Higher harmonics of ac voltage response in narrow strips of YBa2Cu3O7 thin films: Evidence for strong thermal fluctuations

We report on measurements of higher harmonics of the ac voltage response in strips of YBa2Cu3O7 thin films as a function of temperature, frequency and ac current amplitude. The third (fifth) harmonic of the local voltage is found to exhibit a negative (positive) peak at the superconducting transition temperature and their amplitudes are closely related to the slope (derivative) of the first (Ohmic) harmonic. The peaks practically do not depend on frequency and no even (second or fourth) harmonics are detected. The observed data can be interpreted in terms of ac current induced thermal modulation of the sample temperature added to strong thermally activated fluctuations in the transition region.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures (PDF file

Observation of a sharp lambda peak in the third harmonic voltage response of high-T

In this paper, we report on the sharp peak observed in the third harmonic voltage response generated by a bias sinusoidal current applied to several strips patterned in a YBa2Cu3O$_{7-\delta}$ thin film and in two La$_{2-x}$SrxCuO4 thin films, when the temperature is close to the normal-superconductor transition. The lambda-shaped temperature dependence of the third harmonic signal on the current characteristics is studied. Several physical mechanisms of third harmonic generation are examined