Importance of out-of-plane dispersion of the excitation spectrum of superconducting bilayers with Josephson coupling

We study the effect of Josephson coupling between adjacent superconducting layers on the BCS energy spectrum. We find that the interference between the gap functions of two layers can lead to vanishing condensation energy for perpendicular momenta corresponding to the formation of standing waves. We therefore predict a conventional energy spectrum for large interlayer spacings, if the gap of the single layers has no nodes, and in all cases a gapless spectrum for small spacings. Within the experimental error, our numerical results account for the low-temperature dependence of the penetration depth reported in Nd_1.85Ce_0.15CuO₄ and YBa₂Cu₃O_6.9.     

The High Field Project at Dresden/Rossendorf: A Pulsed 100 T/10 ms Laboratory at an Infrared Free-Electron-Laser Facility

This article describes the project to build a pulsed magnetic field user laboratory at the Forschungszentrum Rossendorf near Dresden. Using a 50 MJ/24 kV capacitor bank, pulsed fields and rise times of 100 T/10 ms, 70 T/100 ms, and 60 T/1 s should be achieved. The laboratory will be built next to a free-electron-laser-facility for the middle and far infrared (5 to 150 µm, 2 ps, cw). We describe the work which has been performed until now to start the construction of the laboratory in 2003: coil concepts and computer simulations, materials development for the high field coils, and design of the capacitor bank modules. In addition, a pilot laboratory has been set up where fields up to 62 T/15 ms have been obtained with a 1 MJ/10 kV capacitor module. It is used to gain experience in the operation of such a facility and to test various parts of it. In this test laboratory special devices have been developed for measurements of magnetization and magnetoresistance, and have been successfully used to investigate various materials including semiconductors and Heavy Fermion compounds. In particular, metamagnetic transitions in intermetallic compounds and the irreversibility field of a high-T _c superconductor have been determined. Shubnikov–de Haas oscillations have been observed in the semimetallic compound CeBiPt. Resistance relaxation has been observed to start less than 1second after the field pulse. It could be shown for the first time that nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is detectable in pulsed fields.     

The relationship among oxygen content, defect distribution and superconductivity in BiSrCaCuO systems

The effect of oxygen content on superconductivity of the 2212 and 2223 phase has been studied. By comparing the excess oxygen, the modulation vector, the XRD patterns, and the electric resistivity of 2212 and 2223 phase samples obtained with different post-annealing conditions, i.e., annealing at 600°C or quenching from 860°C, it was found that the super-conductivity is markedly influenced by both the defect distribution in non-Bi layers and the interstitial oxygens incorporated in the Bi-O layers. A tentative explanation for this is given.     

Oxygen-enrichment of YBa2Cu3 YBa2Cu3O7-δ using the fluidization techniqueusing the fluidization technique

The oxygen-deficient phase of the highT _c superconductor, YBa₂Cu₃O₇, was oxygen-enriched using the fluidization technique to give good superconducting properties. The normal method of oxygen treatment at 900°C for 24 h and at 600°C for 24 h has been reduced to just one treatment at 600°C for 12 h by the fluidization technique to achieve almost the same strength of superconducting signal for the YBa₂Cu₃O₇ powder, which establishes the attractiveness of the latter route for the large-scale preparation of superconducting material. The particle sizes were in the range 0–90, 90–180 and 180–420 μm. The fluidized particles were crystalline with orthorhombic distortion.T _c ^onset , estimated using the a.c. magnetic susceptibility method, was 91·3 K. The volume fraction of superconducting material in the product was 83·7–85·3%, one of the highest values reported so far for YBa₂Cu₃O₇.     

Low Temperature Elastic Constants of Polycrystalline MgB2

We have used a resonant ultrasound spectroscopy technique to measure the bulk and shear modulus of fully dense, polycrystalline MgB₂ between 4 and 300 K. Both moduli show good agreement with published first principle calculations. The internal friction shows a broad maximum around 40 K.     

Superconductivity at differentTc in CdBa2Ca2Cu3Oy

A Cd analogue of the Tl and Hgn =3 series with nominal composition CdBa₂Ca₂Cu₃O_y has been synthesized. The samples were superconducting according to magnetic susceptibility measurements. The critical temperature was 103 or 107 K depending on the preparation conditions. The EDX analysis revealed the presence of Cd-1111, Cd-1121, and Cd-2333 as minor phases. The observed diamagnetic effects were attributed to the differentT _c of these phases.     

Magnetic properties of high-temperature superconductors: Analysis within the framework of the impurity mechanism

The impurity mechanism proposed earlier is used to interpret the magnetic properties of hightemperature superconductors. The appearance of superconductive granules and the existence of weak bonds in grains of ceramics and in single crystals is explained. The irreversibility line is obtained and its new interpretation as the line of thresholds of appearance of infinite nonsuperconductive cluster is given. The relaxation time of the magnetic susceptibility in alternating magnetic fields is calculated. The decrease of the Meissner fraction with increase in magnetic field and decrease in doping, and other magnetic properties are explained.     

Effect of site-selective substitution in bulk superconducting Tl2Ba2CaCu2O8

Magnetization measurements were carried out on bulk Tl₂Ba₂CaCu₂O₈ (referred to as Tl-2212) and on various site-selective substituted Tl-2212 samples. At 5K between 0 and 4.5 T, the 5 at. % Mg-doped Tl-2212 (Tl,Mg-2212) samples displayed enhanced pinning as demonstrated by a field dependent increase of the magnetic critical-current density J_c by 18 to 25 percent over that of pristine Tl-2212. Excess Mg (10–15 at. %), however, is deleterious. Rietveld refinement of the x-ray diffraction pattern showed Mg on the Tl sites. Auger electron spectroscopy analysis showed part of the Mg on grain boundaries. The flux-creep activation energies are higher for flux expulsion than for flux penetration in both Tl-2212 and Tl,Mg-2212 samples; the latter displays higher individual values. Our results demonstrate an increase in the number density of flux lines as a result of increased density of atomic-size-structural, defects by Mg (5 at. %) doping. In the Tl_2−yBa₂(Ca_1−zY_z)Cu₂O_8−x(z=0–0.3; single phase; x and y represent oxygen and thallium vacancies) system also studied, the T_c decreases as z increases. At z=0.3, the sample becomes an antiferromagnetic semiconductor.     

Consequences of the formation of Cooper-pairs near oxygen-deficient sites

In this investigation we consider the formation of Cooper pairs near the oxygen-deficient sites in Y-Ba-Cu-O ceramic superconductors which would give rise to an energy-dependent potential as seen by conduction charge carriers. It is shown that Cooper pairs could be formed under such conditions, resulting in a supercurrent. We use the Bogoliubov transformation technique to calculate the energy gap, the energy difference, and the transition temperature of the model superconductor using certain data obtained from previous experiments. Numerical analysis shows that the superconducting current can be explained by the presence of such oscillating Cooper pairs.     

A review of the linear term in the low-temperature specific heat of La2CuO4 and La2?xMxCuO4 (M = Ba, Ca, Sr)

In this report I will summarize the results of an extensive review of the low-temperature specific heat of the La-based high-temperature superconductors, withT _c between 30 and 40 K, and the related nonsuperconducting compound La₂CuO₄. There have been two previous studies by Fisheret al. [1] and Fischeret al. [2] which also reviewed the low-temperature specific heat of these materials. This work was undertaken to extend a similar study of the 90 K superconductor YBa₂Cu₃O_7– which we recently completed [3]. This review will focus exclusively on the low-temperature specific heat and will update the previous studies by including recent results.