Search results for "Condensed Matter::Superconductivity"
showing 10 items of 632 documents
Coulomb Blockade and Bloch Oscillations in Superconducting Ti Nanowires
2012
Quantum fluctuations in quasi-one-dimensional superconducting channels leading to spontaneous changes of the phase of the order parameter by $2\pi$, alternatively called quantum phase slips (QPS), manifest themselves as the finite resistance well below the critical temperature of thin superconducting nanowires and the suppression of persistent currents in tiny superconducting nanorings. Here we report the experimental evidence that in a current-biased superconducting nanowire the same QPS process is responsible for the insulating state -- the Coulomb blockade. When exposed to RF radiation, the internal Bloch oscillations can be synchronized with the external RF drive leading to formation of…
Structure and superconductivity in LnNi2B2C: comparison of calculation and experiment
2001
Abstract The experimental relation between the superconducting transition temperature ( T c ) and lattice size for the lanthanide nickel borocarbides is clarified. The electronic density of states (DOS) at the Fermi energy is calculated by the LMTO method for selected non-magnetic lanthanides. The T c and the DOS are both shown to scale in the same way with a structural parameter that characterizes the bond angle in the NiB 4 tetrahedra. The results strongly support arguments that the suppression of superconductivity on going from smaller to larger lanthanides in the quaternary nickel borocarbides is structurally driven. A structure– T c relationship of this type is unusual for intermetalli…
Macroscopic persistent currents in laser deposited YBa2Cu3O7 films
1989
We have investigated persistent currents in a superconducting YBa2Cu3O7 ring of about 1 cm diameter, which was deposited as c-axis textured film on a SrTiO3 substrate by laser ablation. The currents were registered, via their magnetic field distribution, with a small vibrating pick-up coil. At 77 K persistent currents with negligible decay over 103 s have been observed below a critical current density jc=0.9×105 A/cm2, both for a field-cooled and a zero-field-cooled sample. This demonstrates that it is possible to fabricate dissipationless devices of such films on a relatively large scale.
Electromagnetic behaviour of superconductive amorphous metals
2005
The penetration depth of the magnetic field into an amorphous superconductor is calculated. The ratio of the London penetration depth δL to the electron free path le under zero temperature is above unity for almost all amorphous metals. That is why pure metals, in a superconducting state, change from type I superconductors to type II superconductors during the crystalline–amorphous transition.
Tunneling spectroscopy of persistent currents in superconducting microrings
2007
It is shown that in a structure consisting of a superconducting ring-shaped electrode overlapped by a normal metal contact through a thin oxide barrier, measurements of the tunnel current in magnetic field can probe persistent currents in the ring. The effect manifests itself as periodic oscillations of the tunnel current through the junction at a fixed bias voltage as function of perpendicular magnetic field. The magnitude of oscillations depends on bias point. It reaches maximum at energy eV which is close to the superconducting gap and decreases with increase of temperature. The period of oscillations dF in units of magnetic flux is equal neither to h/e nor to h/2e, but significantly exc…
Extreme sensitivity of superconductivity to stoichiometry in Fe1+?Se
2009
The recently discovered iron arsenide superconductors appear to display a universal set of characteristic features, including proximity to a magnetically ordered state and robustness of the superconductivity in the presence of disorder. Here we show that superconductivity in Fe1+?Se, which can be considered the parent compound of the superconducting arsenide family, is destroyed by very small changes in stoichiometry. Further, we show that nonsuperconducting Fe1+?Se is not magnetically ordered down to 5 K. These results suggest that robust superconductivity and immediate instability against an ordered magnetic state should not be considered as intrinsic characteristics of iron-based superco…
Microwave electrodynamics of the antiferromagnetic superconductor GdBa2Cu3O7−δ
1999
The temperature dependence of the microwave surface impedance and conductivity are used to study the pairing symmetry and properties of cuprate superconductors. However, the superconducting properties can be hidden by the effects of paramagnetism and antiferromagnetic long-range order in the cuprates. To address this issue we have investigated the microwave electrodynamics of GdBa_2Cu_3O_{7-\delta}, a rare-earth cuprate superconductor which shows long-range ordered antiferromagnetism below T_N=2.2 K, the Neel temperature of the Gd ion subsystem. We measured the temperature dependence of the surface resistance and surface reactance of c-axis oriented epitaxial thin films at 10.4, 14.7 and 17…
Near-Tc second-harmonic emission in high-density bulk MgB2 at microwave frequency
2006
We discuss the microwave second-harmonic generation in high-density bulk MgB2, prepared by the reactive liquid Mg infiltration technology. The intensity of the harmonic signal has been investigated as a function of temperature and amplitudes of the DC and microwave magnetic fields. The results are discussed in the framework of a phenomenological theory, based on the two-fluid model, which assumes that both the microwave and static magnetic fields, penetrating in the surface layers of the sample, weakly perturb the partial concentrations of the normal and superconducting fluids. We show that, in order to account for the experimental results, it is essential to suppose that in MgB2 the densit…
Tunneling spectroscopy of giant vorticity states in superconducting micro- and nanorings at ultra-low temperatures
2008
Abstract When a superconducting contour is exposed to a magnetic field screening currents are induced. At temperatures well below the critical temperature Tc periodicity of the persistent currents can significantly exceed the superconducting flux quantum h / 2 e due to formation of metastable energy states with high quantum winding numbers (vorticity). We have studied the effect in normal metal-insulator-superconductor (NIS) and SIS’IS tunnel structures with the superconducting (S or S′) electrode in a shape of a loop. The tunnel current oscillates due to the modulation of the superconducting density of states by the persistent currents reaching the sub-critical values. In the limit of loop…
Microrefrigeration by NIS tunnel junctions
1996
By using a normal metal-insulator-superconductor (NIS) tunnel junction one can manipulate the Fermi-Dirac distribution of the electrons in the normal electrode. If the junction is biased close to the superconducting gap, Δ, only “hot electrons” above Fermi level can tunnel from the normal electrode to the superconductor. Thus, due to the decoupling of the conduction electrons from the lattice at low temperatures, there exists a possibility to decrease the electronic temperature by this method. Because of the symmetry with bias voltage, two NIS tunnel junctions in series can form an efficient microrefrigerator. Temperature can be measured with two additional junctions by considering the vari…