The effect of electron irradiation on YBa2Cu3Ox with gold bead contacts

Abstract

We have investigated the effect of 1-MeV electron irradiation up to a total dose of 5.7×1017 electrons/cm2 at room temperature on YBa2Cu3Ox with gold bead contacts made by the melting technique. We measured the superconducting transition temperature Tc, the critical current density Jc at 77 K, the normal-state resistivity, and the contact resistance for gold bead contacts as a function of fluence on the same samples without disturbing the contacts. Tc remained constant at 91 K, and Jc at 77 K remained constant around 90 A/cm2. The normal-state resistivity increased systematically by about 15% for the total dose. Finally, the surface contact resistance at 77 K remained less than 4.2 μΩ cm2 throughout the radiations. These studies took place over an 8-month period, and subsequent measurements indicate that the results are definitely due to radiation effects and not aging effects. Since the total dose represents 120 years of electron exposure in geosynchronous orbit, we conclude that the superconductor YBa2Cu3Ox with gold bead contacts would perform well in a space environment of electron irradiation.