Specific heat of the high-Tc oxide superconductors

We review the specific heat measurements on La₂CuO₄, La_2–xM_xCuO₄ (M = Ca, Sr, and Ba), YBa₂Cu₃O₇, and the Bi-Ca-Sr-Cu-O and Tl-Ca-Ba-Cu-O systems. Tables of properties derived from the data are presented. Results on RBa₂Cu₃O₇ (R=rare earth elements other than Y) are summarized, as are results on YBa₂(Cu_3–xM_x)O₇ (M=Zn, Cr, Fe, or Ni). The difficulties of analyzing the specific heat data, and specifically the separation of the contributions associated with magnetic impurities, are discussed. It is tentatively concluded that the data nearT _c are consistent with BCS theory, although they show evidence of fluctuation effects. It is also concluded that the low-temperature zero-field data on a majority of the high-T _c oxide superconductors provide evidence of anintrinsic term that is proportional toT, a result that is inconsistent with a gap in the electronic density of states.     

Irreversible change of surface impedance of high-Tc thin films due to D.C. magnetic field commutation

The magnetic field dependence of the surface impedance (resistance and reactance) of high-T _c thin films is found employing measurements of the quality factor and the frequency of the parallel plate resonator in a dc magnetic field up to 500 Oe at 10 GHz.c-Oriented YBa₂Cu₃O₇ thin films are examined. Enhancement of surface resistance and inductance with increase of magnetic field is observed. The effect of irreversible increase of surface impedance as compared to its initial values after a cycle of magnetic field commutation is found. A qualitative explanation of the observed effects based on the picture of magnetic vortex penetration and accumulation in the film due to strong pinning is presented.     

Theab-plane optical conductivity of high-Tc superconductors

There is anisotropy in theab-plane optical properties of the high-temperature superconductors, both in the normal state and in the superconducting state. In both states, two components appear in the optical conductivity: a free carrier part and a midinfrared component. BelowT _c , the free carriers form the superconducting condensate. In YBa₂Cu₃O_7–, the anisotropy of the penetration depth shows that the chains contribute strongly to this superfluid. In Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O₈, where chains are absent, there is stillab plane anisotropy. BelowT _c a finite absorption parallelb remains at frequencies as small as 20 meV. This anisotropy could be due to anisotropy either of the superconducting gap or the midinfrared component.     

On the characteristic voltage of high-Tc superconductors

The critical currents and normal resistances of the small bridges from yttrium-based high-T _c superconducting ceramics have been measured. The characteristic voltage of these bridges was found to be approximately 20 V. This effect can be explained if, between the ceramic grains, there are contacts of an order of one crystalline cell in size.The authors are grateful to V. N. Polushkin for his help in this investigation.     

Preparation of YBa2Cu3O7–x high-Tcceramic superconductors from melt

Fabrication of high-T _c ceramic superconductor in the system Y₂O₃-BaO-CuO by melting a mixture of component oxides has been investigated. The compositions of the resulting specimens and the effects of heat treatment have been investigated. It was determined that molten material was composed of phases including BaCuO₂, CuO, Y₂O₃, and Y₂BaCuO₅. A subsequent heat treatment in air produced a nominal amount of the high-T _c phase, while heat treatment in an O₂ atmosphere resulted in a significantly large percentage of the superconducting phase.     

Parallel-plate resonator of variable spacer thickness for accurate measurements of surface impedance of high-Tc superconductive films

Measurements of microwave surface impedance of high-T _c films at gigahertz frequencies and nitrogen temperature are performed. A simple technique employing a parallel-plate resonator with liquid nitrogen as a dielectric spaces is suggested. The use of a precise mechanical device provides smooth changing of distance between films from 200m down to zero. Coupling to the resonator is accomplished by means of two small antennas-half-wave vibrators for frequency 10 GHz. The method for determining resistivity and magnetic field penetration depth was based on the analysis of spacer thickness dependences of the resonator quality factor and frequency. YBa₂Cu₃O₇ films produced by a laser deposition technique on CaNdAlO₄ substrates withT _c =91 K andj _c =10⁷ A/cm² and on NdGaO₃ substrates withT _c =91 K andj _c =10⁶ A/cm² are examined, and the valuesR _s =0.6 m,=348 nm atf=8.97 GHz andR _s =0.5 m,=250 nm atf=10.12 GHz, respectively, are obtained at 77 K.     

