Vortex instability and vortex-glass transition in Bi 2 Sr 2 CaCu 2 O 8 and YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 thin films

We investigated the current-voltage (I-V) curves of high-T c superconductors at very low and very high dissipation levels. In the limit of low driving currents the barriers for vortex movement become infinite in the vortex-glass state. Using long measurement bridges up to 0.5 m we were able to sample an electric field range from 1 V/m down to 10 -8 V/m in one experimental setup. The resulting I-V curves allowed us to verify an excellent glass scaling of the I-V curves, which revealed an increased dynamical exponent of the glass transition. We also found a considerable dependence of the vortex-glass scaling on the probed electric-field range. At very high dissipation levels the I-V curves of…