Measurements of the absolute value of the penetration depth in high-Tc T_c superconductors using a tunnel diode resonator

A method is presented to measure the absolute value of the London penetration depth, $\lambda$, from the frequency shift of a resonator. The technique involves coating a high-$T_c$ superconductor (HTSC) with film of low - Tc material of known thickness and penetration depth. The method is applied to measure London penetration depth in YBa2Cu3O{7-\delta} (YBCO) Bi2Sr2CaCu2O{8+\delta} (BSCCO) and Pr{1.85}Ce{0.15}CuO{4-\delta}$(PCCO). For YBCO and BSCCO, the values of$\lambda (0)$are in agreement with the literature values. For PCCO$\lambda \approx 2790$ \AA, reported for the first time.Comment: RevTex 4 (beta 4). 4 pages, 4 EPS figures. Submitted to Appl. Phys. Let

Conductance quantization in etched Si/SiGe quantum point contacts

We fabricated strongly confined Schottky-gated quantum point contacts by etching Si/SiGe heterostructures and observed intriguing conductance quantization in units of approximately 1e2/h. Non-linear conductance measurements were performed depleting the quantum point contacts at fixed mode-energy separation. We report evidences of the formation of a half 1e2/h plateau, supporting the speculation that adiabatic transmission occurs through 1D modes with complete removal of valley and spin degeneracies.Comment: to appear in Physical Review

Field-dependent diamagnetic transition in magnetic superconductor Sm1.85Ce0.15CuO4−ySm_{1.85} Ce_{0.15} Cu O_{4-y}

The magnetic penetration depth of single crystal $\rm{Sm_{1.85}Ce_{0.15}CuO_{4-y}}$ was measured down to 0.4 K in dc fields up to 7 kOe. For insulating $\rm{Sm_2CuO_4}$, Sm$^{3+}$ spins order at the N\'{e}el temperature, $T_N = 6$ K, independent of the applied field. Superconducting $\rm{Sm_{1.85}Ce_{0.15}CuO_{4-y}}$ ($T_c \approx 23$ K) shows a sharp increase in diamagnetic screening below $T^{\ast}(H)$ which varied from 4.0 K ($H = 0$) to 0.5 K ($H =$ 7 kOe) for a field along the c-axis. If the field was aligned parallel to the conducting planes, $T^{\ast}$ remained unchanged. The unusual field dependence of $T^{\ast}$ indicates a spin freezing transition that dramatically increases the superfluid density.Comment: 4 pages, RevTex

Topological Hysteresis in the Intermediate State of Type-I Superconductors

Magneto-optical imaging of thick stress-free lead samples reveals two distinct topologies of the intermediate state. Flux tubes are formed upon magnetic field penetration (closed topology) and laminar patterns appear upon flux exit (open topology). Two-dimensional distributions of shielding currents were obtained by applying an efficient inversion scheme. Quantitative analysis of the magnetic induction distribution and correlation with magnetization measurements indicate that observed topological differences between the two phases are responsible for experimentally observable magnetic hysteresis.Comment: 4 pages, RevTex