Measurements of the surface resistance of high-Tc superconductors at high RF fields

We report measurements of the r.f. surface resistance of a wide variety of high-T _c superconductors in bulk form and as films on silver substrates. Several apparatuses have been constructed and used for measurements at frequencies from 0.15 to 40 GHz and r.f. surface magnetic fields as high as 640 G. In every case in which the field dependence of the surface resistance was measured, the surface resistance increased monotonically with field amplitude through a transition region characterized by a strong field dependence. It then saturated at high field at a value of a few percent of the normal-state surface resistance just aboveT _c . In the presence of this field dependence, the frequency dependence of the surface resistance changed from quadratic to less than linear.     

Structural analysis of high-Tccuprate superconductors

We have shown in this paper that members of the Tl-Ba-Ca-Cu-O and Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O superconducting families fabricated so far are built up of superconductor-semiconductor arrays. Four general homologous series are written down for these two families. The basic fundamental block in each series is itself a superconductor. We suggest that the Y-Ba-Cu-O family has a similar characteristic if YBaCu₂O_5-d is a superconductor.     

Magnetic hysteresis of the zero-resistance critical temperature of high-Tc granular superconductors

We have found a notorious hysteretic behavior in the dependence of the zero-resistance critical temperature obtained through resistivity () versus temperature (T) measurements with applied field (H _e ) in High-T _c granular superconductors. This behavior is explained semi-quantitatively based on the analogy between the present observation and a similar hysteresis found in the field dependence of the transport critical current in these materials.     

Effect of superconducting fluctuations on the nmr relaxation rate of high-Tc superconductors

The effect of superconducting order parameter fluctuations on the nuclear-spin relaxation rate, 1/T ₁, is studied for clean two-dimensional systems by calculating the three Maki-Thomson-type diagrams which represent the lowest-order fluctuation contributions to the transverse susceptibility. For Gaussian fluctuations and for temperatures near the mean field transition temperature,T _c0, we employ a weak-coupling theory in which the pair-fluctuation propagator can also include pair-breaking effects. We also go beyond the Gaussian theory and take into account the interactions between Cooper-pair fluctuations corresponding to the fourth-order Ginzburg-Landau fluctuation terms. We compare our results with previous results in the dirty limit and in 3D. We obtain a pronounced peak in 1/T₁ atT _c and briefly discuss possible reasons why this peak is not observed.     

Disorder effects and critical temperature for the diffusive model of high-Tc superconductors

The effect of disorder and magnetic correlations is considered in connection with the occurrence of the superconducting state. The effect of disorder can reduce the pair-weakening parameter. The Coulomb pseudopotential is strongly dependent on disorder and decreases drastically the critical temperature. The competition between disorder and magnetic correlation effects is analyzed.     

Magnetic correlations and disorder in a two-dimensional fermi liquid: Possible important effects for high-Tc superconductors

The influence of magnetic correlations and disorder in a two-dimensional Fermi liquid is considered in connection with the occurrence of the superconducting state. The disorder effect and magnetic correlations work against the superconducting state but at the same time are competitive phenomena. We show that the critical temperature can decrease due to the magnetic correlations and disorder, but the effect of correlations is reduced by the disorder. The electronic mass enhancement has been calculated taking into consideration the magnetic correlation effects and disorder. Its dependence on the concentration impurities, in agreement with the experimental data, shows the importance of the localization effects due to disorder. These results are in agreement with the experimental data obtained for the high critical temperature superconductors.     

