Higher critical currents yet faster vortex creep in EuBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_y$ films containing coherent artificial pinning centers

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Liu, Jiangteng, Miura, Masashi, Yokoe, Daisaku, Kato, Takeharu, Ibi, Akira, Izumi, Teruo, Eley, Serena
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Liu, Jiangteng
Miura, Masashi
Yokoe, Daisaku
Kato, Takeharu
Ibi, Akira
Izumi, Teruo
Eley, Serena
author_facet Liu, Jiangteng
Miura, Masashi
Yokoe, Daisaku
Kato, Takeharu
Ibi, Akira
Izumi, Teruo
Eley, Serena
contents The electromagnetic properties of type-II superconductors depend on vortices -- magnetic flux lines whose motion introduces dissipation that can be mitigated by pinning from material defects. The material disorder landscape is tuned by the choice of materials growth technique and incorporation of impurities that serve as vortex pinning centers. For example, metal organic deposition (MOD) and pulsed laser deposition (PLD) produce high-quality superconducting films with uncorrelated versus correlated disorder, respectively. Here, we study vortex dynamics in PLD-grown EuBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_y$ films containing varying concentrations of BaHfO$_3$ inclusions and compare our results with those of MOD-grown (Y,Gd)Ba$_2$Cu$_3$O$_y$ films. Despite both systems exhibiting behavior consistent with strong pinning theory, which predicts the critical current density $J_c$ based on vortex trapping by randomly distributed spherical inclusions, we find striking differences in the vortex dynamics owing to the correlated versus uncorrelated disorder. Specifically, we find that the EuBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_y$ films grown without inclusions exhibit surprisingly slow vortex creep, comparable to the slowest creep rates achieved in (Y,Gd)Ba$_2$Cu$_3$O$_y$ films containing high concentrations of BaHfO$_3$. Whereas adding inclusions to (Y,Gd)Ba$_2$Cu$_3$O$_y$ is effective in slowing creep, BaHfO$_3$ increases creep in EuBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_y$ even while concomitantly improving $J_c$. Lastly, we find evidence of variable range hopping and that $J_c$ is maximized at the BaHfO$_3$ concentration that hosts creep of large vortex bundles or a Bose glass state.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2507_01119
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Higher critical currents yet faster vortex creep in EuBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_y$ films containing coherent artificial pinning centers
Liu, Jiangteng
Miura, Masashi
Yokoe, Daisaku
Kato, Takeharu
Ibi, Akira
Izumi, Teruo
Eley, Serena
Superconductivity
Materials Science
The electromagnetic properties of type-II superconductors depend on vortices -- magnetic flux lines whose motion introduces dissipation that can be mitigated by pinning from material defects. The material disorder landscape is tuned by the choice of materials growth technique and incorporation of impurities that serve as vortex pinning centers. For example, metal organic deposition (MOD) and pulsed laser deposition (PLD) produce high-quality superconducting films with uncorrelated versus correlated disorder, respectively. Here, we study vortex dynamics in PLD-grown EuBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_y$ films containing varying concentrations of BaHfO$_3$ inclusions and compare our results with those of MOD-grown (Y,Gd)Ba$_2$Cu$_3$O$_y$ films. Despite both systems exhibiting behavior consistent with strong pinning theory, which predicts the critical current density $J_c$ based on vortex trapping by randomly distributed spherical inclusions, we find striking differences in the vortex dynamics owing to the correlated versus uncorrelated disorder. Specifically, we find that the EuBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_y$ films grown without inclusions exhibit surprisingly slow vortex creep, comparable to the slowest creep rates achieved in (Y,Gd)Ba$_2$Cu$_3$O$_y$ films containing high concentrations of BaHfO$_3$. Whereas adding inclusions to (Y,Gd)Ba$_2$Cu$_3$O$_y$ is effective in slowing creep, BaHfO$_3$ increases creep in EuBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_y$ even while concomitantly improving $J_c$. Lastly, we find evidence of variable range hopping and that $J_c$ is maximized at the BaHfO$_3$ concentration that hosts creep of large vortex bundles or a Bose glass state.
title Higher critical currents yet faster vortex creep in EuBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_y$ films containing coherent artificial pinning centers
topic Superconductivity
Materials Science
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.01119