Temperature and Current Dependent Matching Fields in?Superconducting NbN Film

Patterned superconducting thin films having a periodic array of submicrometric pinning centers have been of great interest due to their excellence for the studies of the vortex pinning mechanisms in the type-II superconductors. Square hole array has been fabricated over a micro-bridge 60 mm??60 mm of NbN thin film by electron beam lithography. Previous works have been carried out in Nb, Pb and Al thin films where the vortex pinning effect is assumed to be small. In this work, we study the matching pinning effect by the artificial hole array in superconducting NbN thin films. We observed the interplay between the vortex quantization and the artificial hole array. Magneto-resistance minima at integer matching fields up to five times of H ₁ (the first matching field corresponding to one vortex inside each hole) and fractional matching fields at 1/2H ₁, 3/2H ₁ and 5/2H ₁ have been observed.     

Asymmetry of the Pinning Force in Thin Nb Films in Parallel Magnetic Field

The pinning force, F _p, is studied in Nb films of different thickness in parallel magnetic field H. The asymmetry in the magnetic field dependence of F _p has been observed for two opposite directions of the transport current. The effect is less pronounced for thin and thick films where, respectively, single vortex pinning and pinning of the internal vortices, is relevant. At intermediate thickness, where the pinning mechanism is mostly caused by surface effects, an asymmetry in the F _p(H) dependence is clearly visible. The different surface barriers that vortices should overcome to enter the sample from opposite sides of the film explain the effect, as confirmed by numerical calculations. These have been obtained by solving the Ginzburg?CLandau equations with asymmetric boundary conditions which take into account the different superconducting properties of the film?Csubstrate and film?Cvacuum interface. Such difference can also explain the reduction of the critical current usually observed in thin films as a function of their thickness.     

Study and Application of Controlled Vortex Dynamics in?Patterned YBCO Films

Quantitative imaging of the local magnetic field and of current density distribution in superconductors (with microscopic resolution over macroscopic length scales) is achieved by means of the Magneto-Optical Imaging technique with an indicator film. We exploit this technique to study the vortex arrangement and the corresponding supercurrent distribution in high temperature superconducting YBa₂Cu₃O_7?x films. Several patterned superconducting films were studied, either non-simply connected structures, which imply macroscopic flux quantization, and superconductors whose local properties were tailored by means of confined heavy-ion irradiation. Moreover, by means of electrical transport measurements coupled with the real-time imaging of the magnetic pattern, it is directly shown how the local current distribution in patterned superconductors is affected by the electrical transport both in the Meissner and in the vortex regimes. The relevance of a controlled and localized dissipation induced by the confined vortex motion in tailored superconducting films is demonstrated for direct applications of this phenomenology to superconducting devices, such as magnetic field and photon detectors.     

Vortex Dynamics in a Superconducting Film with a Kagome and?a?Honeycomb Pinning Landscape

The vortex dynamics in a superconducting thin Al film with a periodic Honeycomb or Kagome array of antidots has been investigated by electrical transport measurements. The large values of the superconducting coherence length and penetration depth of the Al films guarantee a maximum of one flux quantum trapped per pinning site. This allows us to directly compare the experimental results with previous theoretical investigations based on molecular dynamics simulations. For the Kagome lattice, two submatching features not anticipated theoretically at H/H ₁=1/3 and 2/3, where H ₁ is the field at which the number of vortices coincides with the number of pinning sites, are observed. Possible corresponding stable vortex patterns are suggested. For the Honeycomb pinning landscape, the commensurability effects are in agreement with the theoretical expectations. A preliminary analysis of the vortex mobility in this lattice shows the presence of a weak vortex guidance.     

