1,052 research outputs found
Ground states of one and two fractional vortices in long Josephson 0-kappa-junctions
Half integer Josephson vortices in 0--junctions, discussed theoretically
and observed experimentally, spontaneously appear at the point where the
Josephson phase is -discontinuous. The creation of \emph{arbitrary}
discontinuities of the Josephson phase has been demonstrated recently. Here we
study fractional vortices formed at an arbitrary -discontinuity,
discuss their stability and possible ground states. The two stable states are
not mirror symmetric. Furthermore, the possible ground states formed at two
-discontinuities separated by a distance are investigated, and the
energy and the regions of stability of each ground state are calculated. We
also show that the ground states may strongly depend on the distance
between the discontinuities. There is a crossover distance such that for
the ground states may be qualitatively different.Comment: 7 figures, submitted to PRB In v.2 one figure is added, and refs are
updated In v.3 major revision, many issues fixe
NanoSQUID magnetometry of individual cobalt nanoparticles grown by focused electron beam induced deposition
We demonstrate the operation of low-noise nano superconducting quantum
interference devices (SQUIDs) based on the high critical field and high
critical temperature superconductor YBaCuO (YBCO) as
ultra-sensitive magnetometers for single magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs). The
nanoSQUIDs exploit the Josephson behavior of YBCO grain boundaries and have
been patterned by focused ion beam milling. This allows to precisely define the
lateral dimensions of the SQUIDs so as to achieve large magnetic coupling
between the nanoloop and individual MNPs. By means of focused electron beam
induced deposition, cobalt MNPs with typical size of several tens of nm have
been grown directly on the surface of the sensors with nanometric spatial
resolution. Remarkably, the nanoSQUIDs are operative over extremely broad
ranges of applied magnetic field (-1 T 1 T) and temperature (0.3
K 80 K). All these features together have allowed us to perform
magnetization measurements under different ambient conditions and to detect the
magnetization reversal of individual Co MNPs with magnetic moments (1 - 30)
. Depending on the dimensions and shape of the
particles we have distinguished between two different magnetic states yielding
different reversal mechanisms. The magnetization reversal is thermally
activated over an energy barrier, which has been quantified for the (quasi)
single-domain particles. Our measurements serve to show not only the high
sensitivity achievable with YBCO nanoSQUIDs, but also demonstrate that these
sensors are exceptional magnetometers for the investigation of the properties
of individual nanomagnets
Andreev bound states at a cuprate grain boundary junction: A lower bound for the upper critical field
We investigate in-plane quasiparticle tunneling across thin film grain
boundary junctions (GBJs) of the electron-doped cuprate
LaCeCuO in magnetic fields up to T, perpendicular to
the CuO layers. The differential conductance in the superconducting state
shows a zero bias conductance peak (ZBCP) due to zero energy surface Andreev
bound states. With increasing temperature , the ZBCP vanishes at the
critical temperature K if B=0, and at K for B=16 T. As
the ZBCP is related to the macroscopic phase coherence of the superconducting
state, we argue that the disappearance of the ZBCP at a field
must occur below the upper critical field of the superconductor. We
find T which is at least a factor of 2.5 higher than
previous estimates of .Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Laser microscopy of tunneling magnetoresistance in manganite grain-boundary junctions
Using low-temperature scanning laser microscopy we directly image electric
transport in a magnetoresistive element, a manganite thin film intersected by a
grain boundary (GB). Imaging at variable temperature allows reconstruction and
comparison of the local resistance vs temperature for both, the manganite film
and the GB. Imaging at low temperature also shows that the GB switches between
different resistive states due to the formation and growth of magnetic domains
along the GB. We observe different types of domain wall growth; in most cases a
domain wall nucleates at one edge of the bridge and then proceeds towards the
other edge.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures; submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
Phase-sensitive evidence for dx2-y2-pairing symmetry in the parent-structure high-Tc cuprate superconductor Sr1-xLaxCuO2
Even after 25 years of research the pairing mechanism and - at least for
electron doped compounds - also the order parameter symmetry of the high
transition temperature (high-Tc) cuprate superconductors is still under debate.
One of the reasons is the complex crystal structure of most of these materials.
An exception are the infinite layer (IL) compounds consisting essentially of
CuO2 planes. Unfortunately, these materials are difficult to grow and, thus,
there are only few experimental investigations. Recently, we succeeded in
depositing high quality films of the electron doped IL compound Sr1-xLaxCuO2
(SLCO), with x approximately 0.15, and on the fabrication of well-defined grain
boundary Josephson junctions (GBJs) based on such SLCO films. Here we report on
a phase sensitive study of the superconducting order parameter based on GBJ
SQUIDs from a SLCO film grown on a tetracrystal substrate. Our results show
that also the parent structure of the high-Tc cuprates has dx2-y2-wave
symmetry, which thus seems to be inherent to cuprate superconductivity.Comment: Submitted to PRL, 5 pages, 3 figures, supplementary information
included (4 pages, 4 figures
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