73 research outputs found
Angular dependence of the coherent peak position in the polarization bremsstrahlung spectrum of relativistic electrons in polycrystalline targets
The spectra of the polarization bremsstrahlung (PB) in the X-ray range induced by 7-MeV electrons in polycrystalline Al, Cu, and Ni polycrystalline films have been measured and the angular dependences of the PB characteristics have been studiedyesBelgorod State Universit
Magneto-optical studies of the uniform critical state in bulk MgB2
We present a detailed magneto-optical investigation of the magnetic flux
penetration in polycrystalline MgB2 slabs made by direct reaction of B and Mg.
Our results unambiguously indicate a uniform, Bean critical state magnetization
behavior with almost no electromagnetic granularity. From the measured magnetic
flux profiles we were able to extract the temperature dependence of the
critical current density Jc(T). The Jc(T) value reaches 1.8x10^5 A/cm2 at 10K
and 0.12T, in good agreement with global magnetization measurements
Behavior of bulk high-temperature superconductors of finite thickness subjected to crossed magnetic fields
Crossed magnetic field effects on bulk high-temperature superconductors have
been studied both experimentally and numerically. The sample geometry
investigated involves finite-size effects along both (crossed) magnetic field
directions. The experiments were carried out on bulk melt-processed Y-Ba-Cu-O
(YBCO) single domains that had been pre-magnetized with the applied field
parallel to their shortest direction (i.e. the c-axis) and then subjected to
several cycles of the application of a transverse magnetic field parallel to
the sample ab plane. The magnetic properties were measured using orthogonal
pick-up coils, a Hall probe placed against the sample surface and
Magneto-Optical Imaging (MOI). We show that all principal features of the
experimental data can be reproduced qualitatively using a two-dimensional
finite-element numerical model based on an E-J power law and in which the
current density flows perpendicularly to the plane within which the two
components of magnetic field are varied. The results of this study suggest that
the suppression of the magnetic moment under the action of a transverse field
can be predicted successfully by ignoring the existence of flux-free
configurations or flux-cutting effects. These investigations show that the
observed decay in magnetization results from the intricate modification of
current distribution within the sample cross-section. It is also shown that the
model does not predict any saturation of the magnetic induction, even after a
large number (~ 100) of transverse field cycles. These features are shown to be
consistent with the experimental data.Comment: 41 pages, 9 figures, accepted in Phys. Rev. B Changes : 8 references
added, a few precisions added, some typos correcte
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Magneto-optical imaging and current distributions in high-{Tc} superconductors
Recent studies on the magneto-optical (MO) imaging of the magnetic flux and current distributions in polycrystalline high-{Tc} superconductors are summarized. The authors studied a wide spectrum of high-{Tc} materials, from single grain boundaries in YBCO bicrystals, to polycrystalline YBCO thick films deposited on an IBAD-buffer layer grown on a polycrystalline Hastelloy substrate, to Bi-2223 tapes. In all cases they found that structural defects (e.g., high-angle grain boundaries, second phase precipitates, microcrack networks, etc.) significantly limit the current-carrying capability. These defects make the magnetic flux distribution highly inhomogeneous, in turn producing granular and percolative current flow. By inverting the Biot-Savart law for thin film and slab geometries, they were able to reconstruct the local current flow patterns around defects and thus identify the current-carrying percolative paths and map the distribution of local critical currents J{sub c}(r). Such studies show that, even in high-J{sub c} materials, the local J{sub c}(r) can vary by a factor 2--10 due to defects. Since the maximum local J{sub c}(r) values can significantly exceed the numbers obtained by transport measurements, it is clear that there are still significant opportunities for raising the J{sub c} of polycrystalline HTS conductors
Strongly linked current flow in polycrystalline forms of the new superconductor MgB2
The discovery of superconductivity at 39 K in MgB2[1] raises many issues. One
of the central questions is whether this new superconductor resembles a
high-temperature-cuprate superconductor or a low-temperature metallic
superconductor in terms of its current carrying characteristics in applied
magnetic fields. In spite of the very high transition temperatures of the
cuprate superconductors, their performance in magnetic fields has several
drawbacks[2]. Their large anisotropy restricts high bulk current densities to
much less than the full magnetic field-temperature (H-T) space over which
superconductivity is found. Further, weak coupling across grain boundaries
makes transport current densities in untextured polycrystalline forms low and
strongly magnetic field sensitive[3,4]. These studies of MgB2 address both
issues. In spite of the multi-phase, untextured, nano-scale sub-divided nature
of our samples, supercurrents flow throughout without the strong sensitivity to
weak magnetic fields characteristic of Josephson-coupled grains[3].
