Anisotropy of the magnetoresistive properties of granular high-temperature superconductors resulting from magnetic flux compression in the intergrain medium

To elucidate the origin of the well-known anisotropy of the magnetoresistive properties of granular high-temperature superconductors (HTSs), which is related to the mutual orientation of magnetic field H and transport current j, we investigate the hysteretic dependences of magnetoresistance R(H) of the yttrium HTS sample at the perpendicular (H ⊥ j) and parallel (H || j) configurations. The hysteretic R(H) dependences are analyzed using the concept of the effective field in the intergrain boundaries through which superconducting current carriers tunnel. The effective degree of magnetic flux compression in the intergrain medium at the perpendicular configuration was found to be twice as much as at the parallel one. This approach explains well the anisotropy of the magnetoresistive properties of granular HTSs, which was previously reported by many authors, and the temperature dependences of the resistance in the resistive transition region.