Abstract
One of the most promising routes for achieving high critical currents in superconductors is to incorporate dispersed, non-superconducting nanoparticles to control the dissipative motion of vortices. However, these inclusions reduce the overall superconducting volume and can strain the interlaying superconducting matrix, which can detrimentally reduce Tc. Consequently, an optimal balance must be achieved between the nanoparticle density np and size d. Determining this balance requires garnering a better understanding of vortex–nanoparticle interactions, described by strong pinning theory. Here, we map the dependence of the critical current on nanoparticle size and density in (Y0.77, Gd0.23)Ba2Cu3O7−δ films in magnetic fields of up to 35 T and compare the trends to recent results from time-dependent Ginzburg–Landau simulations. We identify consistency between the field-dependent critical current Jc(B) and expectations from strong pinning theory. Specifically, we find that Jc ∝ B−α, where α decreases from 0.66 to 0.2 with increasing density of nanoparticles and increases roughly linearly with nanoparticle size d/ξ (normalized to the coherence length). At high fields, the critical current decays faster (∼B−1), suggesting that each nanoparticle has captured a vortex. When nanoparticles capture more than one vortex, a small, high-field peak is expected in Jc(B). Due to a spread in defect sizes, this novel peak effect remains unresolved here. Finally, we reveal that the dependence of the vortex creep rate S on nanoparticle size and density roughly mirrors that of α, and we compare our results to low-T nonlinearities in S(T) that are predicted by strong pinning theory.
Highlights
The demand for high-performance superconductors—having large current-carrying capacities and resiliency to strong magnetic fields—has increased
We reveal that the dependence of the vortex creep rate S on nanoparticle size and density roughly mirrors that of α, and we compare our results to low-T nonlinearities in S(T) that are predicted by strong pinning theory
We conducted a thorough study of the effects of nanoparticle size and density on the critical current and vortex creep rates in (Y,Gd)BCO films
Summary
The demand for high-performance superconductors—having large current-carrying capacities and resiliency to strong magnetic fields—has increased. Incorporating nanometer-size inclusions into the microstructure of high-Tc copper- and iron-based superconductors can drastically increase the material’s critical current density Jc, below which transport is dissipation-free.[14–27]. This is because nanoparticles arrest dissipative vortex motion. We present a comparative study of vortex pinning in (Y0.77, Gd0.23)Ba2Cu3O7−δ films containing different sizes and densities of nanoparticle inclusions and compare the results to the expectations of strong pinning theory.[32–35]. Mapping the trends at low temperatures enables direct comparisons to strong pinning theory formalisms that do not consider thermal activation, whereas high field measurements explore the high vortex density regime. We find that samples containing denser nanoparticles produce slower creep rates whereas larger nanoparticle diameters d/ξ result in increased creep rates at low temperatures T ≪ Tc
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