C (D₂) are described by the relations D₁=1.4×10⁻² exp[−(1.18±0.10)/kT] and D₂=3.1×10⁻⁴ exp[−(0.87±0.10)/kT].     

Vortex pinning in YBa2Cu3O7?x films

Evidence that pinning on linear or planar defects dominates the vortex dynamics in YBa₂Cu₃O_7−x (YBCO) films is provided by complex impedance measurements at temperature 8 K<T<T _c and magnetic field 0<B<6 T. Below the vortex lattice melting transition B_g(T) but above a threshold field B_p≈8(1-T/T _c ) T, the inductance of vortices increases as B², much less rapidly than predicted for collective pinning of vortices by point defects. Above the vortex melting line, critical scaling persists over the region B_g(T<B<B^*(T) where the vortex correlation length ξ exceeds a characteristic length scale ξ^*≡ξ(B=B^*)≈450?. The value of ξ^* is not sensitive to Al-doping in the Cu sites in the lattice and is close to the size of twin domains in the film. The nature of the observed crossovers is discussed in terms of available theoretical models for a glass-liquid transition at B_g.     

YBa2Cu3O7-x的金属-绝缘体转变

借助于局域化的标度理论,我们对层状结构系统引进一个由电导各向异性或层间耦合决定的有效维度,认为电导的减小和有效维度的降低是YBa₂Cu₃O_7-x和其它氧化物金属-绝缘体转变的原因,同时也讨论了有限温度的标度理论以解释正常态电阻率的温度行为。 关键词：     

退火氧压对YBa2Cu3O7-x薄膜中的激光感生热电电压效应的影响

测量了在不同氧压下退火生长的YBa₂Cu₃O_7-x(YBCO)薄膜中的激光感生热电电压(LITV)信号,发现随退火氧压的增大可使LITV信号的峰值有2—4倍的增强,并且变化趋势与薄膜热电势的各向异性随氧含量的变化规律相同.波长在473—808nm范围内的连续激光辐照,在5000Pa的氧压下退火生长的YBCO薄膜中探测到的LITV信号最大;而紫外脉冲激光辐照时,LITV信号的最大值出现在退火氧压为10⁵Pa 关键词： 2Cu₃O_7-x薄膜')" href="#">YBa₂Cu₃O_7-x薄膜 激光感生热电电压 各向异性的Seebeck系数 氧含量     

Formation of Ca-doped YBa2Cu4O8 phase in thin films

Ca-doped YBa₂Cu₄O₈ (124) thin films are prepared on (100) SrTiO₃ substrates by annealing the amorphous films deposited using a pulsed laser deposition technique. The X-ray diffraction measurements show that the Ca-doped YBa₂Cu₄O₈ phase is formed by annealing below 800°C at a oxygen pressure of 1 atm. The 124 films have c-axis orientation normal to the substrates. As the Ca content increases, the proportion of the 123 impurity phase in the samples increases. The onset temperature of superconductivity of the Y(Ca)Ba₂Cu₄O₈ films increases from 79 K to 88 K with an increase Ca-substitution for 5 to 10% of Y.     

Infrared optical response of YBa2Cu3O7 and PrBa2Cu3O7 An ellipsometric study

Ellipsometry was used to study (110) and (001) oriented films of YBa₂Cu₃O₇ and PrBa₂Cu₃O₇ in the mid-and near-infrared spectral regions. Below a photon energy of 0.1 eV, the in-plane component of the dielectric tensor of YBa₂Cu₃O₇ is dominated by a Drude term with a squared plasma energy of (3.0 ± 0.3) eV². This “oscillator strength”, and the Lorentzian broadening energy of (0.104 ± 0.005) eV at room temperature, are confirmed by the changes induced in Pr-substituted material, and by low-temperature measurements in the near-infrared. The deviation from the Drude behavior observed above 0.1 eV is accounted for by a broad absorption band with an oscillator strength of (3.6 ± 0.1) eV² in YBa₂Cu₃O₇ which shifts to higher energies and takes over almost all of the oscillator strength of the Drude term when Y is substituted by Pr. The response to electric fields perpendicular to the planes is much weaker, with an upper bound of 0.63 eV² for the squared plasma energy. The in-plane loss function computed from the measured dielectric function follows the Drude-like lineshape, modified by the bound-state absorption band, down to the lowest energy reached in our measurements (0.058 eV).     

