High-field Superconductors Research Articles

A Magnet Design of an Advanced High-Field Superconducting Cyclotron for Medical Isotope Production

A Magnet Design of an Advanced High-Field Superconducting Cyclotron for Medical Isotope Production

Numerical Study on Mechanical Behavior and Electromechanical Properties of Solder-Jointed REBCO-Coated Conductors.

As the second-generation high-temperature superconducting conductors, rare earth-barium-copper-oxide (REBCO) coated conductor (CC) tapes have good potential as high-field and high-energy superconductors. In superconducting applications, several joints are required for conjugating comparatively short REBCO CC tapes. Soldering lap joints are the simplest and most commonly applied REBCO CC joints. In addition to joint resistance, the mechanical behavior and electromechanical properties are also crucial for superconducting applications. In this paper, the electromechanical properties and mechanical behaviors of soldering lap joints at 77 K under a self-field were studied. The mechanical behavior was addressed by using a full three-dimensional multilayer elastic-plastic finite element model (FEM) with REBCO CC tape main layers and solder connecting layers. Then, the electromechanical properties were analyzed by using Gao's strain-Ic degradation general model on the basis of the FEM results. Both the mechanical behavior and electromechanical properties were verified by experimental results. The effects of soldering lap conditions including lap length, soldering thickness and lap style on the electromechanical properties and mechanical behaviors were discussed. The results indicate that shorter overlap lengths and a thinner solder can reduce the premature degradation of Ic due to stress concentrations nearby the joint edges; moreover, the irreversible critical strain is significantly higher in the back-to-back joint approach compared to the widely used face-to-face joint approach.

Orphan high field superconductivity in non-superconducting uranium ditelluride.

Reentrant superconductivity is an uncommon phenomenon in which the destructive effects of magnetic field on superconductivity are mitigated, allowing a zero-resistance state to survive under conditions that would otherwise destroy it. Typically, the reentrant superconducting region derives from a zero-field parent superconducting phase. Here, we show that in UTe2 crystals extreme applied magnetic fields give rise to an unprecedented high-field superconductor that lacks a zero-field antecedent. This high-field orphan superconductivity exists at angles offset between 29o and 42o from the crystallographic b to c axes with applied fields between 37 T and 52 T. The stability of field-induced orphan superconductivity presented in this work defies both empirical precedent and theoretical explanation and demonstrates that high-field superconductivity can exist in an otherwise non-superconducting material.

Huge magnetostriction in superconducting single-crystalline BaFe1.908Ni0.092As2

The performance of iron-based superconductors in high magnetic fields plays an important role for their practical application. In this work, we measured the magnetostriction and magnetization of BaFe1.908Ni0.092As2 single crystals using pulsed magnetic fields up to 60 T and static magnetic fields up to 33 T, respectively. A huge longitudinal magnetostriction (of the order of 10–4) was observed in the direction of twin boundaries. The magnetization measurements evidence a high critical-current density due to strong bulk pinning. By using magnetization data with an exponential flux-pinning model, we can reproduce the magnetostriction curves qualitatively. This result shows that the magnetostriction of BaFe1.908Ni0.092As2 can be well explained by a flux-pinning-induced mechanism.

High magnetic field superconductivity in a two-band superconductor

We present a mechanism allowing for superconductivity at high magnetic fields, beyond the Pauli-Chandrasekhar-Clogston limit. We consider spin splitting induced by an in-plane external magnetic field in a superconductor with two relevant bands close to the Fermi level. The magnetic field therefore controls which bands are available for Cooper pair formation. The presence of interband superconducting pairing, i.e., Cooper pairs formed by electrons with different band indices, produces high-field reentrant superconducting domains, whose critical magnetic field violates the Pauli-Chandrasekhar-Clogston limit. We analyze how the interband superconducting domains are influenced by the band parameters, and show that, for a certain range of parameters, the system presents two separate superconducting regions, for low and high magnetic field.

Field Induced Multiple Superconducting Phases in UTe_{2} along Hard Magnetic Axis.

The superconducting (SC) phase diagram in uranium ditelluride is explored under magnetic fields (H) along the hard magnetic b axis using a high-quality single crystal with T_{c}=2.1 K. Simultaneous electrical resistivity and ac magnetic susceptibility measurements discern low- and high-field SC (LFSC and HFSC, respectively) phases with contrasting field-angular dependence. Crystal quality increases the upper critical field of the LFSC phase, but the H^{*} of ∼15 T, at which the HFSC phase appears, is always the same through the various crystals. A phase boundary signature is also observed inside the LFSC phase near H^{*}, indicating an intermediate SC phase characterized by small flux pinning forces.

