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Register a new userChange of strength of vortex pinning in YBCO due to BaZrO_3 inclusions
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We probe the short-range pinning properties with the application of microwave currents at very high driving frequencies (47.7 GHz) on YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-delta}$ films with and without sub-micrometer BaZrO$_3$ inclusions. We explore the temperature and field ranges 60 K$<T<T_c$ and 0$<mu_0H<$0.8 T, with the field applied along the c-axis. The magnetic field induces a much smaller increase of the microwave resistivity, $Delta rho_1(H)+mathrm{i}Delta rho_2(H)$, in YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-delta}$/BaZrO$_3$ with respect to pure YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-delta}$. $Delta rho_1(H)$ is slightly superlinear in pure YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-delta}$ (suggesting a possible contribution of thermal activation), but linear or sublinear in YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-delta}$/BaZrO$_3$ (suggesting a possible suppression of thermal activation as a consequence of BaZrO$_3$ inclusions). These features persist up to close to $T_c$. We discuss our data in terms of the ratio $r=Delta X_s(H)/Delta R_s(H)$ in the framework of the models for the microwave surface impedance in the mixed state. Large $r$ are found in YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-delta}$/BaZrO$_3$, with little field dependence. By contrast, smaller values and stronger field dependences are found in pure YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-delta}$. We discuss the different field dependence of the pinning constant.
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We present measurements of the magnetic field dependent microwave surface resistance in laser-ablated YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-delta}$ films on SrTiO$_3$ substrates. BaZrO$_3$ crystallites were included in the films using composite targets containing BaZrO$_3$ inclusions with mean grain size smaller than 1 $mu$m. X-ray diffraction showed single epitaxial relationship between BaZrO$_3$ and YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-delta}$. The effective surface resistance was measured at 47.7 GHz for 60$< T <$90 K and 0$< mu_0H <$0.8 T. The magnetic field had a very different effect on pristine YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-delta}$ and YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-delta}$/BaZrO$_3$, while for $mu_0H=$0 only a reduction of $T_c$ in the YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-delta}$/BaZrO$_3$ film was observed, consistent with dc measurements. At low enough $T$, in moderate fields YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-delta}$/BaZrO$_3$ exhibited an intrinsic thin film resistance lower than the pure film. The results clearly indicate that BaZrO$_3$ inclusions determine a strong reduction of the field-dependent surface resistance. From the analysis of the data in the framework of simple models for the microwave surface impedance in the mixed state we argue that BaZrO$_3$ inclusions determine very steep pinning potentials.
In order to study the vortex pinning determined by artificially introduced pinning centers in the small-vortex displacement regime, we measured the microwave surface impedance at 47.7 GHz in the mixed state of YBa$_{2}$Cu$_{3}$O$_{7-delta}$ thin films, where sub-micrometric BaZrO$_3$ particles have been incorporated. As a function of the BaZrO$_3$ content, we observe that the absolute losses slightly decrease up to a BaZrO$_3$ content of 5%, and then increase. We found that the magnetic-field-induced losses behave differently, in that they are not monotonic with increasing BaZrO$_3$ concentration: at small concentration (2.5%) the field-induced losses increase, but large reduction of the losses themselves, by factors up to 3, is observed upon further increasing the BaZrO$_3$ concentration in the target up to 7%. Using measurements of both surface resistance and surface reactance we estimate vortex pinning-related parameters. We find that BaZrO$_3$ inclusions introduce deep and steep pinning wells. In particular, the minimum height of the energy barrier for single vortices is raised. At larger BaZrO$_3$ content (5% and 7%) the phenomenon is at its maximum, but it is unclear whether it shows a saturation or not, thus leaving room for further improvements.
We report on the field dependence of the microwave complex resistivity data in YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-x}$/BaZrO$_3$ films grown by PLD at various BaZrO$_3$ content. The data, analyzed within a recently developed general framework for the mixed-state microwave response of superconductors, yield the field dependence of the fluxon parameters such as the vortex viscosity and the pinning constant. We find that pinning undergoes a change of regime when the BaZrO$_3$ content in the target increases from 2.5 mol.% to 5 mol.%. Simultaneously, the vortex viscosity becomes an increasing function of the applied magnetic field. We propose a scenario in which flux lines are pinned as bundles, and a crossover from dilute point pins to dense c-axis correlated defects takes place between 2.5 and 5 mol.% in the BZO concentration. Our data are inconsistent with vortices occupying mainly the BaZrO$_3$ sites at low fields, and suggest instead that vortices occupy both BaZrO$_3$ sites and interstitials in the YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-x}$ matrix, even at low fields.
Superconductors can support large dissipation-free electrical currents only if vortex lines are effectively immobilized by material defects. Macroscopic critical currents depend on elemental interactions of vortices with individual pinning centers. Pinning mechanisms are nontrivial for large-size defects such as self-assembled nanoparticles. We investigate the problem of a vortex system interacting with an isolated defect using time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau simulations. In particular, we study the instability-limited depinning process and extract the dependence of the pin-breaking force on inclusion size and anisotropy for an emph{isolated vortex line}. In the case of a emph{vortex lattice} interacting with a large isolated defect, we find a series of first-order phase transitions at well-defined magnetic fields, when the number of vortex lines occupying the inclusion changes. The pin-breaking force has sharp local minima at those fields. As a consequence, in the case of isolated identical large-size defects, the field dependence of the critical current is composed of a series of peaks located in between the occupation-number transition points.
We discuss pinning properties of MgB2 thin films grown by pulsed-laser deposition (PLD) and by electron-beam (EB) evaporation. Two mechanisms are identified that contribute most effectively to the pinning of vortices in randomly oriented films. The EB process produces low defected crystallites with small grain size providing enhanced pinning at grain boundaries without degradation of Tc. The PLD process produces films with structural disorder on a scale less that the coherence length that further improves pinning, but also depresses Tc.
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