0000000000046953
AUTHOR
Petre Badica
A penetration depth study on the non-centrosymmetric superconductors Li2(Pd1−xPtx)3B
Abstract We study the superconducting order parameter in the non-centrosymmetric compounds Li 2 (Pd 1− x Pt x ) 3 B ( x =0, 0.3, 0.7 and 1) by measuring magnetic penetration depth λ ( T ). The low temperature λ ( T ) shows a linear temperature dependence for x ⩾0.3, but follows exponential-like behavior for lower Pt contents. These findings suggest that a spin-triplet state might gradually develop with increasing x due to the broken inversion symmetry.
A facile semi-open method for synthesis of non-centrosymmetric superconducting Li2(Pd,Pt)3B bulks and thin films
Abstract Non-centrosymmetric superconductor Li 2 (Pd 1− x Pt x ) 3 B, x = 0–1 was synthesized from mixtures of the elements. A simple semi-open method is proposed using endings-pressed stainless steel tubes placed in a high-vacuum furnace. Heating regime employed a short-time overheating at 900 °C and a slow cooling step between T s and 550 °C within 3 h. To adequately compensate Li-losses and attain maximum critical temperature, the optimum T s and starting Li-content were found to change from 720 to 740 °C and from Li 2.4 to Li 2.6 , respectively, when x was changing from 0 to 1. It was shown that placing Li separately in the tube also produces superconducting samples, Li being supplied …
Origin of the fast magnetization relaxation at low temperatures in HTS with strong pinning
The temperature T variation of the normalized magnetization relaxation rate S in high-temperature superconductors (HTS) with strong vortex pinning exhibits a maximum in the low-T range. This was reported for various HTS, and the origin of the faster relaxation at low T appearing in standard magnetization relaxation measurements was usually related to specific pinning properties of the investigated specimens. Since the observed behaviour seems to be characteristic to all HTS with enhanced pinning (generated by random and/or correlated disorder), we show that the S(T) maximum can be explained in terms of classic collective vortex creep. The influence of thermo-magnetic instabilities in the lo…
Magnetization relaxation in YBCO films with improved supercurrent transport properties
The relaxation of the irreversible magnetization in optimally doped YBCO films with natural and artificial pinning centres was measured in zero-field cooling conditions using SQUID magnetometry. The external magnetic field H was oriented along the c axis. An appropriate method for the determination of the characteristic vortex pinning energy from the normalized vortex-creep activation energy is discussed. This is based on the existence of a crossover elastic (collective) vortex creep at low temperatures T – plastic vortex creep at high T, caused by the T dependent macroscopic currents induced in the sample during magnetization measurements.
Bi-2212 and Y123 highly curved single-crystal-like objects: whiskers, bows and ring-like structures
High-temperature superconducting objects of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 and Y Ba2Cu3O7 highly curved in the ab-plane, such as curved/kinked whiskers, bows and ring-like structures, were obtained within a solid?liquid?solid (SLS) grass-like growth mechanism. As-grown objects are crystals with three-dimensional epitaxy similar to conventional single crystals: they can be viewed as crystal parts ?cut? from a conventional rectangular crystal. Between our curved objects and conventional crystals, whiskers or thin films there are some differences in the superconducting properties induced only by the shape factors and no new physics is observed. Some details of the growth mechanism are discussed, emphasizing cu…
Analysis of magnetization relaxation in MgB2 bulk samples obtained by electric-field assisted sintering
Abstract The relaxation of the irreversible magnetization of MgB2 bulk samples obtained by electric-field assisted sintering was investigated using the SQUID magnetometry for a magnetic field H up to 50 kOe applied in zero-field-cooling conditions. We observed a crossover plastic creep at high temperatures T-elastic creep at low T, described by H ∝ T−2 in the low T range, which appears to be caused by the macroscopic currents induced in the sample during magnetization measurements. By decreasing T below this line the determined creep exponent rapidly overcomes the widely accepted theoretical values for elastic (collective) pinning. This behaviour can easily be explained through the occurren…
Film-substrate lattice-engineering of HTS thin films
Materials may show anisotropic properties on different crystal directions and this is also the case of High Temperature Superconductors (HTS). To take advantage of the materials anisotropy one concept of interest is 'orientation engineering' in thin films. This can be realized through the control of the film-substrate lattice relationship. Some examples in this regard are presented in this work and through comparative analysis we try to evaluate the viability of this approach and of he entcountered problems. It is expected that in the future this approach will generate new nano composite materials with new properties and effects leading to development of new devices with new or improved fun…
Vortex creep crossover in YBCO/PrBCO superlattices during standard magnetization relaxation measurements
We investigated the relaxation of the irreversible magnetization in a series of 200?nm thick YBa2Cu3O7/PrBa2Cu3O7 [(YBCO)n/(PrBCO)m] superlattices, where the thickness m of the nonsuperconducting PrBCO layer (measured in unit cells) was kept to m = 4 (sufficient to decouple the superconducting YBCO layers), whereas the thickness n of the YBCO layer was varied between 2 and 20 unit cells. The analysis of standard zero-field-cooling dc magnetization relaxation data obtained in the low temperature T region with the applied magnetic field H oriented along the c axis reveals the occurrence of a crossover elastic (collective) vortex creep at low T?plastic vortex creep at high T, generated by the …
Improvement of the critical current density of spark plasma sintered MgB2by C60addition
We investigated the influence of fullerene (C60) addition on the superconducting parameters of MgB2 bulk samples obtained by spark plasma sintering (SPS). It was found that 1.5?wt% C60 addition leads to the reduction of the critical temperature by a few K, whereas the magnetically determined critical current density increases by approximately one order of magnitude in an applied magnetic field H = 70?kOe at temperature T = 10?K. This indicates substitution of B by C in C60 added MgB2 processed by SPS, contrary to some data reported in the literature obtained using conventional methods. For our relatively large specimens, the occurrence of macroscale flux jumps was observed over a wide (H, T…