Parity Transition of Spin-Singlet Superconductivity Using Sublattice Degrees of Freedom.

Recently, a superconducting (SC) transition from low-field (LF) to high-field (HF) SC states was reported in CeRh_{2}As_{2}, indicating the existence of multiple SC states. It has been theoretically noted that the existence of two Ce sites in the unit cell, the so-called sublattice degrees of freedom owing to the local inversion symmetry breaking at the Ce sites, can lead to the appearance of multiple SC phases even under an interaction inducing spin-singlet superconductivity. CeRh_{2}As_{2} is considered as the first example of multiple SC phases owing to this sublattice degree of freedom. However, microscopic information about the SC states has not yet been reported. In this study, we measured the SC spin susceptibility at two crystallographically inequivalent As sites using nuclear magnetic resonance for various magnetic fields. Our experimental results strongly indicate a spin-singlet state in both SC phases. In addition, the antiferromagnetic phase, which appears within the SC phase, only coexists with the LF SC phase; there is no sign of magnetic ordering in the HF SC phase. The present Letter reveals unique SC properties originating from the locally noncentrosymmetric characteristics.

Spin-dependent coupling of supercurrent and nonequilibrium quasiparticles in high-field superconductors

We report on an experimental investigation of the combined effect of nonequilibrium quasiparticle injection and supercurrent in superconducting aluminum wires. At low temperature, we observe the supercurrent-induced coupling of energy and charge imbalance with spectral resolution. At high magnetic fields, in the presence of a Zeeman splitting of the density of states, we find evidence for an additional spin-dependent coupling which has been recently predicted theoretically.

High critical field superconductivity at ambient pressure in MoB2 stabilized in the P6/mmm structure via Nb substitution

Recently it was discovered that, under elevated pressures, MoB$_2$ exhibits superconductivity at a critical temperature, $T_c$, as high as 32 K. The superconductivity appears to develop following a pressure-induced structural transition from the ambient pressure R$\bar{3}$m structure to an MgB$_2$-like P6/mmm structure. This suggests that remarkably high $T_c$ values among diborides are not restricted to MgB$_2$ as previously appeared to be the case, and that similarly high $T_c$ values may occur in other diborides if they can be coerced into the MgB$_2$ structure. In this paper, we show that density functional theory calculations indicate that phonon free energy stabilizes the P6/mmm structure over the R$\bar{3}$m at high temperatures across the Nb$_{1-x}$Mo$_x$B$_2$ series. X-ray diffraction confirms that the synthesized Nb-substituted MoB$_2$ adopts the MgB$_2$ crystal structure. High magnetic field electrical resistivity measurements and specific heat measurements demonstrate that Nb$_{1-x}$Mo$_x$B$_2$ exhibits superconductivity with $T_c$ as high as 8 K and critical fields approaching 6 T.

Critical current density of superconducting-normal-superconducting Josephson junctions and polycrystalline superconductors in high magnetic fields

We investigate the in-field critical current density ${J}_{\text{c}}(B)$ of superconducting-normal-superconducting (SNS) Josephson junctions (JJs) and polycrystalline superconducting systems with grain boundaries modeled as Josephson-type planar defects, both analytically and through computational time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau (TDGL) simulations in two and three dimensions. For very narrow SNS JJs, we derive analytic expressions for ${J}_{\text{c}}(B)$ that are high-field solutions for ${J}_{\text{c}}(B)$ for JJs across the entire applied field range up to the effective upper critical field ${B}_{\text{c2}}^{*}$. They generalize the well-known (low-field) exponential junction thickness dependence for ${J}_{\text{c}}$ from de Gennes, often used in the Josephson relation. We then extend our analytic expressions to describe wider junctions using physical arguments, and we confirm their agreement with TDGL simulations. These results are then compared with the current densities found in superconductors optimized for high-field applications. They provide an explanation for the Kramer field dependence and inverse power-law grain size dependence widely found in many low-temperature superconductors, and the power-law field dependence ${J}_{\text{c}}(B)\ensuremath{\sim}{B}^{\ensuremath{-}0.6}$ found at intermediate fields in some high-temperature superconductors including powder-in-tube ${\text{Bi}}_{2}{\text{Sr}}_{2}{\text{Ca}}_{2}{\text{Cu}}_{3}{\text{O}}_{x}$ and $R{\text{Ba}}_{2}{\text{Cu}}_{3}{\text{O}}_{7}$ tapes ($R=\text{rare}\phantom{\rule{4.pt}{0ex}}\text{earth}$). By reanalyzing critical current density data using the mathematical framework derived here and confirmed using TDGL, we enable an analysis of ${J}_{\text{c}}$ data that provides the local properties of grain boundaries in high-field superconductors and hence a deeper understanding of how grain boundaries influence ${J}_{\text{c}}$ in high magnetic fields.

