ab-plane tunneling and Andreev spectroscopy of superconducting gap and pseudogap in (Bi,Pb)2Sr2Ca2Cu3O10 and Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8

We have measured the temperature dependence of gap features revealed by Andreev reflection Delta_s and by tunneling Delta in the ab-plane of optimal and slightly overdoped microcrystals of (BiPb)2Sr2Ca2Cu3O10 (Bi2223) with critical temperature Tc=110-115 K, and Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 (Bi2212) with Tc=80-84 K. The tunneling conductance of Bi2223-Insulator-Bi2223 junction shows peaks at the 2Delta gap voltage, as well as dips and broad humps at other voltages. In Bi2223, similarly to the well known Bi2212 spectra, the energies corresponding to 2Delta, to the dip, and to the hump structure are in the ratio of 2:3:4. This confirms that the dip and hump features are generic to the high temperature superconductors, irrespective of the number of CuO2 layers or the BiO superstructure. On the other hand, in both compounds Delta(T) and Delta_s(T) dependences are completely different, and we conclude that the two entities have different nature.Comment: LaTeX 2e, 17 pages, 7 figures in .eps forma

Strong Pinning in High Temperature Superconductors

Detailed measurements of the critical current density jc of YBa2Cu3O7 films grown by pulsed laser deposition reveal the increase of jc as function of the filmthickness. Both this thickness dependence and the field dependence of the critical current are consistently described using a generalization of the theory of strong pinning of Ovchinnikov and Ivlev [Phys. Rev. B 43, 8024 (1991)]. From the model, we deduce values of the defect density (10^21 m^-3) and the elementary pinning force, which are in good agreement with the generally accepted values for Y2O3-inclusions. In the absence of clear evidence that the critical current is determined by linear defects or modulations of the film thickness, our model provides an alternative explanation for the rather universal field dependence of the critical current density found in YBa2Cu3O7 films deposited by different methods.Comment: 11 pages; 8 Figures; Published Phys. Rev. B 66, 024523 (2002

Comparison of pressure, magnetic field and excess manganese effects on transport properties of film and bulk ceramic La–Ca manganites

The pressure, magnetic field and excess manganese effects on transport and magnetoresistance effect (MRE) have been studied in both the epitaxial films and bulk ceramics of manganites (La₀.₇Ca₀.₃)₁₋xMn₁₊xO₃₋y (x = 0–0.2). A comparison of electrical behavior in both kinds of samples of similar composition at hydrostatic pressures of up to 1.8 GPa and in a magnetic fields of up to 8 kOe has been performed. The pressure and magnetic field effects are shown to increase with increasing manganese content. Experimental data show that the pressure and magnetic field effects on temperatures of both metal–insulator transition (TMD) and MRE peak (TMR) are considerably stronger in the films than in ceramics. The hydrostatic pressure increases TMD and TMR. Magnetoresistance effect for both types of samples was shown to be favored by the pressure and magnetic field in an opposite way. A direct correlation is established between TMD and conductivity bandwidth as well as between MRE and concentration of charge carriers at applied pressure. The differences in the values of pressure effect on resistance, MRE and TMD temperature in the films and ceramics are connected with both granular structure of ceramics and the oxygen nonstoichiometry in ceramic and film samples of the same content as well as with the film strain induced by lattice mismatch between the film and the substrate. The origin of pressure–magnetic field effects is analyzed in the framework of double exchange interaction and small polaron hopping, and variable range hopping models