Search results for "current"
showing 10 items of 2224 documents
Origin of high critical currents in YBa2Cu3O7−δ superconducting thin films
1999
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 t…
Complete stabilization and improvement of the characteristics of tunnel junctions by thermal annealing
2006
We have observed that submicron sized Al--AlO{$_x$}--Al tunnel junctions can be stabilized completely by annealing them in vacuum at temperatures between $350^{\circ}$C and $450^{\circ}$C. In addition, low temperature characterization of the samples after the annealing treatment showed a marked improvement of the tunneling characteristics due to disappearance of unwanted resonances in the current. Charging energy, tunneling resistance, barrier thickness and height all increase after the treatment. The superconducting gap is not affected, but supercurrent is reduced in accordance with the increase of tunneling resistance.
Interference of nonequilibrium quasiparticles in a superconductor
2003
Abstract We have observed an interference of nonequilibrium quasiparticles, injected from a copper electrode into an aluminium loop through a tunnel barrier. At temperatures below 1K the tunnel current at fixed voltage bias is periodically modulated by external magnetic field. The amplitude of the modulation reaches maximum at a bias slightly below the gap energy, and decreases with the further increase of the bias voltage. For a given voltage bias the amplitude of the current oscillations decreases with increase of the temperature and the loop circumference.
Pac-Man Josephson junctions: Useful trigonometric puzzles?
2020
Abstract Rather interesting trigonometric equations arise when considering a Josephson junction obtained by embedding a Pac-Man shaped superconducting island in between two superconducting electrodes. In the present work we unfold these equations, written in terms of the superconducting phase difference between the two electrodes, and find the current-phase relation and the maximum superconducting current of the Josephson junction network. The solution of the trigonometric equations defining the superconducting current state of the system can be proposed to advanced high-school students or to undergraduate students in an interdisciplinary lecture.
Length-scale-dependent vortex-antivortex unbinding in epitaxialBi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δfilms
1998
The supercurrent transport properties of epitaxial ${\mathrm{Bi}}_{2}{\mathrm{Sr}}_{2}{\mathrm{CaCu}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{8+\mathrm{\ensuremath{\delta}}}$ films in zero applied magnetic field were investigated in a temperature interval of \ensuremath{\approx}20 K below the mean-field critical temperature ${T}_{c0}.$ The modification of the shape of the $I\ensuremath{-}V$ curves observed by varying the temperature was explained in terms of vortex-fluctuation-induced layer decoupling and vortex-antivortex unbinding, revealing a strong probing-length dependence. The change of the effective dimensionality of thermally excited vortices involved in the dissipation process leads to the appearance of …
Ag/(Bi, Pb)-Sr-Ca-Cu-O superconducting tape processing: Solid state chemistry aspects
1993
Abstract Different preparation methods have been used to obtain starting powders used in the fabrication of composite tapes by the powder-in-tube method. The effect of these distinct starting powders on the superconducting properties of Ag/Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O monofilament tapes has been investigated. The changes in the physical properties, including the critical current density at 77 K and ac magnetic susceptibility, and microstructure, using optical and electronic microscopy, have been analyzed in relation to the solid state reactions involved in the Bi 2 Sr 2 CaCu 2 O 8+δ and Bi 2 Sr 2 Ca 2 Cu 3 O 10+δ phase transformations.
Magnetic hysteresis in the microwave surface resistance of Nb samples in the critical state
2006
We discuss the hysteretic behavior of the field-induced variations of the microwave surface resistance in superconductors in the critical state. Measurements have been performed in a bulk sample of Nb and a powdered one at different values of the temperature. We discuss a model, based on the Coffey and Clem theory, in which we take into account the flux distribution inside the sample, due to the critical state. The experimental results are justified quantitatively in the framework of our model. We show that by fitting the experimental data it is possible to determine the value of the critical current density and its field dependence.
Efficient Analysis of Arbitrarily Shaped Inductive Obstacles in Rectangular Waveguides Using a Surface Integral Equation Formulation
2007
In this paper we propose to use the Surface Integral Equation technique for the analysis of arbitrarily shaped Hplane obstacles in rectangular waveguides, which can contain both metallic and/or dielectric objects. The Green functions are formulated using both spectral and spatial images series, whose convergence behavior has been improved through several acceleration techniques. Proceeding in this way, the convergence of the series is not attached to the employment of any particular basis or test function, thus consequently increasing the flexibility of the implemented technique. In order to test the accuracy and numerical efficiency of the proposed method, results for practical microwave c…
Spectroscopic evidence for a new type of surface resonance at noble metal surfaces
2020
We investigated the surface and bulk properties of the pristine (110) surface of silver using threshold photoemission by excitation with light of 5.9 eV. Using a momentum microscope, we identified two distinct transitions along the $\overline{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Gamma}}}\overline{\mathrm{Y}}$ direction of the crystal. The first one is a so far unknown surface resonance of the (110) noble-metal surface, exhibiting an exceptionally large bulk character that has so far been elusive in surface sensitive experiments. The second one stems from the well-known bulklike Mahan cone oriented along the $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Gamma}}L$ direction inside the crystal but projected onto the (110)-surface cu…
Bridging scales with thermodynamics: from nano to macro
2014
We have recently developed a method to calculate thermodynamic properties of macroscopic systems by extrapolating properties of systems of molecular dimensions. Appropriate scaling laws for small systems were derived using the method for small systems thermodynamics of Hill, considering surface and nook energies in small systems of varying sizes. Given certain conditions, Hill's method provides the same systematic basis for small systems as conventional thermodynamics does for large systems. We show how the method can be used to compute thermodynamic data for the macroscopic limit from knowledge of fluctuations in the small system. The rapid and precise method offers an alternative to curre…