The magnetic and levitation characteristics of single-grain YBaCuO and GdBaCuO-Ag bulk superconductors in high magnetic fields

In principle, high-temperature superconducting (HTS) flux-pinning maglev has the advantage of self-stable levitation and is therefore a good development prospect as a new rail transit technology. The magnetic field intensity is one of the key factors affecting the levitation performance of single-grain bulk superconductors in the HTS maglev system. To date, however, most researchers have focused on the levitation performance of HTS bulk superconductors in magnetic fields within a permanent magnet guideway (PMG) configuration. The magnitude of the external working magnetic field provided by a PMG is limited to about 0.5 T at 77 K, given that the superconductor usually levitates at a typical working height of 10 mm above the PMG. Therefore, the weak magnetic fields generated by the PMG significantly limits the levitation performance of HTS maglev systems to that of the permanent magnet (PM). In this article, a superconducting magnet test bench was utilized to provide a 0–3 T external magnetic field (B) environment for the study of the levitation force in HTS single grains. The difference in levitation performance between YBaCuO (YBCO) and GdBaCuO-Ag (GdBCO-Ag) bulk superconductors under large, changing magnetic fields was studied systematically. The relationships between levitation force and magnetic field characteristics, including vertical magnetic field component (Bz), transverse magnetic field component (Br), and vertical magnetic field variation (ΔBz) were investigated. The result of variation curves about YBCO and GdBCO bulks' levitation forces under different ΔBz shows that the levitation force of the bulk, single-grain superconductors will reach saturation under a varying ΔBz environment (0.72 and 1.5 T). The values of ΔBz corresponding to the saturation positions are found to be independent of the sizes of the HTS samples. At the same time, GdBCO-Ag exhibits a levitation force that is 112.8% greater than YBCO in B = 3 T magnetic environment. As a result, it is demonstrated that the levitation potential of single-grain HTS bulks can be better exploited by optimizing the distribution of the magnetic field.

Disorder-robust high-field superconducting phase of FeSe single crystals

When exposed to high magnetic fields, certain materials manifest an exotic superconducting (SC) phase that has attracted considerable attention. A proposed explanation for the origin of the high-field SC phase is the Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO) state. This state is characterized by inhomogeneous superconductivity, where the Cooper pairs have finite center-of-mass momenta. Recently, the high-field SC phase was observed in FeSe, and it was deemed to originate from the FFLO state. Here, we synthesize FeSe single crystals with different levels of disorder. The level of disorder is expressed by the ratio of the mean free path to the coherence length and ranges between 35 and 1.2. The upper critical field \textit{B}$_{\rm{c}2}$ was obtained by both resistivity and magnetic torque measurements over a wide range of temperatures, which went as low as $\sim$0.5 K, and magnetic fields, which went up to $\sim$38 T along the \textit{c} axis and in the \textit{ab} plane. In the high-field region parallel to the \textit{ab} plane, an unusual SC phase was confirmed in all the crystals, and the phase was found to be robust against disorder. This result suggests that the high-field SC phase in FeSe is not a conventional FFLO state.

Characterization of edge damage induced on REBCO superconducting tape by mechanical slitting

Rare-earth barium-copper-oxide (REBCO) superconductors are high-field superconductors fabricated in a tape geometry that can be utilized in magnet applications well in excess of 20 T. Due to the multilayer architecture of the tape, delamination is one cause of mechanical failure in REBCO tapes. During a mechanical slitting step in the manufacturing process, edge cracks can be introduced into the tape. These cracks are thought to be potential initiation sites for crack propagation in the tapes when subjected to stresses in the fabrication and operation of magnet systems. We sought to understand which layers were the mechanically weakest by locating the crack initiation layer and identifying the geometrical conditions of the slitter that promoted or suppressed crack formation. The described cracking was investigated by selectively etching and characterizing each layer with scanning electron microscopy, laser confocal microscopy, and digital image analysis. Our analysis showed that the average crack lengths in the REBCO, LaMnO3 (LMO) and Al2O3 layers were 34 μm, 28 μm, and 15 μm, respectively. The total number of cracks measured in 30 mm of wire length was between 3000 and 5700 depending on the layer and their crack densities were 102 cracks mm−1 for REBCO, 108 cracks mm−1 for LMO, and 183 cracks mm−1 for Al2O3. These results indicated that there are separate crack initiation mechanisms for the REBCO and the LMO layers, as detailed in the paper. With a better understanding of the crack growth behavior exhibited by REBCO tapes, the fabrication process can be improved to provide a more mechanically stable and cost-effective superconductor.