Phase transition from solid to liquid phase of vortex lattice in YBa2Cu3O7 thin films

We measured voltage V versus current I curves with a function of temperature T and magnetic field H for YBa₂Cu₃O₇ single-crystalline thin films. The characteristics of the pinning type was found to be changed with the change in T, in contradiction to Kramer's scaling law. Furthermore, we analyzed I–V curves in terms of the flux creep model proposed by Anderson and Kim. In low H region the product of flux bundle volume v_d and its jump distance l decreased with the increase of H, while in high H region the product increased rapidly with H, suggesting a rapid increased of interaction length between vortices. These results imply all evidence of an occurence of vortex liquid phase in the high H regime. We showed that the transition region between the above two regimes is located in the vicinity of H at which the critical current density begins to decrease rapidly with the increase of H.     

Synthesis of YBa2Cu3O7−x superconducting thin films on LaAlO3 by means of PAMOCVD

High-T_c superconducting thin films have been deposited in situ by means of a plasma assisted metal-organic chemical vapour deposition (PAMOCVD) process on LaAlO₃. An EMCORE high-speed rotating disc reactor was used to deposit the films at a substrate temperature of 600°C to 800°C. The system is equipped with a (remote) 120 W microwave plasma generator. The oxidising plasma gas is N₂O and/or O₂ while Ar was used as the inert carrier gas for the different metal-organics. The influence of different process parameters (such as the temperatures of the metal-organics, substrate temperature, and plasma gas composition) on the superconductive properties and on the morphology of the films was investigated. Surface morphology and composition were studied by SEM/EDX or EPMA, and AC susceptibility measurements were used to investigate the superconductive properties (T_c and J_c). X-ray diffraction measurements indicated that single-phase YBa₂Cu₃O_7−x films were epitaxially grown with the 00l orientation perpendicular to the substrate surface. The critical temperature (T_c) of the films is about 90 K and the critical current density (J_c) is higher than 10⁶ A/cm² at 77 K and zero field.     

Coherence transition in granular YBa2Cu3O7-δ, YBa2Cu2.95Zn0.05O7-δ, and YBa1.75Sr0.25Cu3O7-δ superconductors

We have studied experimentally the electrical magneto-conductivity near the superconducting transition of YBa₂Cu₃O_7-δ, YBa₂ (Cu_2.95Zn_0.05)O_7-δ and Y(Ba_1.75Sr_0.25)Cu₃O_7-δ polycrystalline samples. The measurements were performed in magnetic fields ranging from 0 to 400 Oe applied parallel to the current orientation. The results show that the resistive transition of these systems proceeds in two stages. The pairing transition occurs at the bulk critical temperature T_c, where superconductivity is stabilized within small and homogeneous regions of the sample generically called grains. The regime of approach to the zero resistance state reveals the occurrence of a coherence transition at a lower temperature T_c0. This transition is related to the connective nature of the granular samples and is controlled by fluctuations of the order-parameter phase of individual grains. Our experiments show that the Zn-doping, besides depressing the pairing critical temperature, strongly enlarges the temperature range dominated by effects related to the coherence transition. The substitution of Ba by Sr causes only a small reduction of T_c, but also enhances significantly the effects related to the grain coupling phenomenology. In general, our results indicate that these impurity substitutions in YBa₂Cu₃O_7-δ produce or magnify the granularity at a microscopic level, enhancing the effects of phase fluctuations in the conductivity near the transition.     

Low field microwave absorption of YBa2Cu3O7−δ thin films

The modulated microwave absorption in YBa₂Cu₃O_7−δ thin films was studied as a function of temperature, modulation amplitude, and microwave power. The comparative nature of weak links in YBaCuO thin films, ceramics, and powders is discussed.     

Oxygen defects relaxation in high-temperature YBa2Cu3O7 superconductors

The temperature dependences of normal state static magnet susceptibility χ(T) for high-temperature YBa₂Cu₃O₇ superconductors (T _c ≤ T ≤ 400 K) measured for the same sample before and after 22 years of storage are compared. It is shown that during longime storage of a maximally doped sample, its electronic system is more in equilibrium than it was in the initial state, while a similar underdoped sample decomposed completely. Comparing the χ(T) curves for YBa₂Cu₃O₇, we draw conclusions as to the nature of the Curie contribution and the fluctuation-induced contribution to the magnetic susceptibility of the investigated sample, and the experimental procedure for determining T _c.     