Vortex Avalanches Induced by Single High-Frequency Pulses in?MgB2 Films

We report on avalanche-like flux features in the response of superconducting films of MgB₂, prepared by magnetron sputtering and an ex-situ annealing process, when a single high-frequency pulse is used as a perturbative source. The instability is observed as an abrupt jump in the output voltage signal of the SQUID magnetometer where the sample is measured as a function of temperature, magnetic field, and pulse width, at fixed nominal power and frequency values. The interaction between the high-frequency surface currents and the relaxing vortex system is suggested to explain the nucleation of avalanches. Local heating due to the pulse application is also considered as a contributing mechanism.     

Destruction of the phase coherence by magnetic field in the fluctuation region of thin superconducting films

Reduction of the gradient of current density is observed near T _c in thin superconducting films. This effect is explained by the influence of fluctuation superconductivity on the current density distribution. The observed suppression of this effect by low magnetic field is explained by the destruction of phase coherence by magnetic field. The current density distribution in high magnetic field does not differ from that in the normal state down to low temperature (T << T _c2 ). This is interpreted as evidence that the superconducting state without pinning below H _c2 is not a vortex liquid but a state without phase coherence.     

Non-linear Flux Flow Resistance of Type-II Superconducting Films

We analyze the flux-flow (FF) regime in type-II superconducting films exhibiting quite strong pinning. By driving the vortex lattice (VL) up to high dissipative states, the moving VL undergoes an instability, leading to an abrupt change from the FF to the normal state, which is displayed in the current-voltage characteristics as a voltage jump at a critical vortex velocity v ^?. The temperature and magnetic field dependence of v ^? is investigated in different materials, and an unpredicted low field behavior of v ^?(B) is found. Moreover, for velocities lower than v ^?, a non-linear FF resistance is observed, with a ??peak?? in the current dependence of the dynamic resistance. This is a remarkable feature of a dynamic transition from disordered to ordered VL occurring in the FF state. We suggest that both unusual effects observed in v ^?(B) and R _FF(I) can be accounted for intrinsic pinning.     

Superconducting Ti/TiN Thin Films for mm-Wave Absorption

Polarization-sensitive detectors at 120–500 GHz are required for the observation of the cosmic microwave background radiation. In this paper, superconducting thin films based on Ti/TiN bilayers are developed to be integrated as electromagnetic wave absorbers in suspended cooled silicon bolometers. The critical temperature (T_c) is tuned in the range of 600–800 mK through the superconductivity proximity effect between Ti and TiN to optimize the absorption of the incident power while minimizing the heat capacity of the system at low temperature. Ti/TiN bilayer samples are fabricated on silicon with two different thicknesses (100/5 and 300/5 nm). Electrical characterizations at low temperature have been performed and revealed the effect of thermal annealing (20–250 °C) on residual stress, T_c, critical magnetic field (H_c) and resistance above T_c. A physical characterization by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy provides evidences of oxidized states which may explain these effects.     

Vortex Molecules in Thin Films of Layered Superconductors

Both the equilibrium and transport properties of the vortex matter are essentially affected by the behavior of the intervortex interaction potential. In isotropic bulk superconductors this potential is well known to be repulsive and is screened at intervortex distances R greater than the London penetration depth λ. As a result, in perfect crystals quantized Abrikosov vortices form a triangular lattice. In thin films of anisotropic superconductors this standard interaction potential behavior appears to be strongly modified because of the interplay between the long-ranged repulsion predicted in the pioneering work by J. Pearl and the attraction caused by the tilt of the vortex lines with respect to the anisotropy axes. This interplay results in a new type of vortex arrangement formed by finite-size vortex chains, i.e., vortex molecules. Tilted vortices with such unusual interaction potential form clusters with the size depending on the field tilting angle and film thickness or/and can arrange into multiquanta flux lattice. The magnetic flux through the unit cells of the corresponding flux line lattices equals to an integer number N of flux quanta. Thus, the increase in the field tilting (or varying temperature) should be accompanied by the series of the phase transitions between the vortex lattices with different N. A similar scenario should be realized in strongly anisotropic BSCCO high-T _c superconductors where in tilted field a crossing lattice of Abrikosov vortices (the stacks of pancakes in this case) and Josephson vortices appears. This crossing leads to the zigzag deformation of the pancakes stacks which is responsible for the attraction interaction competing with the long-ranged Pearl’s repulsion.     