Direct observation of the scaling relation between density of states and pairing gap in a dirty superconductor* *Project supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (Grant Nos. 2017YFA0302903, 2016YFA0300602, 2016YFA0300604, and 2016YFJC010282), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11227903, 12004416, and U2032204), the Beijing Municipal Science

Theories and experiments on dirty superconductors are complex but important in terms of both theoretical fundamentals and practical applications. These activities are even more challenging when magnetic fields are present because the field distribution, electron density of states, and superconducting pairing potentials become nonuniform. Here, we present tunneling microspectroscopic experiments on NbC single crystals and demonstrate that NbC is a homogeneous dirty superconductor. When applying magnetic fields to the samples, we found that the zero-energy local density of states and the pairing energy gap followed the explicit scaling relation proposed by de Gennes for homogeneous dirty superconductors in high magnetic fields. More significantly, our experimental findings indicate that the validity of the scaling relation extends to magnetic field strengths far below the upper critical field, calling for a new nonperturbative understanding of this fundamental property in dirty superconductors. On the practical side, we used the observed scaling relation to derive a simple and straightforward experimental scheme for estimating the superconducting coherence length of a dirty superconductor in magnetic fields.

Thermodynamic evidence for the formation of a Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov phase in the organic superconductor λ−(BETS)2GaCl4

In this work, the thermodynamic properties of the organic superconductor $\lambda$-(BETS)$_2$GaCl$_4$ are investigated to study a high-field superconducting state known as the putative Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO) phase. We observed a small thermodynamic anomaly in the field $H_{\rm FFLO}$ $\sim$ 10~T, which corresponds to the Pauli limiting field $H_{\rm P}$. This anomaly probably originates from a transition from a uniform superconducting state to the FFLO state. $H_{\rm FFLO}$ does not show a strong field-angular dependence due to a quasi-isotropic paramagnetic effect in $\lambda$-(BETS)$_2$GaCl$_4$. The thermodynamic anomaly at $H_{\rm FFLO}$ is smeared out and low-temperature upper critical field $H_{\rm c2}$ changes significantly if fields are not parallel to the conducting plane even for a deviation of $\sim$0.5$^{\circ}$. This behavior indicates that the high-field state is very unstable, as it is influenced by the strongly anisotropic orbital effect. Our results are consistent with the theoretical predictions on the FFLO state, and show that the high-field superconductivity is probably an FFLO state in $\lambda$-(BETS)$_2$GaCl$_4$ from a thermodynamic point of view.

Low-temperature transport properties of doped Ba0.57K0.43Fe2As2 superconductors in high magnetic field

For high-critical-temperature (high-${T}_{\text{c}}$) superconductors, the normal state transport properties at low temperatures are of great importance to understand the Fermi surface structure and carrier profile. In this work we studied the doped ultrathin ${\mathrm{Ba}}_{0.57}{\mathrm{K}}_{0.43}{\mathrm{Fe}}_{2}{\mathrm{As}}_{2}$ system, a member of the optimally doped 122-type multigapped iron-based superconductors with complex superconducting gap structure. To explore the normal state resistivity below the zero-field superconducting ${T}_{\text{c}}$, both Co and Zn dopants were substituted into the superconducting ${\mathrm{Fe}}_{2}{\mathrm{As}}_{2}$ layer to suppress the superconductivity. The temperature dependence of in-plane resistivity below ${T}_{\text{c}}$ reveals a typical metallic behavior with the magnetic fields up to 45 T along $c$ axis. A linear dependence of Hall resistivity $({\ensuremath{\rho}}_{xy})$ is observed for ${\mathrm{Ba}}_{0.57}{\mathrm{K}}_{0.43}{\mathrm{Fe}}_{2}{\mathrm{As}}_{2}$ and ${\mathrm{Ba}}_{0.57}{\mathrm{K}}_{0.43}{({\mathrm{Fe}}_{0.96}{\mathrm{Zn}}_{0.04})}_{2}{\mathrm{As}}_{2}$ at high magnetic field, indicating a conventional metal profile. Nevertheless, the Co dopants lead to a decreasing $d{\ensuremath{\rho}}_{xy}/dH$ when the field is above 20 T. Such transformation of carrier transport properties may be contributed by band shift within a two-carrier model.

