Magnetic measurement of the critical current anisotropy in coated conductors

Abstract

We determine the critical current anisotropy at maximum Lorentz force from hysteresisloops in a vibrating sample magnetometer. To eliminate the signal of spurious variableLorentz force currents it is sufficient to cut the sample to a specific length, which iscalculated from the position dependent sensitivity of the instrument. The procedureincreases the resolution of the measurement and the results compare well with transportdata on the same sample. As the electric field in magnetization measurements is lower thanin transport experiments, the anisotropy at high currents (low temperatures and fields) canbe measured without the need to make current contacts or any special sample preparation.