New Insights on the Intrinsic Anisotropy of YBCO Films

Careful investigation of the angular dependence of resistivity ρ(θ) (θ is the angle between the magnetic field and the ab-planes) and the temperature dependence of resistivity ρ(T) within the superconducting transition in an applied magnetic field B up to 1 T for a series of YBa₂Cu₃O_7−δ (YBCO) thin films revealed a large variation of intrinsic anisotropy factor γ. The series of films studied included both optimally doped and underdoped samples of different T _c , critical current density J _c , film thickness, and preparation techniques. The variation in the shape and depth of the minimum measured for ρ(θ) near θ=0° could be directly correlated to the intrinsic anisotropy of the YBCO films. The results of fitting of ρ(θ) using Bardeen–Stephen theory allowed a quantitative determination of the value of γ which varies between 7 and 230, and is independent of T _c , film thickness, or J _c . The sharper the minimum in ρ(θ) around θ=0° the larger is the anisotropy. For highly anisotropic film, ρ(θ) showed an identical behavior for B ∥ J and B ⊥ J (i.e., ρ(θ) is independent of the angle θ between B and J for this film). The large variation in γ could be attributed to the “buckling” of the CuO₂ planes.