31 research outputs found
Periodic alternating -junction structures as realization of -Josephson junctions
We consider the properties of a periodic structure consisting of small
alternating 0- and pi- Josephson junctions. We show that depending on the
relation between the lengths of the individual junctions, this system can be
either in the homogeneous or in the phase-modulated state. The modulated phase
appears via a second order phase transition when the mismatch between the
lengths of the individual junctions exceeds the critical value. The screening
length diverges at the transition point. In the modulated state, the
equilibrium phase difference in the structure can take any value from -pi to pi
(phi-junction). The current-phase relation in this structure has very unusual
shape with two maxima. As a consequence, the field dependence of the critical
current in a small structure is very different from the standard Fraunhofer
dependence. The Josephson vortex in a long structure carries partial magnetic
flux, which is determined by the equilibrium phase.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figues, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Electromagnetic waves in a Josephson junction in a thin film
We consider a one-dimensional Josephson junction in a superconducting film
with the thickness that is much less than the London penetration depth. We
treat an electromagnetic wave propagating along this tunnel contact. We show
that the electrodynamics of a Josephson junction in a thin film is nonlocal if
the wave length is less than the Pearl penetration depth. We find the
integro-differential equation determining the phase difference between the two
superconductors forming the tunnel contact. We use this equation to calculate
the dispersion relation for an electromagnetic wave propagating along the
Josephson junction. We find that the frequency of this wave is proportional to
the square root of the wave vector if the wave length is less than the Pearl
penetration depth.Comment: 12 pages, a figure is included as a uuencodeded postscript file,
ReVTe
Flux Creep and Flux Jumping
We consider the flux jump instability of the Bean's critical state arising in
the flux creep regime in type-II superconductors. We find the flux jump field,
, that determines the superconducting state stability criterion. We
calculate the dependence of on the external magnetic field ramp rate,
. We demonstrate that under the conditions typical for most of the
magnetization experiments the slope of the current-voltage curve in the flux
creep regime determines the stability of the Bean's critical state, {\it i.e.},
the value of . We show that a flux jump can be preceded by the
magneto-thermal oscillations and find the frequency of these oscillations as a
function of .Comment: 7 pages, ReVTeX, 2 figures attached as postscript file
Self-generated magnetic flux in YBaCuO grain boundaries
Grain boundaries in YBaCuO superconducting films are
considered as Josephson junctions with a critical current density
alternating along the junction. A self-generated magnetic flux is treated both
analytically and numerically for an almost periodic distribution of .
We obtained a magnetic flux-pattern similar to the one which was recently
observed experimentally.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure
Buckling instability in type-II superconductors with strong pinning
We predict a novel buckling instability in the critical state of thin type-II
superconductors with strong pinning. This elastic instability appears in high
perpendicular magnetic fields and may cause an almost periodic series of flux
jumps visible in the magnetization curve. As an illustration we apply the
obtained criteria to a long rectangular strip.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
Magnetic flux jumps in textured Bi2Sr2CaCu2O(8+d)
Magnetic flux jumps in textured Bi2Sr2CaCu2O(8+d) have been studied by means
of magnetization measurements in the temperature range between 1.95 K and Tc,
in an external magnetic field up to 9 T. Flux jumps were found in the
temperature range 1.95 K - 6 K, with the external magnetic field parallel to
the c axis of the investigated sample. The effect of sample history on magnetic
flux jumping was studied and it was found to be well accounted for by the
available theoretical models. The magnetic field sweep rate strongly influences
the flux jumping and this effect was interpreted in terms of the influence of
both flux creep and the thermal environment of the sample. Strong flux creep
was found in the temperature and magnetic field range where flux jumps occur
suggesting a relationship between the two. The heat exchange conditions between
the sample and the experimental environment also influence the flux jumping
behavior. Both these effects stabilize the sample against flux instabilities,
and this stabilizing effect increases with decreasing magnetic field sweep
rate. Demagnetizing effects are also shown to have a significant influence on
flux jumping.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, RevTeX4, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Internal avalanches in a pile of superconducting vortices
Using an array of miniature Hall probes, we monitored the spatiotemporal
variation of the internal magnetic induction in a superconducting niobium
sample during a slow sweep of external magnetic field. We found that a sizable
fraction of the increase in the local vortex population occurs in abrupt jumps.
The size distribution of these avalanches presents a power-law collapse on a
limited range. In contrast, at low temperatures and low fields, huge avalanches
with a typical size occur and the system does not display a well-defined
macroscopic critical current.Comment: 5 pages including 5 figure
Superconducting Transition Temperature in Heterogeneous Ferromagnet-Superconductor Systems
We study the shift of the the superconducting transition temperature in
ferromagnetic-superconducting bi-layers and in a superconducting film supplied
a square array of ferromagnetic dots. We find that the transition temperature
in these two cases change presumably in opposite direction and that its change
is not too small. We extend these results to multilayer structures. We predict
that rather small external magnetic field Oe can change the
transition temperature of the bilayer by 10% .Comment: 9 pages, 2 figure
Dynamics of 2D pancake vortices in layered superconductors
The dynamics of 2D pancake vortices in Josephson-coupled
superconducting/normal - metal multilayers is considered within the
time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau theory. For temperatures close to a
viscous drag force acting on a moving 2D vortex is shown to depend strongly on
the conductivity of normal metal layers. For a tilted vortex line consisting of
2D vortices the equation of viscous motion in the presence of a transport
current parallel to the layers is obtained. The specific structure of the
vortex line core leads to a new dynamic behavior and to substantial deviations
from the Bardeen-Stephen theory. The viscosity coefficient is found to depend
essentially on the angle between the magnetic field and the
axis normal to the layers. For field orientations close to the layers
the nonlinear effects in the vortex motion appear even for slowly moving vortex
lines (when the in-plane transport current is much smaller than the
Ginzburg-Landau critical current). In this nonlinear regime the viscosity
coefficient depends logarithmically on the vortex velocity .Comment: 15 pages, revtex, no figure
Local threshold field for dendritic instability in superconducting MgB2 films
Using magneto-optical imaging the phenomenon of dendritic flux penetration in
superconducting films was studied. Flux dendrites were abruptly formed in a 300
nm thick film of MgB2 by applying a perpendicular magnetic field. Detailed
measurements of flux density distributions show that there exists a local
threshold field controlling the nucleation and termination of the dendritic
growth. At 4 K the local threshold field is close to 12 mT in this sample,
where the critical current density is 10^7 A/cm^2. The dendritic instability in
thin films is believed to be of thermo-magnetic origin, but the existence of a
local threshold field, and its small value are features that distinctly
contrast the thermo-magnetic instability (flux jumps) in bulk superconductors.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.