Extreme high-field superconductivity in thin Re films

We report the high-field superconducting properties of thin, disordered Re films via magneto-transport and tunneling density of states measurements. Films with thicknesses in the range of 9 nm to 3 nm had normal state sheet resistances of $\sim$0.2 k$\Omega$ to $\sim$1 k$\Omega$ and corresponding transition temperatures in the range of 6 K to 3 K. Tunneling spectra were consistent with those of a moderate coupling BCS superconductor. Notwithstanding these unremarkable superconducting properties, the films exhibited an extraordinarily high upper critical field. We estimate their zero-temperature $H_{c2}$ to be more than twice the Pauli limit. Indeed, in 6 nm samples the estimated reduced critical field $H_{c2}/T_c\sim$ 5.6 T/K is among the highest reported for any elemental superconductor. Although the sheet resistances of the films were well below the quantum resistance $R_Q=h/4e^2$, their $H_{c2}$'s approached the theoretical upper limit of a strongly disordered superconductor for which $k_F\ell\sim1$.

Restoration of superconductivity in high magnetic fields in UTe2

It was theoretically predicted more than 20 years ago [A. G. Lebed and K. Yamaji, Phys. Rev. Lett. 80, 2697 (1998)], that a triplet quasi-two-dimensional (Q2D) superconductor could restore its superconducting state in parallel magnetic fields, which are higher than its upper critical magnetic field, [Formula: see text]. It is very likely that, recently, such phenomenon has been experimentally discovered in the Q2D superconductor UTe2 by Nicholas Butch, Sheng Ran, and their colleagues and has been confirmed by Japanese–French team. We review our previous theoretical results using such a general method that it describes the reentrant superconductivity in the abovementioned compound and will hopefully describes the similar phenomena, which can be discovered in other Q2D superconductors.

High-field superconductivity in C-doped MgB2 bulk samples prepared by a rapid synthesis route

The upper critical field sets the thermodynamic limit to superconductivity. A big gap is present between the upper-critical-field values measured in MgB2 polycrystalline bulk superconductors and those of thin films, where values as high as ~ 50 T have been achieved at 4.2 K. Filling this gap would unlock the potential of MgB2 for magnet applications. This work presents the results of an extensive experimental campaign on MgB2 bulk samples, which has been guided by a Design of Experiment. We modeled the dependence of the upper critical field on the main synthesis parameters and established a new record (~ 35 T at 4.2 K) preparing C-doped bulk samples by a non-conventional rapid-synthesis route. This value appears to be an upper boundary for the upper critical field in bulk samples. Structural disorder in films seems to act selectively on one of the two bands where superconductivity in MgB2 takes place: this enhances the upper critical field while reducing the critical temperature only by few Kelvins. On the other hand, the critical temperature in bulk samples decreases monotonically when structural disorder increases, and this imposes a limit to the maximum achievable upper critical field.

Spin and charge currents driven by the Higgs mode in high-field superconductors

The Higgs mode in superconducting materials describes slowly decaying oscillations of the order parameter amplitude. We demonstrate that in superconductors with a built-in spin-splitting field the Higgs mode is strongly coupled to the spin degrees of freedom, allowing for the generation of time-dependent spin currents. Converting such spin currents to electric signals by spin-filtering elements provides a tool for the second-harmonic generation and the electrical detection of the Higgs mode generated by the external irradiation. The nonadiabatic spin torques generated by these spin currents allow for the magnetic detection of the Higgs mode by measuring the precession of the magnetic moment in the adjacent ferromagnet. We discuss also the reciprocal effect, which is the generation of the Higgs mode by the magnetic precession. Coupling the collective modes in superconductors to light and magnetic dynamics provides an opportunity for the study of superconducting optospintronics.Received 1 July 2019Revised 23 August 2020Accepted 25 August 2020DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.2.033416Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.Published by the American Physical SocietyPhysics Subject Headings (PhySH)Research AreasFFLOOptical conductivitySpin currentSuperconducting phase transitionPhysical SystemsFerromagnetic superconductorsHiggs bosonsMultilayer thin filmsTunnel junctionsTechniquesMethods in superconductivityCondensed Matter & Materials Physics