Modifications of the physical properties of the high-Tc superconductors YBa2Cu3O7−δ (0.1≤δ<0.7) by 3.5-GeV xenon ion bombardment

Abstract

The effects of 3.5-GeV Xe ion irradiation on the superconducting (Tc, Jc) and normal (R) properties of the high-Tc superconductors YBa2ZCu3O7−δ with 0.1≤δ<0.7 have been investigated by means of n situ resistance measurements between 4.2 and 105 K. It is shown that the decrease of the Tc offset and the concomitant increase of the resistance in the normal state are strongly enhanced by inelastic collisions which lead to the production of discontinuous tracks of extended defects visualized by high-resolution electron microscopy. These defects act as pinning centers for the flux lines and result in the improvement of the critical density Jc by a factor of 3.5 (H=0, T=5 K) for a Xe fluence of 2.5×1011 cm−2. The greater sensitivity to irradiation damage of the phases corresponding to low oxygen contents (δ=0.46 and 0.62) has been attributed to the particular structure of these compounds which exhibit, as has been previously reported, intergrowths of insulating YBa2Cu3O6 regions or chains with superconducting YBa2C3O7 regions or chains.

Source-reported materials — not catalogue approval

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