46 research outputs found
Quantum vortex tunneling in thin films
Cuprate films offer a unique opportunity to observe vortex tunneling effects,
due to their unusually low superfluid density and short coherence length. Here,
we measure the magnetoresistance (\textit{MR}) due to vortex motion of a long
meander line of a superconducting film made of underdoped
. At low temperatures (\textit{T}), the \textit{MR}
shows a significant deviation from Arrhenius activation. The data is consistent
with two dimensional Variable Range Hopping (VRH) of single vortices, i.e.
. The VRH temperature scale depends on the
vortex tunneling rates between pinning sites. We discuss its magnitude with
respect to estimated parameters of the meander thin film.Comment: 5 figure
A study of the ferromagnetic transition of in nanometer thick bilayers with , , Au and Cr: Signature of injected carriers in the pseudogap regime
The hypothesis regarding the existence of uncorrelated pre-formed pairs in
the pseudogap regime of superconducting is tested experimentally
using bilayers of and the itinerant ferromagnet . In
our study, we monitor the influence of on , the
ferromagnetic ordering temperature of . Here, is the temperature
of maximum dM/dT or dR/dT where M and R are the magnetization and resistance of
, respectively. We compare the results with similar measurements
carried out on bilayers of , and with
. We find that in bilayers made of underdoped 10 nm /5
nm , the values are shifted to lower temperatures by up to 6-8 K
as compared to K of the 5 nm thick reference film.
In contrast, in the other type of bilayers, which are not in the pseudogap
regime near , only a smaller shift of up to 2 K is observed. These
differences are discussed in terms of a proximity effect, where carriers from
the layer are injected into the layer and vice versa.
We suggest that correlated electrons in the pseudogap regime of
are responsible for the observed large shifts.Comment: 9 figure
Experimental search for anisotropic flux flow resistivity in the a-b plane of optimally doped epitaxial thin films of YBCO
Transport measurements along the node and anti-node directions in the a-b
plane of optimally doped and epitaxial thin films of YBCO are reported. Low
bias magnetoresistance measurements near and below T_c show that the flux flow
resistivity along the node and anti-node directions versus magnetic field are
indistinguishable. This result suggests that within the experimental error of
our measurements, no correspondence is found between the flux pinning
properties in YBCO and the d-wave nature of the order parameter.Comment: 5 figure
Observation of Macroscopic Structural Fluctuations in bcc Solid 4He
We report neutron diffraction studies of low density bcc and hcp solid 4He.
In the bcc phase, we observed a continuous dynamical behaviour involving
macroscopic structural changes of the solid. The dynamical behaviour takes
place in a cell full of solid, and therefore represents a solidsolid
transformation. The structural changes are consistent with a gradual rotation
of macroscopic grains separated by low angle grain boundaries. We suggest that
these changes are triggered by random momentary vibrations of the experimental
system. An analysis of Laue diffraction patterns indicates that in some cases
these structural changes, once initiated by a momentary impulse, seem to
proceed at a constant rate over times approaching an hour. The energy
associated with these macroscopic changes appears to be on the order of kT.
Under similar conditions (temperature and pressure), these effects were absent
in the hcp phase.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figure, accepted for PR
Magnetoresistance of Junctions made of Underdoped YBCO Separated by a Ga-doped YBCO Barrier
We report magnetoresistance measurements of ramp type
superconductor-normal-superconductor (SNS) junctions. The junctions consist of
underdoped (YBCO) electrodes separated by a barrier of
. We observe a large positive magnetoresistance,
linear in the field. We suggest that this unusual magnetoresistance originates
in the field dependence of the proximity effect. Our results indicate that in
underdoped YBCO/N/YBCO SNS structures, the proximity effect does not exhibit
the anomalously long range found in optimally doped YBCO structures. From our
data we obtain the diffusion coefficient and relaxation time of quasiparticles
in underdoped YBCO.Comment: 5 figures, accepted for publication in Physical Review
Observation of Magnetic Flux Generated Spontaneously During a Rapid Quench of Superconducting Films
We report observations of spontaneous formation of magnetic flux lines during
a rapid quench of YBaCuO films through T. This
effect is predicted according to the Kibble-Zurek mechanism of creation of
topological defects of the order parameter during a symmetry-breaking phase
transition. Our previous experiment, at a quench rate of 20K/sec, gave null
results. In the present experiment, the quench rate was increased to
\TEXTsymbol{>} 10 K/sec. Within experimental resolution, the dependence
of the measured flux on the cooling rate is consistent with the prediction
Role of Interfaces in the Proximity Effect in Anisotropic Superconductors
We report measurements of the critical temperature of YBCO-Co doped YBCO
Superconductor-Normal bilayer films. Depending on the morphology of the S-N
interface, the coupling between S and N layers can be turned on to depress the
critical temperature of S by tens of degrees, or turned down so the layers
appear almost totally decoupled. This novel effect can be explained by the
mechanism of quasiparticle transmission into an anisotropic superconductor.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figure
Density of states of a layered S/N d-wave superconductor
We calculate the density of states of a layered superconductor in which there
are two layers per unit cell. One of the layers contains a d-wave pairing
interaction while the other is a normal metal. The goal of this article is to
understand how the d-wave behaviour of the system is modified by the coupling
between the layer-types. This coupling takes the form of coherent, single
particle tunneling along the c-axis. We find that there are two physically
different limits of behaviour, which depend on the relative locations of the
Fermi surfaces of the two layer-types. We also discuss the interference between
the interlayer coupling and pairing interaction and we find that this
interference leads to features in the density of states.Comment: 33 pages and 11 PostScript figure