Effect of Carbon-Doping in Bulk Superconducting MgB2 Samples

Bulk superconducting samples of MgB2 were prepared by solid state reaction of stoichiometric quantities of Mg turnings and B in a sealed Ta cylinder at 890 C for 2 hours. The as-synthesized MgB2 samples had a Tc of 39 K, as defined as the onset of diamagnetism. The crystal symmetry was found to be hexagonal with lattice parameters, a=3.0856 A, and c=3.5199 A, similar to the literature values. To study the effect of carbon doping in MgB2, various C-containing samples of x varying from 0 to 1.00 in MgB2-xCx were prepared. Magnetic characterizations indicate that the Tc onset is same for pure and C-doped samples for x = 0.05, and 0.10. However, the shielding signal decreased monotonically with C content, apparently due to the presence of carbon on the grain boundaries that isolates grains and prevents flow of supercurrents on the perimeter.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure

Superconducting gap parameters of MgB2 obtained on MgB2/Ag and MgB2/In junctions

MgB2 superconducting wires with critical temperature Tc approaching 40 K were used for preparation of MgB2/Ag and MgB2/In junctions. The differential conductance vs. voltage characteristics of N-S junctions exhibit clear contribution of Andreev reflection. Using modified BTK theory for s-wave superconductors two order parameters 4 meV and 2.6 meV have been determined from temperature dependencies. Surprisingly, larger order parameter vanishes at lower temperature ~20 K than smaller one with Tc 38 K. Both the magnitudes of the order parameters and their critical temperatures are in good agreement with theoretical calculations of electron-phonon coupling in MgB$_2$ carried out by Liu et al.Comment: revised manuscrip

Flow and acoustic characteristics of subsonic and supersonic jets from convergent nozzle

Acoustic and flow characteristics of subsonic and supersonic jets from convergent nozzle

Temperature- and magnetic-field-dependent resistivity of MgB2 sintered at high temperature and high pressure condition

We report the temperature- and magnetic-field-dependent resistivity of MgB2 sintered at high temperature and high pressure condition. The superconducting transition width for the resistivity measurement was about 0.4 K, and the low-field magnetization showed a sharp superconducting transition with a transition width of about 1 K. The resistivity in the normal state roughly followed T^2 behavior with smaller residual resistivity ratio (RRR) of 3 over broad temperature region above 100 K rather than reported T^3 behavior with larger RRR value of ~ 20 in the samples made at lower pressures. Also, the resistivity did not change appreciably with the applied magnetic field, which was different from previous report. These differences were discussed with the microscopic and structural change due to the high-pressure sintering.Comment: 2 pages, 3 figures. Accepted by Physica

MgB2 conductors for dc and ac applications

The paper presents discussion on up to date results on MgB2 conductors from the point of view of their future dc and ac applications. Basic physical parameters of MgB2 compound relevant to conductors are introduced. Different conductor preparation methods and conductor architectures are presented and attainable critical current densities discussed. Some numerical results on critical currents and ac losses of future multifilamentary MgB2 conductors with magnetic cladding of their filaments are given. Recently observed anomalous decrease of ac susceptibility at 50 K in copper clad Powder-in-tube, PIT, MgB2 wires is presented.Comment: Paper presented at EUCAS'01 conference, Copenhagen, 26-30 August 200

Synthesis of as-grown superconducting MgB_2 thin films by molecular beam epitaxy in UHV conditions

As-grown superconducting MgB_2 thin films have been grown on SrTiO_3(001), MgO(001), and Al_2O_3(0001) substrates by a molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) method with novel co-evaporation conditions of low deposition rate in ultra-high vacuum. The structural and physical properties of the films were studied by RHEED, XRD, electrical resistivity measurements, and SQUID magnetometer. The RHEED patterns indicate three-dimensional growth for MgB_2. The highest T_c determined by resistivity measurement was about 36K in these samples. And a clear Meissner effect below T_c was observed using magnetic susceptibility measurement. We will discuss the influence of B buffer layer on the structural and physical properties.Comment: 9 pages with 4 figures, ISS2003 proceedin

Substitution induced pinning in MgB_2 superconductor doped with SiC nano-particles

By doping MgB_2 superconductor with SiC nano-particles, we have successfully introduced pinning sites directly into the crystal lattice of MgB_2 grains (intra-grain pinning). It became possible due to the combination of counter-balanced Si and C co-substitution for B, leading to a large number of intra-granular dislocations and the dispersed nano-size impurities induced by the substitution. The magnetic field dependence of the critical current density was significantly improved in a wide temperature range, whereas the transition temperature in the sample MgB_2(SiC)_x having x = 0.34, the highest doping level prepared, dropped only by 2.6 K.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figure

Superconducting magnesium diboride films with Tc \approx 24K grown by pulsed laser deposition with in-situ anneal

Thin superconducting films of magnesium diboride (MgB2) with Tc \approx 24K were prepared on various oxide substrates by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) followed by an in-situ anneal. A systematic study of the influence of various in-situ annealing parameters shows an optimum temperature of about 600C in a background of 0.7 atm. of Ar/4%H2 for layers consisting of a mixture of magnesium and boron. Contrary to ex-situ approaches (e.g. reacting boron films with magnesium vapor at 900C), these films are processed below the decomposition temperature of MgB2. This may prove enabling in the formation of multilayers, junctions, and epitaxial films in future work. Issues related to the improvement of these films and to the possible in-situ growth of MgB2 at elevated temperature are discussed.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Synthesis and photoemission study of as-grown superconducting MgB2 thin films

As-grown superconducting thin films of MgB2 were prepared by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), and studied by X-ray and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS and UPS). Only films prepared at temperatures between 150 and 320 deg. showed superconductivity. A best TC onset of 36 K with a sharp transition width of -1 K was obtained although the film crystallinity was poor. The in-situ photoelectron spectra obtained on the surfaces of the MBE grown MgB2 films were free from dirt peaks. XPS revealed that the binding energy of the Mg 2p levels in MgB2 is close to that of metallic Mg, and the binding energy of B 1s is close to that of transition-metal diborides. The valence UP spectra showed a clear Fermi edge although the density of states (DOS) at EF is low and the major components of the valence band are located between 5 and 11 eV.Comment: ISS 2001 proceedin