108,720 research outputs found
Surface flux pinning in superconducting amorphous (Mo0.6Ru0.4)B18
Superconducting critical current density was measured as a function of a perpendicular applied magnetic field in glassy (Mo0.6Ru0.4)82B18. The pinning force density was observed to depend linearly on 1/w, where w is the sample width measured perpendicular to both the current and field. This dependence is attributed to pinning by the sample edges. The bulk pinning contribution can be separated from the edge pinning contribution by extrapolation of the Fp vs 1/w curve. The edge contribution of the flux pinning was nearly eliminated by electrolytically polishing the sample. The contribution of the flux pinning profile due to edge pinning is analyzed in terms of the dynamic pinning model modified for edge pinning
The strengthening of reentrant pinning by collective interactions in the peak effect
Since it was first observed about 40 years ago [1], the peak effect has been
the subject of numerous research mainly impelled by the desire to determine its
exact mechanisms. Despite these efforts, a consensus on this question has yet
to be reached. Experimentally, the peak effect indicates a transition from a
depinned vortex phase to a reentrant pinning phase at high magnetic field. To
study the effects of intrinsic pinning on the peak effect, we consider
FeNiZr superconducting metallic glasses in which the vortex
pinning force varies depending on the Fe content and in which a huge peak
effect is seen as a function of magnetic field. The results are mapped out as a
phase diagram in which it is readily seen that the peak effect becomes broader
with decreasing pinning force. Typically, pinning can be understood by
increased pinning centers, but here, we show that reentrant pinning is due to
the strengthening of interactions (while decreasing pinning strength). Our
results demonstrate the strengthening of the peak effect by collective effects.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Apparent negative motion of vortex matter due to inhomogeneous pinning
We investigate the transport of vortices in superconductors with inhomgeneous pinning under a driving force. The inhomogeneity of pinning is simplified as strong-weak pinning regions. It is demonstrated that the interactions between the vortices captured by strong pinning potentials and the vortices in the weak pinning region cause absolute negative motion (ANM) of vortices: The vortices which are climbing toward the high barriers induced by the strong pinning with the help of driving force move toward the opposite direction of the force and back to their equilibrium positions in the weak pinning region as the force decreases or is withdrawn. Our simulations reveal that the hysteresis of ANM is determined by the competition between the speed of the negative motion which depends on the piining inhomogeneity in superconductors and the speed of the driving force. Under the conditions of either larger force scanning rate or higher pinning inhomogeneity, a marked ANM and a larger hysteretic speed-force loop could be observed. This indicates that the time window to observe the ANM should be chosen properly. Moreover, the V-1 characteristics of Ag-sheathed Bi=2223 tapes are measured, and experimental observations are qualitatively in agreement with the simulation
Effects of Neutron Irradiation on Pinning Force Scaling in State-of-the-Art Nb3Sn Wires
We present an extensive irradiation study involving five state-of-the-art
Nb3Sn wires which were subjected to sequential neutron irradiation up to a fast
neutron fluence of 1.6 * 10^22 m^-2 (E > 0.1 MeV). The volume pinning force of
short wire samples was assessed in the temperature range from 4.2 to 15 K in
applied fields of up to 7 T by means of SQUID magnetometry in the unirradiated
state and after each irradiation step. Pinning force scaling computations
revealed that the exponents in the pinning force function differ significantly
from those expected for pure grain boundary pinning, and that fast neutron
irradiation causes a substantial change in the functional dependence of the
volume pinning force. A model is presented, which describes the pinning force
function of irradiated wires using a two-component ansatz involving a
point-pinning contribution stemming from radiation induced pinning centers. The
dependence of this point-pinning contribution on fast neutron fluence appears
to be a universal function for all examined wire types.Comment: 8 page
Individual and Multi Vortex Pinning in Systems with Periodic Pinning Arrays
We examine multi and individual vortex pinning in thin superconductors with
periodic pinning arrays. For multi-vortex pinning we observe peaks in the
critical current of equal magnitude at every matching field, while for
individual vortex pinning we observe a sharp drop in the critical current after
the first matching field in agreement with experiments. We examine the scaling