Vortex motion in coupled DyBa2Cu3O7/(Y0.6Pr0.4)Ba2Cu3O7 heterostructures

Multilayer structures containing 24 Å thick DyBa₂Cu₃O₇ layers, separated by 96 Å of an (Y_0.6Pr_0.4)Ba₂Cu₃O₇ alloy, are studied to investigate the effect of coupling on vortex dynamics. With the magnetic field perpendicular to theab plane, and as a function of the number of superconducting layers in the structure, we find that the activation energy for flux motion increases, first linearly, and then saturates. This linear increase is taken as evidence that pancake vortices belonging to different DyBa₂Cu₃O₇ layers are stacked and have a coupled motion. Above a characteristic number of superconducting layers,N _c , shear of the vortex structures becomes important and the thermally activated process only displaces a stack ofN _c pancake vortices, meaning that the vortex lattice is turning three dimensional. In these structures we findN _c to be 2 to 3.     

Role of edge superconducting states in trapping of multi-quanta vortices by microholes. Application of the bitter decoration technique

The Bitter decoration technique is used to study the trapping of single and multiple quanta vortices by a lattice of circular microholes. By keeping a thin superconducting layer (the bottom) inside each hole we are able to visualise the trapped vortices. From this we determine, for the first time, the filling factor FF, i.e. the number of vortices captured inside a hole. In all cases the sample is cooled at a constant field before making the decoration. Two qualitatively different states of the vortex crystal are observed: (i) In case when the interhole distance is much larger than the coherence length, the filling factor averaged over many identical holes (〈(FF〉)) is a stepwise function of the magnetic flux (of the external field) through the hole, because each hole captures the same number of vortices. The density of fluxoids inside the openings is higher than in the uniform film, but much lower than it should be in the state of equilibrium. We claim that the number of trapped vortices is determined by the edge superconducting states which appear around each hole at the modified third critical fieldH _c3 ^* >H _c2 . BelowH _c2 such states produce a surface barrier of a new type. This barrier for the vortex entrance and exit is due to the strong increase of the order parameter near the hole edge. It keeps constant the number of captured vortices during the cooling at a fixed field, (ii) An increase of the hole density or of the hole radius initiates a sharp redistribution of fluxoids: all of them drop inside holes. This first order transition leads to a localization of all vortices and consequently to a qualitative change of the transport properties (TAFF in our case). In the resulting new state the filling factor is not any more the same for neighbouring holes and its averaged value is equal to the frustration of the hole network.     

Detailed Elaboration Method and Magnetic Study of?Nanometrical YBCO/YIG System

The blending of magnetic elements or compounds into a superconducting matrix has a direct effect on the physical properties of the latter and provides precious information on the superconductivity mechanisms, the spin/vortex interaction and the vortex pinning. To our knowledge, no study of the addition of nanoparticles of yttrium iron garnet Y₃Fe₅O₁₂ (called commonly YIG) in the yttrium, barium and copper oxide YBa₂Cu₃O_7??? (well known under the YBCO appellation) nanometrical matrix has been performed up to the present time. The YBCO and YIG powders have been elaborated by a conventional ceramic process. The obtained products have been characterized by magnetization measurements, X-ray diffraction and optical microscopy. The used ways to reduce their grain sizes below 50 nm and to mix them avoiding the formation of grain crowds have been explained. Their nanometrical sizes have been confirmed by atomic force microscope analysis. Eight pellets have been elaborated. The thermal variations of zero field cooled magnetizations, in a residual field of 44 G, have shown that the introduction of 5 and 9% in weight of a non-superconductor material (YIG) into a superconducting matrix (YBCO) has reduced the T _C only by 1 K for a ybcoyig5% pellet and 1.57 K for a ybcoyig9% one, comparatively with the ybcopur reference pellet??s T _C. In another way, our results have shown that the incorporation of YIG in very low quantities, between 0 and 0.5% in weight of YIG, increases the value of the critical current J _C of a ybcopur pellet (and, so, the vortex pinning). By fitting our experimental points starting from 0.5% in weight of YIG, an empirical law of the J _C variation versus added YIG percentage is suggested.     

