Structure and dynamics of a pinned vortex liquid in a superconducting a−Re6Zr thin film

Rishabh Duhan; Subhamita Sengupta; Ruchi Tomar; Somak Basistha; Vivas Bagwe; Chandan Dasgupta; Pratap Raychaudhuri

doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.108.L180503

← Back to search

Structure and dynamics of a pinned vortex liquid in a superconducting a−Re6Zr thin film

Rishabh Duhan, Subhamita Sengupta, Ruchi Tomar, Somak Basistha, Vivas Bagwe, Chandan Dasgupta, Pratap Raychaudhuri

DOI 10.1103/PhysRevB.108.L180503 · Physical Review B

T1

Active bibliographic source — not scientific approval

Bibliographic access preserves source history; it does not approve extracted materials or validate reported claims. Review warnings on each occurrence separately.

Abstract

We report the formation of a pinned vortex liquid spanning a very large region of the magnetic field-temperature parameter space in a 5-nm-thick amorphous superconducting RexZr (x≈6) (a-ReZr) thin film, using a combination of low-temperature scanning tunneling spectroscopic (STS) imaging and magnetotransport measurements. The nature of the vortex liquid differs significantly from a regular liquid. Analyzing series of STS images captured as a function of time, we observe that the interplay of pinning and intervortex interactions produces a very inhomogeneous state, where some vortices remain static, whereas others move forming a percolating network along which vortices are mobile. With increase in temperature or magnetic field this network becomes denser, eventually encompassing all vortices. Our results provide key insight on the nature of a pinned vortex liquid and some of the peculiarities in the transport properties of ultrathin superconducting films.

Source-reported materials — not catalogue approval

Formula	Reported Tc (K)	Pressure (GPa)	Type
Re6Zr Archive — visibility unverified Source-occurrence policy only; no material identity or catalogue acceptance is inferred from the formula.	4.65	Pressure not reported	unknown