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Register a new userProbing the phase diagram of cuprates with YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-delta}$ thin films and nanowires
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We have grown and characterized 30 nm thick YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-delta}$ (YBCO) films, deposited by pulsed laser deposition on both MgO (110) and SrTiO$_3$ (001) substrates, which induce opposite strain to the superconducting layer. By carefully tuning the in-situ post-annealing oxygen pressure, we achieved, in a reproducible way, films at different oxygen doping, spanning from the slightly overdoped down to the strongly underdoped region of the phase diagram. The transport properties of the films, investigated through resistance versus temperature measurements, are in perfect qualitative agreement with single crystals. Starting from these films, we have also successfully fabricated nanowires with widths down to 65 nm, at different oxygen doping. The nanostructures exhibit characteristic temperatures (as the critical temperature $T_{mathrm{c}}$ and the pseudogap temperature $T^*$) similar to those of the as-grown films and carry critical current densities $J_{mathrm{c}}$ close to the critical depairing value, limited by vortex entry. This implies that the superconducting and the normal state properties of underdoped YBCO are preserved in our films, and they can be studied as a function of the dimensionality of the system, down to the nanoscale.
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Most measurements of critical current densities in YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-delta}$ thin films to date have been performed on films where the textit{c}-axis is grown normal to the film surface. With such films, the analysis of the dependence of $j_c$ on the magnetic field angle is complex. The effects of extrinsic contributions to the angular field dependence of $j_c$, such as the measurement geometry and disposition of pinning centres, are convoluted with those intrinsically due to the anisotropy of the material. As a consequence of this, it is difficult to distinguish between proposed FLL structure models on the basis of angular critical current density measurements on textit{c}-axis films. Films grown on mis-cut (vicinal) substrates have a reduced measurement symmetry and thus provide a greater insight into the critical current anisotropy. In this paper previous descriptions of the magnetic field angle dependence of $j_c$ in YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-delta}$ are reviewed. Measurements on YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-delta}$ thin films grown on a range of vicinal substrates are presented and the results interpreted in terms of the structure and dimensionality of the FLL in YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-delta}$. There is strong evidence for a transition in the structure of the flux line lattice depending on magnetic field magnitude, orientation and temperature. As a consequence, a simple scaling law can not, by itself, describe the observed critical current anisotropy in YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-delta}$. The experimentally obtained $j_c(theta)$ behaviour of YBCO is successfully described in terms of a kinked vortex structure for fields applied near parallel to the textit{a-b} planes.
We use electromigration (EM) to tune the oxygen content of YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-delta}$ nanowires. During EM, the dopant oxygen atoms in the nanowire are displaced under the combined effect of electrostatic force and Joule heating. The EM current can be tuned to either deplete or replenish nanowire with oxygen, allowing fine tuning of its doping level. Transport measurements show that the quality of the nanowires is not influenced by the EM process. Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) is used to image the electric properties of the nanowire at the nanoscale. This technique confirms the good homogeneity of the doping along the nanowires. Thus, EM provides an effective method to reproduce a large portion of the phase diagram on nanoscale.
Combined action of weak and strong pinning centers on the vortex lattice complicates magnetic behavior of a superconductor since temperature and magnetic field differently affect weak and strong pinning. In this paper we show that contributions of weak and strong pinning into magnetization of the layered superconductor YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-delta}$ can be separated and analyzed individually. We performed a careful analysis of temperature behavior of the relaxed superconducting current $J$ in YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-delta}$ films which revealed two components of the current $J = J_1 +J_2$. A simple method of separation of the components and their temperature dependence in low magnetic fields are discussed. We found that $J_1$ is produced by weak collective pinning on the oxygen vacancies in CuO$_2$ planes while $J_2$ is caused by strong pinning on the Y$_2$O$_3$ precipitates. $J_1$ component weakly changes with field and quasi-exponentially decays with temperature, disappearing at $T simeq 30$--40~K. Rapid relaxation of $J_1$ causes formation of the normalized relaxation rate peak at $T simeq 20$~K. $J_2$ component is suppressed by field as $J_2propto B^{-0.54}$ and decays with temperature following to the power law $J_2propto(1 - T/T_mathrm{dp} )^alpha$ where $T_mathrm{dp}$ is the depinning temperature. Detailed comparison of the experimental data with pinning theories is presented.
YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-delta}$ is a good candidate to systematically study high-temperature superconductivity by nanoengineering using advanced epitaxy. An essential prerequisite for these studies are coherently strained YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-delta}$ thin films, which we present here using NdGaO$_3$ (110) as a substrate. The films are coherent up to at least 100 nm thickness and have a critical temperature of 89$pm$1 K. The $a$ and $b$ lattice parameters of the YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-delta}$ are matched to the in-plane lattice parameters of NdGaO$_3$ (110), resulting in a large reduction of the orthorhombicity of the YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-delta}$. These results imply that a large amount of structural disorder in the chain layers of YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-delta}$ is not detrimental to superconductivity.
We examine coherent phonons in a strongly driven sample of optimally-doped high temperature superconductor YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-delta}$. We observe a non-linear lattice response of the 4.5,THz copper-oxygen vibrational mode at high excitation densities, evidenced by the observation of the phonon third harmonic and indicating the mode is strongly anharmonic. In addition, we observe how high-amplitude phonon vibrations modify the position of the electronic charge transfer resonance. Both of these results have important implications for possible phonon-driven non-equilibrium superconductivity.
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