Anisotropy of a vortex instability observed at high current densities in YBa2Cu3O7δ superconducting films

Experimental data are provided for YBaCuO films that an instability of the vortex system, which manifests itself by a voltage jump at a critical current I*, exhibits strong anisotropy if the magnetic field is tilted from parallel to perpendicular to the c-axis. The angular dependence of I* can be well described by a model emphasizing the component of the magnetic field parallel to the c-axis. If the current range is restricted to values close to I*, the current-voltage characteristics below the instability show a satisfactory agreement with the prediction of the theory of ‘Self-Organized Criticality’ (SOC). In terms of this theory it is possible to relate the critical vortex velocity v* to the temperature and field dependent characteristic size of the underlying vortex avalanches. If, however, standard Larkin-Ovchinnikov theory is applied to describe the instability, this critical velocity is related to the scattering rate of quasiparticles. Analyzed in this way and assuming an isotropic diffusion constant of the quasiparticles, an anisotropic scattering rate and its temperature dependence can be extracted.