Observation of X-band SQUID signals in a High-Tc superconducting film device

A microwave superconducting magnetometer is described in which a microstrip resonator is coupled to a two-hole high-T _c thin-film SQUID device. Both the microstrip circuit and the thin-film SQUID were fabricated by photolithography techniques. The YBCO thin film was deposited on single-crystal substrate of yttria-stabilized zirconia [YSZ(100)] by an ion beam sputtering technique producing a superconducting transition measured at a critical temperature ofT _c =92 K to within T 3 K. Non linear oscillatory behavior was observed in the microstrip resonator when inductively coupled to the SQUID. This nonlinear behavior yielded a microwave device in which the reflected microwave power varied with applied DC magnetic flux.     

Effect of Bi/Pb ratio and annealing temperature onTc and formation of high-Tc phase in Bi-Pb-Sr-Ca-Cu-O superconductor

We studied the effect of Bi/Pb ratio and annealing temperature onT _c and formation of the high-T _c ; phase in Bi-Pb-Sr-Ca-Cu-O superconductor by the three-step reaction process. The optimum Bi/Pb ratio is about 1.80.3 and the optimum annealing temperature is about 845–855°C. It is found that a variate high-T _c phase existed at the higher annealing temperature. The zero-resistance temperature of the variate high-T _c phase decreased when the annealing temperature increased, although the phase is isostructural with the 110 K phase.     

t-Model mechanism of high-Tc cuprates

A doublon formalism ofd-p model Hubbard Hamiltonian is studied only with transfer integrals, and without the superexchange term. This gives excellent doping-dependent features ofT _c in high-T _c cuprates.     

Transport Ic measurement technique with non-soldered contacts for Ag-sheathed high Tc superconductors

A transport current measurement technique suitable for the technological development of hightemperature superconducting tapes has been designed. The main advantage of the technique presented is in the application of non-soldered current and voltage contacts which allows measurement of the same element of superconducting tape at different technological states (roll-sinter or press-sinter step). Voltage-current characteristics can be measured in self field as well as in external magnetic field at 77 K or 4.2 K and at different field orientations. The technique capabilities are demonstrated by presenting I_c data obtained from Bi(2223)/Ag tape.     

Cooper pair breaking and isotope effect coefficient variation in high-Tc superconductors

The effect of pair breaking on the isotope effect coefficient=–d lnT _c/d lnM in La_2–x Sr _x CuO₄ and Pr-, Ca-, and Zn-doped YBa₂Cu₃O_7–x and EuBa₂Cu₃O_7–x is studied using the generalized Abrikosov-Gorkov theory recently employed by Singh and Kishore for superconductivity. It is argued that the isotope effect coefficient can be further enhanced, in agreement with experimental observations, by considering the dependence of the characteristic scattering time _s for Cooper pairs on the concentrationn of impurities (both magnetic and nonmagnetic) and the disorder ignored by them (J. Supercond. 8, 9 (1995).     

A phase diagram of new high-Tcsuperconductors

A phase diagram of new high-T _c superconductors as highly pinning superconductors of the second type is presented. The diagram includes both vortex glass and vortex liquid phases.     

Nanostripes in GdBa2Cu3Ox high-Tc superconductors

High-T_c superconductors with light rare earth (LRE) elements instead of Y exhibit nanoscale stripe structures on the surface as observed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) scans. Within the GdBa₂Cu₃O_x (GdBCO) system exhibiting relatively high critical current densities, nanoclusters arranged in a stripe-like fashion are observed in undoped material, while adding of nanoparticles (ZnO₂, ZrO₂) leads to the formation of nanostripes as observed in other LRE superconductors. The nanostripes in doped GdBCO exhibit periodicties between 20 and 50 nm and corresponding step heights of 0.3–0.8 nm. Using polarized light microscopy and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) analysis, we determined the direction of the nanostripes with respect to the known twin structure.     

Some general remarks on metastability and high-Tcsuperconductivity

Some considerations of atomic arrangement and electronic structure of high-T _c superconductive materials are collected to explain the unique behavior of these perovskite-type materials.