Magnetization measurements over nearly all of the superconducting H-T plane
show good temperature scaling of the flux pinning force, suggestive of a
current density determined by flux pinning. At least two length scales are
suggested by the magnetization and magneto optical (MO) analysis but the cause
of this seems to be phase inhomogeneity, porosity, and minority insulating
phase such as MgO rather than by weakly coupled grain boundaries. Our results
suggest that polycrystalline ceramics of this new class of superconductor will
not be compromised by the weak link problems of the high temperature
superconductors, a conclusion with enormous significance for applications if
higher temperature analogs of this compound can be discovered
Influence of vortex-vortex interaction on critical currents across low-angle grain boundaries in YBa2Cu3O7-delta thin films
Low-angle grain boundaries with misorientation angles theta < 5 degrees in
optimally doped thin films of YBCO are investigated by magnetooptical imaging.
By using a numerical inversion scheme of Biot-Savart's law the critical current
density across the grain boundary can be determined with a spatial resolution
of about 5 micrometers. Detailed investigation of the spatially resolved flux
density and current density data shows that the current density across the
boundary varies with varying local flux density. Combining the corresponding
flux and current pattern it is found that there exists a universal dependency
of the grain boundary current on the local flux density. A change in the local
flux density means a variation in the flux line-flux line distance. With this
knowledge a model is developped that explains the flux-current relation by
means of magnetic vortex-vortex interaction.Comment: 7 pages, 14 figure
Thin Film Magnesium Boride Superconductor with Very High Critical Current Density and Enhanced Irreversibility Field
The discovery of superconductivity at 39 K in magnesium diboride offers the
possibility of a new class of low-cost, high-performance superconducting
materials for magnets and electronic applications. With twice the critical
temperature of Nb_3Sn and four times that of Nb-Ti alloy, MgB_2 has the
potential to reach much higher fields and current densities than either of
these technological superconductors. A vital prerequisite, strongly linked
current flow, has already been demonstrated even at this early stage. One
possible drawback is the observation that the field at which superconductivity
is destroyed is modest. Further, the field which limits the range of practical
applications, the irreversibility field H*(T), is ~7 T at liquid helium
temperature (4.2 K), significantly lower than ~10 T for Nb-Ti and ~20 T for
Nb_3Sn. Here we show that MgB_2 thin films can exhibit a much steeper
temperature dependence of H*(T) than is observed in bulk materials, yielding
H*(4.2 K) above 14 T. In addition, very high critical current densities at 4.2
K, 1 MA/cm_2 at 1 T and 10_5 A/cm_2 at 10 T, are possible. These data
demonstrate that MgB_2 has credible potential for high-field superconducting
applications.Comment: 4 pages pdf, submitted to Nature 3/20/0
Electronic anisotropy, magnetic field-temperature phase diagram and their dependence on resistivity in c-axis oriented MgB2 thin films
An important predicted, but so far uncharacterized, property of the new
superconductor MgB2 is electronic anisotropy arising from its layered crystal
structure. Here we report on three c-axis oriented thin films, showing that the
upper critical field anisotropy ratio Hc2par/Hc2perp is 1.8 to 2.0, the ratio
increasing with higher resistivity. Measurements of the magnetic
field-temperature phase diagram show that flux pinning disappears at H* ~
0.8Hc2perp(T) in untextured samples. Hc2par(0) is strongly enhanced by alloying
to 39 T for the highest resistivity film, more than twice that seen in bulk
samples.Comment: 5 pages Acrobat 3.02 pd
Evidence for two distinct scales of current flow in polycrystalline Sm and Nd iron oxypnictides
Early studies have found quasi-reversible magnetization curves in
polycrystalline bulk rare-earth iron oxypnictides that suggest either
wide-spread obstacles to intergranular current or very weak vortex pinning. In
the present study of polycrystalline samarium and neodymium rare-earth iron
oxypnictide samples made by high pressure synthesis, the hysteretic
magnetization is significantly enhanced. Magneto optical imaging and study of
the field dependence of the remanent magnetization as a function of particle
size both show that global currents over the whole sample do exist but that the
intergranular and intragranular current densities have distinctively different
temperature dependences and differ in magnitude by about 1000. Assuming that
the highest current density loops are restricted to circulation only within
grains leads to values of ~5 MA/cm2 at 5 K and self field, while whole-sample
current densities, though two orders of magnitude lower are 1000-10000 A/cm2,
some two orders of magnitude higher than in random polycrystalline cuprates. We
cannot yet be certain whether this large difference in global and intragrain
current density is intrinsic to the oxypnictides or due to extrinsic barriers
to current flow, because the samples contain significant second phase, some of
which wets the grain boundaries and produces evidences of SNS proximity effect
in the whole sample critical current.Comment: 28 pages, 14 figure
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