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Synergetic combination of different types of defect to optimize pinning landscape using BaZrO3-doped YBa2Cu3O7

Abstract

Retaining a dissipation-free state while carrying large electrical currents is a challenge that needs to be solved to enable commercial applications of high-temperature superconductivity. Here, we show that the controlled combination of two effective pinning centres (randomly distributed nanoparticles and self-assembled columnar defects) is possible and effective. By simply changing the temperature or growth rate during pulsed-laser deposition of BaZrO3-doped YBa2Cu3O7 films, we can vary the ratio of these defects, tuning the field and angular critical-current (Ic) performance to maximize Ic. We show that the defects’ microstructure is governed by the growth kinetics and that the best results are obtained with a mixture of splayed columnar defects and random nanoparticles. The very high Ic arises from a complex vortex pinning landscape where columnar defects provide large pinning energy, while splay and nanoparticles inhibit flux creep. This knowledge is used to produce thick films with remarkable Ic(H) and nearly isotropic angle dependence.

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Figure 1: Critical-current density angular dependence for different growth conditions.
Figure 2: Critical-current density and pinning force field dependence for different growth conditions.
Figure 3: Variation of microstructure with growth temperature.
Figure 4: Temperature dependence of the flux creep rate for different growth conditions.
Figure 5: Diagrams of expansion of vortex double kinks for configurations involving different defects.
Figure 6: Critical-current angular dependence in thick YBCO+BZO films.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the US Department of Energy, Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability and User Cooperative Grant Program (formerly IHRP) of the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory. The authors thank J. MacManus-Driscoll (University of Cambridge) for fruitful discussions and D. Miller (Argonne National Laboratory) for his helpful suggestions regarding image analysis.

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Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

B.M. carried out the transport measurement, experiment design, statistical analyses of defects and manuscript preparation. S.A.B. made flux creep and Jc measurements using magnetization, worked in data analysis and manuscript preparation. H.Z. grew the films and carried out initial structural characterization. O.U. and T.G.H. carried out microstructural studies by TEM, STEM and SEM. T.G.H. and J.A.K. developed and processed the PLD targets. P.C.D. worked on the laser system set-up. S.R.F. provided advice and consultation on sample growth. L.C. carried out flux creep measurements and analysis as well as worked in the manuscript preparation.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to B. Maiorov or O. Ugurlu.

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Maiorov, B., Baily, S., Zhou, H. et al. Synergetic combination of different types of defect to optimize pinning landscape using BaZrO3-doped YBa2Cu3O7. Nature Mater 8, 398–404 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat2408

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