200 research outputs found
Studies of cracking behavior in melt-processed YBCO bulk superconductors
An important phenomenon in bulk superconductors fabricated by top-seeded-melt growth (TSMG) is the formation of cracks due to the inherent brittleness of the YBa2Cu3O7-δ (Y-123) phase matrix. These form during the fabrication of the superconducting monolith and play an important role in the limitation of current flow. However, cracks may also form during cooling cycles of the sample to liquid nitrogen temperatures. In this investigation, macrocracks along the c-direction, in particular were analyzed microscopically before and after cooling. In addition we attempt to resolve the c-axis macrocrack formation pattern using the magnetoscan technique
Epitaxial LaFeAsOF thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition
Superconducting and epitaxially grown LaFeAsOF thin films were successfully
prepared on (001)-oriented LaAlO3 substrates using pulsed laser deposition. The
prepared thin films show exclusively a single in-plane orientation with
epitaxial relation (001)[100] parallel to (001)[100] and a FWHM value of 1deg.
Furthermore, resistive measurement of the superconducting transition
temperature revealed a Tc90 of 25K with a high residual resistive ratio of 6.8.
The applied preparation technique, standard thin film pulsed laser deposition
at room temperature in combination with a subsequent post annealing process, is
suitable for fabrication of high quality LaFeAsO1-xFx thin films. A high upper
critical field of 76.2 T was evaluated for magnetic fields applied
perpendicular to the c-axis and the anisotropy was calculated to be 3.3
assuming single band superconductivity.Comment: 6 pages, 4 Figure
A Novel Magnetoscan Setup
Due to a modification in the original magnetoscan setup, a significant
improvement in resolution was obtained. The paper focuses on experimental
results which should support the idea of the new setup using two magnets with
opposite direction of magnetization. This contribution to the characterization
techniques of melt-grown bulk superconductors should promote the easy
installation of this technique in industry. The improved magnetoscan technique
may further help to investigate growth-induced inhomogeneities of the
top-seeded-melt-growth process in the submillimeter range, and it offers new
possibilities to the characterization of smaller structures such as
superconducting films or coated conductors.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure
BaFe_{1.8}Co_{0.2}As_2 thin film hybrid Josephson junctions
Josephson junctions with iron pnictides open the way for fundamental
experiments on superconductivity in these materials and their application in
superconducting devices. Here, we present hybrid Josephson junctions with a
BaFe_{1.8}Co_{0.2}As_2 thin film electrode, an Au barrier and a PbIn counter
electrode. The junctions show RSJ-like current-voltage characteristics up to
the critical temperature of the counter electrode of about 7.2K. The
temperature dependence of the critical current, IC, does not show an
Ambegaokar-Baratoff behavior. Well-pronounced Shapiro steps are observed at
microwave frequencies of 10-18GHz. Assuming an excess current, I_ex, of 200
{\mu}A at 4.2K we get an effective I_C R_N product of 6 {\mu}V.Comment: submitted to Appl. Phys. Let
Quantitative assessment of pinning forces and the superconducting gap in NbN thin films from complementary magnetic force microscopy and transport measurements
Epitaxial niobium-nitride thin films with a critical temperature of Tc=16K
and a thickness of 100nm were fabricated on MgO(100) substrates by pulsed laser
deposition. Low-temperature magnetic force microscopy (MFM) images of the
supercurrent vortices were measured after field cooling in a magnetic field of
3mT at various temperatures. Temperature dependence of the penetration depth
has been evaluated by a two-dimensional fitting of the vortex profiles in the
monopole-monopole model. Its subsequent fit to a single s-wave gap function
results in the superconducting gap amplitude Delta(0) = 2.9 meV = 2.1*kB*Tc, in
perfect agreement with previous reports. The pinning force has been
independently estimated from local depinning of individual vortices by lateral
forces exerted by the MFM tip and from transport measurements. A good
quantitative agreement between the two techniques shows that for low fields, B
<< Hc2, MFM is a powerful and reliable technique to probe the local variations
of the pinning landscape. We also demonstrate that the monopole model can be
successfully applied even for thin films with a thickness comparable to the
penetration depth.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures, 2 table
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Studies of cracking behavior in melt-processed YBCO bulk superconductors
An important phenomenon in bulk superconductors fabricated by top-seeded-melt growth (TSMG) is the formation of cracks due to the inherent brittleness of the YBa2Cu3O7-δ (Y-123) phase matrix. These form during the fabrication of the superconducting monolith and play an important role in the limitation of current flow. However, cracks may also form during cooling cycles of the sample to liquid nitrogen temperatures. In this investigation, macrocracks along the c-direction, in particular were analyzed microscopically before and after cooling. In addition we attempt to resolve the c-axis macrocrack formation pattern using the magnetoscan technique
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