Bose-Glass-Like Phases in Oriented-Twin YBa2Cu3O7−δ Crystals

We experimentally study the dynamical response of the superconducting vortex system near the solid-liquid transition by applying forces parallel and perpendicular to a planar random defect array. Our results show that for magnetic fields above a certain critical field H ^cr≈4 T the solid glassy vortex phase in YBa₂Cu₃O_7?δ crystals with oriented twin planes does not correspond to the so-called Bose-glass phase.     

Room-Tc Superconductivity on Whispering Mode in Quasi-1D Composite of Superconducting Nanotubes: Is It Possible?

Combining Little's and Ginzburg's ideas with recent progress in nanotubes research, a novel type of material is advanced as a perspective high-T _c superconductor on a base of a close-packed lattice of quasi-1D superconducting nanotubes. Idea is offered that superconducting coaxial multilayer nanotubes of the correlation length in diameter is an ideal and natural trap for pinning of Abrikosov vortex. Nanotube should be layered superconductor, such as LuNiBC. Mechanism of superconductivity was proposed and substantiated quantitatively on a base of a whispering mode, which is shown to be responsible for a strong enhancement of electron–phonon interaction and for an increase of critical temperature. Nanocomposite built from such quasi-1D nanotubes when coinciding with vortex lattice provides ideal conditions for the pinning, resonance, distortion, ordering, and Little–Parks effects, the joint action of which is suggested to result in synergetic effect increasing the superconductivity. Such quasi-1D or 2D nanotubular crystal is proposed to synthesize by template approach using zeolite-like membrane.     

Cooperative phenomena in ternary superconductors

A microscopic theory of ferromagnetic superconductors is developed from first principles. Self-consistent equations for the superconducting order parameter Δ and spontaneous magnetizations 〈S ^z 〉 are derived using a Green's function technique and considering thef-d exchange effect up to the second order. The theory is applied to explain the experimental results in the reentrant superconducting ternary system ErRh₄B₄. The present model explains reentrant behavior, predicts the coexistence of superconductivity and ferromagnetism in a very small range of temperature, the suppression of superconductivity by ferromagnetism, and vice versa. These results are in excellent agreement with the experimental data and predictions of other models. The behavior of the spontaneous magnetization, the superconducting order parameter, the specific heat, and the density of states is also studied.     

Enhancement of critical current density of YBa2Cu3O7 − δ thin films by self-assembly of Y2O3 nanoparticulates

YBa₂Cu₃O_7 − δ (YBCO) thin films, possessing high critical current density (J_c), have been synthesized by embedding a homogeneous array of Y₂O₃ non-superconducting nanoclusters/nanoparticles using a pulsed laser deposition technique. The size, interparticle spacing, and density of Y₂O₃ nanoparticles in YBCO thin films were tailored by varying the number of laser pulses in order to determine the optimum size for effective immobilization of vortices. Scanning transmission electron microscopy with atomic number contrast and X-ray diffraction techniques were used to determine the size and structure of the nanoparticles. Both techniques indicate that the Y₂O₃ particles are epitaxial with respect to the surrounding YBCO matrix. The information about pinning of vortices by the nanoparticles was obtained by investigating the behavior of critical current density as a function of temperature and applied field, which in turn determines the vortex density in the sample. The superconducting transition temperature (T_c) of YBCO films with the inclusion of nanoparticles was observed to remain almost the same or decrease marginally (1-2 K) with respect to T_c of pure YBCO films deposited under identical conditions. However, J_cs of YBCO films embedded with self-assembled nanoparticles were found to be significantly higher than that of pure YBCO films. The J_c enhancement was up to five times in high magnetic field, which is a key requirement for practical application of high-T_c materials.     

