210 research outputs found
Evidence of Vortex Jamming in Abrikosov Vortex Flux Flow Regime
We report on dynamics of non-local Abrikosov vortex flow in mesoscopic
superconducting Nb channels. Magnetic field dependence of the non-local voltage
induced by the flux flow shows that vortices form ordered vortex chains.
Voltage asymmetry (rectification) with respect to the direction of vortex flow
is evidence that vortex jamming strongly moderates vortex dynamics in
mesoscopic geometries. The findings can be applied to superconducting devices
exploiting vortex dynamics and vortex manipulation, including superconducting
wires with engineered pinning centers.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Transverse instabilities of multiple vortex chains in superconductor-ferromagnet bilayers
Using scanning tunneling microscopy and Ginzburg-Landau simulations we
explore vortex configurations in magnetically coupled NbSe-Permalloy
superconductor-ferromagnet bilayer. The Permalloy film with stripe domain
structure induces periodic local magnetic induction in the superconductor
creating a series of pinning-antipinning channels for externally added magnetic
flux quanta. Such laterally confined Abrikosov vortices form quasi-1D arrays
(chains). The transitions between multichain states occur through propagation
of kinks at the intermediate fields. At high fields we show that the system
becomes non-linear due to a change in both the number of vortices and the
confining potential. The longitudinal instabilities of the resulting vortex
structures lead to vortices `levitating' in the anti-pinning channels.Comment: accepted in PRB-Rapid
Self-assembly routes towards creating superconducting and magnetic arrays
Using self-assembly from colloidal suspensions of polystyrene latex spheres we prepared well-ordered templates. By electrochemical deposition of magnetic and superconducting metals in the pores of such templates highly ordered magnetic and superconducting anti-dot nano-structures with 3D architectures were created. Further developments of this template preparation method allow us to obtain dot arrays and even more complicated structures. In magnetic anti-dot arrays we observe a large increase in coercive field produced by nanoscale (50–1000nm) holes. We also find the coercive field to demonstrate an oscillatory dependence on film thickness. In magnetic dot arrays we have explored the genesis of 3D magnetic vortices and determined the critical dot size. Superconducting Pb anti-dot arrays show pronounced Little-Parks oscillations in Tc and matching effects in magnetization and magnetic susceptibility. The spherical shape of the holes results in significantly reduced pinning strength as compared to standard lithographic samples. Our results demonstrate that self-assembly template methods are emerging as a viable, low cost route to prepare sub-micron structures
Superconductivity and hybrid soft modes in TiSe
The competition between superconductivity and other ground states of solids
is one of the challenging topics in condensed matter physics. Apart from
high-temperature superconductors [1,2] this interplay also plays a central role
in the layered transition-metal dichalcogenides, where superconductivity is
stabilized by suppressing charge-density-wave order to zero temperature by
intercalation [3] or applied pressure [4-7]. 1T-TiSe forms a prime example,
featuring superconducting domes on intercalation as well as under applied
pressure. Here, we present high energy-resolution inelastic x-ray scattering
measurements of the CDW soft phonon mode in intercalated CuTiSe and
pressurized 1T-TiSe along with detailed ab-initio calculations for the
lattice dynamical properties and phonon-mediated superconductivity. We find
that the intercalation-induced superconductivity can be explained by a solely
phonon-mediated pairing mechanism, while this is not possible for the
superconducting phase under pressure. We argue that a hybridization of phonon
and exciton modes in the pairing mechanism is necessary to explain the full
observed temperature-pressure-intercalation phase diagram. These results
indicate that 1T-TiSe under pressure is close to the elusive state of the
excitonic insulator
Evolution of the charge density wave state in CuxTiSe2
We present scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy measurements of the charge-density wave state in 1T-TiSe2, Cu0.05TiSe2, and Cu0.06TiSe2 single crystals. Topography images at 4.2 K reveal that the charge density waves are present in all samples studied, although the amplitude of the charge modulation decreases with the Cu doping. Moreover, the chiral phase of the charge density wave is preserved also in Cu-doped samples. Tunneling spectroscopy shows that there is only a partial gap in the pure compound, with bands crossing the Fermi surface. In the Cu-doped samples, the system becomes more metallic due to the increase of the chemical potential
Temperature and junction-type dependency of Andreev reflection in MgB2
We studied the voltage and temperature dependency of the dynamic conductance
of normal metal-MgB2 junctions obtained either with the point-contact technique
(with Au and Pt tips) or by making Ag-paint spots on the surface of
high-quality single-crystal-like MgB2 samples. The fit of the conductance
curves with the generalized BTK model gives evidence of pure s-wave gap
symmetry. The temperature dependency of the gap, measured in Ag-paint junctions
(dirty limit), follows the standard BCS curve with 2Delta/kTc = 3.3. In
out-of-plane, high-pressure point contacts we obtained almost ideal Andreev
reflection characteristics showing a single small s-wave gap Delta = 2.6 +/-
0.2 (clean limit). These results support the two-gap model of
superconductivity, the presence of a modified layer at the surface of the
crystals and an important and non-conventional role of the impurities in MgB2.Comment: 5 pages, 4 eps figures, SNS 2001 conferenc
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