1,201 research outputs found
Strong reduction of field-dependent microwave surface resistance in YBaCuO with sub-micrometric BaZrO inclusions
We observe a strong reduction of the field induced thin film surface
resistance measured at high microwave frequency (47.7 GHz) in
YBaCuO thin films grown on SrTiO substrates, as a
consequence of the introduction of sub-micrometric BaZrO particles. The
field increase of the surface resistance is smaller by a factor of 3 in
the film with BaZrO inclusions, while the zero-field properties are not
much affected. Combining surface resistance and surface reactance data we
conclude (a) that BaZrO inclusions determine very deep and steep pinning
wells and (b) that the pinning changes nature with respect to the pure film.Comment: RevTeX; 4 pages, 3 figures; submitted to Applied Physics Letter
Reduction of the field-dependent microwave surface resistance in YBa_2Cu_3O_7 with sub-micrometric BaZrO_3 inclusions as a function of BaZrO_3 concentration
In order to study the vortex pinning determined by artificially introduced
pinning centers in the small-vortex displacement regime, we measured the
microwave surface impedance at 47.7 GHz in the mixed state of
YBaCuO thin films, where sub-micrometric BaZrO
particles have been incorporated. As a function of the BaZrO content, we
observe that the absolute losses slightly decrease up to a BaZrO content of
5%, and then increase. We found that the magnetic-field-induced losses behave
differently, in that they are not monotonic with increasing BaZrO
concentration: at small concentration (2.5%) the field-induced losses increase,
but large reduction of the losses themselves, by factors up to 3, is observed
upon further increasing the BaZrO concentration in the target up to 7%.
Using measurements of both surface resistance and surface reactance we estimate
vortex pinning-related parameters. We find that BaZrO inclusions introduce
deep and steep pinning wells. In particular, the minimum height of the energy
barrier for single vortices is raised. At larger BaZrO content (5% and 7%)
the phenomenon is at its maximum, but it is unclear whether it shows a
saturation or not, thus leaving room for further improvements.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure
Anisotropy and directional pinning in YBaCuO with BaZrO3 nanorods
Measurements of anisotropic transport properties (dc and high-frequency
regime) of driven vortex matter in YBaCuO with elongated
strong-pinning sites (c-axis aligned, self-assembled BaZrO nanorods) are
used to demonstrate that the effective-mass angular scaling takes place only in
intrinsic physical quantities (flux-flow resistivity), and not in
pinning-related Labusch parameter and critical currents. Comparison of the
dynamics at different time scales shows evidence for a transition of the vortex
matter toward a Mott phase, driven by the presence of nanorods. The strong
pinning in dc arises partially from a dynamic effect.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures. Accepted for publication on Applied Physics
Letters. With respect to v1: changed title, slightly shortene
Hybrid Superconducting Neutron Detectors
A new neutron detection concept is presented that is based on superconductive
niobium (Nb) strips coated by a boron (B) layer. The working principle of the
detector relies on the nuclear reaction 10B+n + 7Li ,
with and Li ions generating a hot spot on the current-biased Nb strip
which in turn induces a superconducting-normal state transition. The latter is
recognized as a voltage signal which is the evidence of the incident neutron.
The above described detection principle has been experimentally assessed and
verified by irradiating the samples with a pulsed neutron beam at the ISIS
spallation neutron source (UK). It is found that the boron coated
superconducting strips, kept at a temperature T = 8 K and current-biased below
the critical current Ic, are driven into the normal state upon thermal neutron
irradiation. As a result of the transition, voltage pulses in excess of 40 mV
are measured while the bias current can be properly modulated to bring the
strip back to the superconducting state, thus resetting the detector.
Measurements on the counting rate of the device are presented and the future
perspectives leading to neutron detectors with unprecedented spatial
resolutions and efficiency are highlighted.Comment: 8 pages 6 figure
A Zero-Transient Dual-Frequency Control for Class-E Resonant DC-DC Converters
In this paper, a dual-frequency control method for regulating the output power in class-E resonant DC-DC converters has been introduced. As in the standard ON-OFF control or other recently proposed dual-frequency controls, the approach is based on the ability of the converter to alternately operate in a high- and a low-power state. The proposed solution has a twofold advantage: on the one hand, soft-switching capabilities (i.e., Zero-Voltage and Zero-Voltage-Derivative switching) are preserved in both operating states; on the other hand, it is possible to reduce to zero the transient time required to switch from one state to the other one. The most straightforward consequence is the possibility to increase to very large values the frequency at which the two operating states are switched, up to the same order of magnitude as the main switching frequency of the converter. In this way, the additional ripple introduced by the proposed dual-frequency control can be decreased to a negligible value. The approach has been validated by measurements on a prototype operating between 4Â MHz and 8Â MHz and in which it has been possible to increase the control frequency up to 500Â kHz
Photoluminescence properties of C60 films deposited on silicon substrate
Photoluminescence (PL) spectra of C-60 films deposited on Si substrates have been measured from 10 to 300 K and as a function of laser excitation intensity. Recombination of self-trapped excitons and their phonon replicas, as well as X-trap-related emissions, are the main features of the PL spectra. The influence of the deposition parameters, namely deposition rate and substrate temperature, on the luminescence efficiency of the C-60 films have been investigated. Low substrate temperature produces a lowering of the PL efficiency, whereas an increase of the deposition rate causes an increase of the X-trap emission
Effect of nanosize BaZrO3 inclusions on vortex parameters in YBaCuO
We report on the field dependence of the microwave complex resistivity data
in YBaCuO/BaZrO films grown by PLD at various BaZrO
content. The data, analyzed within a recently developed general framework for
the mixed-state microwave response of superconductors, yield the field
dependence of the fluxon parameters such as the vortex viscosity and the
pinning constant. We find that pinning undergoes a change of regime when the
BaZrO content in the target increases from 2.5 mol.% to 5 mol.%.
Simultaneously, the vortex viscosity becomes an increasing function of the
applied magnetic field. We propose a scenario in which flux lines are pinned as
bundles, and a crossover from dilute point pins to dense c-axis correlated
defects takes place between 2.5 and 5 mol.% in the BZO concentration. Our data
are inconsistent with vortices occupying mainly the BaZrO sites at low
fields, and suggest instead that vortices occupy both BaZrO sites and
interstitials in the YBaCuO matrix, even at low fields.Comment: Presented at EUCAS 2009, to be published in J. Phys.:Conf. Serie
A Wireless Power Transfer System for Biomedical Implants based on an isolated Class-E DC-DC Converter with Power Regulation Capability
In this paper, the design of a wireless power transfer system (WPT) targeting biomedical implants is considered. The novelty of the approach is to propose a co-design of the transmitter and receiver side based on the design of class-E isolated DC-DC converters. The solution, along with the simple introduction of a shunt regulator at the receiver, allows us to solve the problem of ensuring optimal efficiency in the WPT link. In conventional solutions, in order to cope with coupling factor and load variations, information from the receiver is needed, which is usually relayed back onto the transmitter by means of telemetry. With the proposed approach, a very simple minimum power point tracking (mPPT) algorithm can be used to maximize the WPT efficiency based on the information already available at the transmitter side. This reduces the complexity of the circuitry of the implant and thereby its power overhead and possibly its size, both being crucial constraints of a biomedical implant
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