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Origin of high critical currents in YBa2Cu3O7−δ superconducting thin films

Nature volume 399, pages 439–442 (1999)Cite this article

Abstract

Thin films of the high-temperature superconductor YBa2Cu3O7−δ exhibit both a large critical current (the superconducting current density generally lies between 1011 and 1012 A m−2 at 4.2 K in zero magnetic field) and a decrease in such currents with magnetic field that point to the importance of strong vortex pinning along extended defects1,2. But it has hitherto been unclear which types of defect—dislocations, grain boundaries, surface corrugations and anti-phase boundaries—are responsible. Here we make use of a sequential etching technique to address this question. We find that both edge and screw dislocations, which can be mapped quantitatively by this technique, are the linear defects that provide the strong pinning centres responsible for the high critical currents observed in these thin films. Moreover, we find that the superconducting current density is essentially independent of the density of linear defects at low magnetic fields. These natural linear defects, in contrast to artificially generated columnar defects, exhibit self-organized short-range order, suggesting that YBa2Cu3O7−δ thin films offer an attractive system for investigating the properties of vortex matter in a superconductor with a tailored defect structure.

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Figure 1: Surface morphology and etch-pitch distribution for sputtered and laser-deposited films, respectively.
Figure 2: Magnetic field dependence of the superconducting current density j c of a sample with ndisl = 6 per μm2 at various temperatures.
Figure 3: The characteristic field B * (42 K) and the critical current density j c (B > B*) as a function of the dislocation density n disl.
Figure 4: Comparison of a heavy-ion-irradiated YBa2Cu3O7−δ single crystal18 (B Φ equals the irradiation dose) with a thin film (B Φ equals n disl). a, The critical current normalized to j c0, the value of j c at 4 K.

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Acknowledgements

This work is part of the research program of FOM (Fundamenteel Onderzoeck der Materie) which is financially supported by NWO (Nederlands Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek). A.M.T. thanks the National Research Council of Italy (CNR) for financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Physics and Astronomy, Institute COMPAS and Faculty of Sciences, Vrije Universiteit, De Boelelaan 1081, NL-1081, HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    B. Dam, J. M. Huijbregtse, F. C. Klaassen, R. C. F. van der Geest, G. Doornbos, J. H. Rector & R. Griessen

  2. ICMAT, CNR, Area della Ricerca di Montelibretti, Rome, Italy

    A. M. Testa

  3. Kamerlingh Onnes Laboratory, Leiden University, PO Box 9506, NL-2300, RA Leiden, The Netherlands

    S. Freisem

  4. Institut für Physik, Johannes Gutenberg Universität, D-55099, Mainz, Germany

    J. C. Martinez

  5. Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogota, Colombia

    B. Stäuble-Pümpin

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  1. B. Dam
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Correspondence to B. Dam.

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Dam, B., Huijbregtse, J., Klaassen, F. et al. Origin of high critical currents in YBa2Cu3O7−δ superconducting thin films. Nature 399, 439–442 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/20880

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