Patterned Irradiation of YBa_2Cu_3O_(7-x) Thin Films

We present a new experiment on YBa_2Cu_3O_{7-x} (YBCO) thin films using spatially resolved heavy ion irradiation. Structures consisting of a periodic array of strong and weak pinning channels were created with the help of metal masks. The channels formed an angle of +/-45 Deg with respect to the symmetry axis of the photolithographically patterned structures. Investigations of the anisotropic transport properties of these structures were performed. We found striking resemblance to guided vortex motion as it was observed in YBCO single crystals containing an array of unidirected twin boundaries. The use of two additional test bridges allowed to determine in parallel the resistivities of the irradiated and unirradiated parts as well as the respective current-voltage characteristics. These measurements provided the input parameters for a numerical simulation of the potential distribution of the Hall patterning. In contrast to the unidirected twin boundaries in our experiment both strong and weak pinning regions are spatially extended. The interfaces between unirradiated and irradiated regions therefore form a Bose-glass contact. The experimentally observed magnetic field dependence of the transverse voltage vanishes faster than expected from the numerical simulation and we interpret this as a hydrodynamical interaction between a Bose-glass phase and a vortex liquid.Comment: 7 pages, 8 Eps figures included. Submitted to PR

Emission Noise and High Frequency Cut-Off of the Kondo Effect in a Quantum Dot

By coupling on chip a carbon nanotube to a quantum noise detector, a superconductor-insulator-superconductor junction, via a resonant circuit, we measure the emission noise of a carbon nanotube quantum dot in the Kondo regime. The signature of the Kondo effect in the current noise is measured for different ratios of the Kondo temperature over the measured frequency and for different asymmetries of the coupling to the contacts, and compared to finite frequency quantum noise calculations. Our results point towards the existence of a high frequency cut-off of the electronic emission noise associated with the Kondo resonance. This cut-off frequency is of the order of a few times the Kondo temperature when the electronic system is close to equilibrium, which is the case for a strongly asymmetric coupling. On the other hand, this cut-off is shifted to lower frequency in a symmetric coupling situation, where the bias voltage drives the Kondo state out-of-equilibrium. We then attribute the low frequency cut-off to voltage induced spin relaxation.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures and appendi