264 research outputs found
Super-hard Superconductivity
We present a study of the magnetic response of Type-II superconductivity in
the extreme pinning limit, where screening currents within an order of
magnitude of the Ginzburg-Landau depairing critical current density develop
upon the application of a magnetic field. We show that this "super-hard" limit
is well approximated in highly disordered, cold drawn, Nb and V wires whose
magnetization response is characterized by a cascade of Meissner-like phases,
each terminated by a catastrophic collapse of the magnetization. Direct
magneto-optic measurements of the flux penetration depth in the virgin
magnetization branch are in excellent agreement with the exponential model in
which J_c(B)=J_co exp(-B/B_o), where J_co~5x10^6 A/cm^2 for Nb. The
implications for the fundamental limiting hardness of a superconductor are
discussed.Comment: corrected Fig.
Zooming into the coexisting regime of ferromagnetism and superconductivity in ErRh4B4 single crystals
High resolution measurements of the dynamic magnetic susceptibility are
reported for ferromagnetic re-entrant superconductor, ErRhB.
Detailed investigation of the coexisting regime reveals unusual
temperature-asymmetric and magnetically anisotropic behavior. The
superconducting phase appears via a series of discontinuous steps upon warming
from the ferromagnetic normal phase, whereas the ferromagnetic phase develops
via a gradual transition. A model based on local field inhomogeneity is
proposed to explain the observations
Doping - dependent superconducting gap anisotropy in the two-dimensional 10-3-8 pnictide Ca(PtAs)[(FePt)As]
The characteristic features of
Ca(PtAs)[(FePt)As] ("10-3-8")
superconductor are relatively high anisotropy and a clear separation of
superconductivity and structural/magnetic transitions, which allows studying
the superconducting gap without complications due to the coexisting order
parameters. The London penetration depth, measured in underdoped single
crystals of 10-3-8 ( 0.028, 0.041, 0.042, and 0.097), shows behavior
remarkably similar to other Fe-based superconductors, exhibiting robust
power-law, . The exponent decreases from 2.36
( 0.097, close to optimal doping) to 1.7 ( 0.028, a heavily
underdoped composition), suggesting that the superconducting gap becomes more
anisotropic at the dome edge. A similar trend is found in low-anisotropy
superconductors based on BaFeAs ("122"), implying that it is an
intrinsic property of superconductivity in iron pnictides, unrelated to the
coexistence of magnetic order and superconductivity or the anisotropy of the
normal state. Overall this doping dependence is consistent with
pairing competing with intra-band repulsion
Measurements of the absolute value of the penetration depth in high- superconductors using a tunnel diode resonator
A method is presented to measure the absolute value of the London penetration
depth, , from the frequency shift of a resonator. The technique
involves coating a high- 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}\lambda (0)\lambda \approx 2790$ \AA, reported for the first
time.Comment: RevTex 4 (beta 4). 4 pages, 4 EPS figures. Submitted to Appl. Phys.
Let
Evidence for Surface Andreev Bound states in Cuprate Superconductors from Penetration Depth Measurements
Tunneling and theoretical studies have suggested that Andreev bound states
form at certain surfaces of unconventional superconductors. Through studies of
the temperature and field dependence of the in-plane magnetic penetration depth
lambda_ab at low temperature, we have found strong evidence for the presence of
these states in clean single crystal YBCO and BSCCO. Crystals cut to expose a
[110] interface show a strong upturn in lambda_ab at around 7K, when the field
is oriented so that the supercurrents flow around this surface. In YBCO this
upturn is completely suppressed by a field of ~0.1 T.Comment: 4 pages 2 column revtex + 4 postscript figures. Submitted to PR
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