Study of the optical features of YBa2Cu3O7-x films by SEW spectroscopy

The results of YBa₂Cu₃O_7-x films on SrTiO₃ investigation by far infrared surface electromagnetic waves (SEW) amplitude and phase spectroscopy at temperatures 80–350 K are presented. Strong SEW absorption at frequency 142 cm^–1 has been observed. The origin of the observed absorbtion is proposed to be concerned with slab- phonons in YBa₂Cu₃O_7-x. The optical constants of the films have been obtained. Also has been determined, that only the imaginary part of the SEW refraction index changes when the film transits into superconducting state, while the real part remains unchanged.     

Pinning potential of stacking fault-related dislocations in YBa2Cu3O7

The pinning potential of the 031 type dislocation has been calculated. This dislocation bounds the excess Cu---O layer defect commonly observed in YBa₂Cu₃O₇. It was found that there is a strong pinning anisotropy between edge dislocations lying along [100] and [010]. For the former, a repulsive potential of about 30 meV is found, while the latter exhibits an attractive interaction of less than this magnitude. This potential is short-range (about 2ξ), indicating that these dislocations would act as distributed point-like pinning sites.     

Suppression of antiferromagnetic spin fluctuation in Zn-substituted YBa2Cu3O7

We have prepared Zn-substituted YBa₂Cu_3−xZn_xO₇ (YBCO, x=0.0–0.09) and performed ^63,65Cu nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) measurements for the plane site at 300 and 100 K as a function of Zn concentration. The substitutional effects are observed in resonant frequencies and linewidths of spectra, and relaxation times as well as in the superconducting transition temperature. The spin–lattice relaxation rate 1/T₁ is reduced for the higher Zn concentration and the reduction is more significant at 100 K. The ratio of ^63,65Cu spin–lattice relaxation rates suggests that a magnetic contribution due to the antiferromagnetic spin fluctuation becomes weak as the Zn concentration increases. These effects confirm that the antiferromagnetic spin fluctuation of Cu 3d spins is suppressed by the Zn substitution due to the absence of local moment at the zinc site.     

YBa2Cu3O7-δ熔融织构样品的磁响应研究

对YBa₂Cu₃O_7-δ熔融织构样品在不同温度、不同磁场不同外场扫描速率下进行了磁滞回线测量,获得了电流密度J(T,B),lnE-lnJ曲线以及热激活能U₀(T,B)随温度、磁场的变化关系,从而分析了该样品磁响应特性,特别是第二峰(简称峰)受外场扫描速率的影响,探讨了峰形成的真正原因,以及影响峰位置、大小的各种因素 关键词： 磁响应 熔融织构 峰效应 临界电流密度     

YBa2Cu3O7-δ外延膜中的非线性光响应

实验结果表明，在连续波He-Ne激光(λ=0.63μm)照射下，YBa₂Cu₃O_7-δ(YBCO)外延膜在超导转变温度T_c以下附近温区的光响应行为，表现为辐射热效应和非辐射热效应同时存在，尤其当样品的R-T变化率dR/dT→0温区明显地表现为一种非平衡光响应行为，且随电流的变化呈非线性关系.基于上述实验事实，在光致准粒子激发假设下，对T_c附近YBCO薄膜中的非线性光响应机制进行了讨论；给出了光辐射 关键词：     

YBa2Cu3O7-xc轴方向临界电流的测定

本文测量了熔化织构法生长(MTG)的和通常烧结法制备的YBa₂Cu₃O_7-x块状样品的传输临界电流密度T_c以及磁场-样品不同取向的磁滞回线。MTG样品的J_c在78K和零场时达到3.5×10⁴A/cm²,实验提供了有力的证据表明如此高的J_c主要是由于块状样品内弱连接的消除,因为MTG块状样品的整体J_c与烧结样品颗 关键词：     

DETERMINATION OF THE OXYGEN CONTENT IN YBa2Cu3O7-y FILMS

A method for determination of the oxygen content (y) in YBa₂Cu₃O_7-y films has been established, in which the lattice conetant difference (b-a) of the films was measured and used to fit the function of (b-a) vs y for the experimental data of bulk YBaaCuaO?-y given in the literature. It is suggested that the function of (b-a) vs y can indeed be used in the case of film. In this process the twin structure of the YBa₂Cu₃O_7-y films was used.