Magnetization Fluctuation Analysis and Superconducting Parameters of La1.5−x Ba1.5+x−y Ca y Cu3O z Superconductor

In this work we report analysis of experimental data of the magnetization of La_1.5?x Ba_1.5+x?y Ca _y Cu₃O _z superconducting system. The data are analyzed in terms of thermal fluctuations on the magnetization excess M(T) for different values of temperature in each of the samples. We describe a procedure for extracting the penetration depth in the ab plane (1537–1650 Å) and the coherence length in the ab plane (21–23 Å) parameters from the magnetization, as a function of the applied magnetic field. This procedure was performed for polycrystalline samples using the theory of Bulaevskii, Ledvij and Kogan, which analyzes the vortex fluctuation in superconducting materials within the Lawrence-Doniach framework. These data allowed one to determine the characteristic temperature value T ^? (53–73 K) in the magnetization curves for several magnetic fields. We calculated the data of magnetization excess from the curves of the magnetization as a function of the logarithm of the applied field. We notice that the values for these superconducting parameters are in agreement with reports for high-temperature superconductors. The value obtained of the superconducting volumetric fraction is compared with the value obtained through the measure of the Meissner effect.     

Reactively evaporated films of copper molybdenum sulfide

Films of superconducting Chevrel-phase copper molybdenum sulfide Cu_xMo₆S₈ were deposited on sapphire substrates by reactive evaporation using H₂S as the reacting gas. Two superconducting temperatures (10.0 K and 5.0 K) of the films were found, corresponding to two different phases with different copper concentrations. All films were superconducting above 4.2 K and contained Chevrel-phase compound as well as free molybdenum. The critical current was measured as a function of applied field. One sample was found to deviate from the scaling law found for co-evaporated or sputtered samples, which possibly indicates a different pinning mechanism or inhomogeneity of the sample.     

Surface Effects on the Dynamic Behavior of Vortices in Type II Superconducting Strips with Periodic and Conformal Pinning Arrays

Using molecular dynamics techniques, we simulate the vortex behavior in a type II superconducting strip in the presence of triangular and two types of conformal pinning arrays, one with a pinning gradient perpendicular to the driving force (C1) and the other parallel (C2), at zero temperature. A transport force is applied in the infinite direction of the strip, and the magnetic field is increased until the rate between the density of vortices (n _v ) and pinning (n _p ) reaches n _v /n _p =?1.5. Our results show a monotonic increase, by steps, of the vortex density with the applied magnetic field. Besides, each pinning lattice presents a different vortex penetration delay. For the triangular pinning array, different than the case of infinite films, here the system exhibits only one pronounced depinning force peak at n _v /n _p =?1. However, the depinning force peak is present for only one value of field, in the range of fields where n _v /n _p =?1 is stable. For the case of conformal pinning arrays, in analogy to what is observed in infinite films, no commensurability depinning force peaks were found. In the present case, the C1 array is more efficient at low fields, all arrays are equivalent in the intermediate fields, and the C2 array is more efficient for high fields. We also show that for the C1 array at high fields, vortices depin following the conformal arches, from the edge to the center. For the C2 array, the depinning force is higher when compared to that of C1, because this particular conformal structure prevents the formation of easy vortex flow channels.     

Vortex flow in granular aluminum films

The vortex flow and the resistive transition of granular Al films have been measured as a function of the magnetic field perpendicular to the film surface. The effects of fluctuations of the superconducting order parameter on the vortex flow resistanceR _f are discussed and compared with the theory of Maki and Takayama. The depression ofR _f belowH _c2 has been observed together with an electric field dependence ofR _f. The depression ofR _f is shown to agree qualitatively with the theoretical prediction. The field dependence ofR _f appears to be related to that of the excess conductivity aboveH _c2.