of the critical current at commensurate and incommensurate fields for varied
pinning strength and show that the depinning force at incommensurate fields
decreases faster than at the commensurate fields.Comment: 4 figuure
Vortex Molecular Crystal and Vortex Plastic Crystal States in Honeycomb and Kagome Pinning Arrays
Using numerical simulations, we investigate vortex configurations and pinning
in superconductors with honeycomb and kagome pinning arrays. We find that a
variety of novel vortex crystal states can be stabilized at integer and
fractional matching field densities. The honeycomb and kagome pinning arrays
produce considerably more pronounced commensuration peaks in the critical
depinning force than triangular pinning arrays, and also cause additional peaks
at noninteger matching fields where a portion of the vortices are located in
the large interstitial regions of the pinning lattices. For the honeycomb
pinning array, we find matching effects of equal strength at most fillings
B/B_\phi=n/2 for n>2, where n is an integer, in agreement with recent
experiments. For kagome pinning arrays, pronounced matching effects generally
occur at B/B_\phi=n/3 for n>3, while for triangular pinning arrays pronounced
matching effects are observed only at integer fillings B/B_\phi=n. At the
noninteger matching field peaks in the honeycomb and kagome pinning arrays, the
interstitial vortices are arranged in dimer, trimer, and higher order n-mer
states that have an overall orientational order. We call these n-mer states
"vortex molecular crystals" and "vortex plastic crystals" since they are
similar to the states recently observed in colloidal molecular crystal systems.
We argue that the vortex molecular crystals have properties in common with
certain spin systems such as Ising and n-state Potts models. We show that
kagome and honeycomb pinning arrays can be useful for increasing the critical
current above that of purely triangular pinning arrays.Comment: 19 pages, 22 postscript figures. Version to appear in Phys. Rev.
Local Impurity Phase Pinning and Pinning Force in Charge Density Waves
Starting from the static Fukuyama-Lee-Rice equation for a three-dimensional
incommensurate charge density wave (CDW) in quasi one-dimensional conductors a
solvable model for local phase pinning by impurities is defined and studied. We
find that average CDW energy and average pinning force show critical behaviour
with respect to the pinning parameter . Specifically the pinning force
exhibits a threshold at with exponent . Our model examplifies a
general concept of local impurity pinning in which the force exerted by the
impurity on the periodic CDW structure becomes multivalued and metastable
states appear beyond a threshold. It is found that local impurity pinning
becomes less effective at low temperatures and may eventually cease completely.
These results are independent of spatial dimensionality as expected for local
impurity pinning. Comparison with Larkin's model is also made.Comment: Latex, 16 pages, 3 figure
Driven weak to strong pinning crossover in partially nanopatterned 2H-NbSe2 single crystal
Investigations into the heterogeneous pinning properties of the vortex state
created by partially nano-patterning single crystals of 2H-NbSe2 reveal an
atypical magnetization response which is significantly drive dependent.
Analysis of the magnetization response shows non-monotonic behavior of the
magnetization relaxation rate with varying magnetic field sweep rate. With all
the patterned pinning centers saturated with vortices, we find that the pinning
force experienced by the vortices continues to increase with increasing drive.
Our studies reveal an unconventional dynamic weak to strong pinning crossover
where the flow of the vortex state appears to be hindered or jammed as it is
driven harder through the interstitial voids in the patterned pinning lattice.Comment: 15 pages with 5 figure
Enhancing the critical current in quasiperiodic pinning arrays below and above the matching magnetic flux
Quasiperiodic pinning arrays, as recently demonstrated theoretically and
experimentally using a five-fold Penrose tiling, can lead to a significant
enhancement of the critical current Ic as compared to "traditional" regular
pinning arrays. However, while regular arrays showed only a sharp peak in
Ic(Phi) at the matching flux Phi1 and quasiperiodic arrays provided a much
broader maximum at Phi<Phi1, both types of pinning arrays turned out to be
inefficient for fluxes larger than Phi1. We demonstrate theoretically and
experimentally the enhancement of Ic(Phi) for Phi>Phi1 by using non-Penrose
quasiperiodic pinning arrays. This result is based on a qualitatively different
mechanism of flux pinning by quasiperiodic pinning arrays and could be
potentially useful for applications in superconducting micro-electronic devices
operating in a broad range of magnetic fields.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure
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