New Insights on the Intrinsic Anisotropy of YBCO Films

Abstract

Careful investigation of the angular dependence of resistivity ρ(θ) (θ is the angle between the magnetic field and the ab-planes) and the temperature dependence of resistivity ρ(T) within the superconducting transition in an applied magnetic field B up to 1 T for a series of YBa2Cu3O7−δ (YBCO) thin films revealed a large variation of intrinsic anisotropy factor γ. The series of films studied included both optimally doped and underdoped samples of different Tc, critical current density Jc, film thickness, and preparation techniques. The variation in the shape and depth of the minimum measured for ρ(θ) near θ=0° could be directly correlated to the intrinsic anisotropy of the YBCO films. The results of fitting of ρ(θ) using Bardeen–Stephen theory allowed a quantitative determination of the value of γ which varies between 7 and 230, and is independent of Tc, film thickness, or Jc. The sharper the minimum in ρ(θ) around θ=0° the larger is the anisotropy. For highly anisotropic film, ρ(θ) showed an identical behavior for B∥J and B⊥J (i.e., ρ(θ) is independent of the angle θ between B and J for this film). The large variation in γ could be attributed to the “buckling” of the CuO2 planes.