Novel tri-modal defect structure in Nb-doped MOCVD y Ba 2Cu 3O 7: A paradigm for pinning landscape control

Tolga Aytug, Victor A. Maroni, Dean J. Miller, Zhijun Chen, A. Jeremy Kropf, Nestor J. Zaluzec, Yuri Zuev, Eliot D. Specht, M. Parans Paranthaman

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

Immobilization of vortices, or flux pinning, is both an enduring scientific issue and one of the most important problems in optimizing high temperature superconductors (HTSs) for commercial use. Here, we demonstrate a practical approach to the creation of a multi-modal flux pinning landscape in Y Ba 2Cu 3O 7 (YBCO) films employing an industrially scalable metalorganic chemical vapor deposition technique. Through controlled additions of Nb, we have achieved a novel distribution of crystallographic defects that immobilize (pin) vortices in the YBCO matrix. That is, with only the addition of a single dopant element, a tri-modal, non-superconducting defect structure is induced that threads through the YBCO matrix laterally (parallel to the ab planes of YBCO), vertically (parallel to the YBCO c-axis), and isotropically in the form of random spherical defects. For optimally doped samples, the influence of these multi-modal nanocrystalline defect structures on the flux pinning properties manifests itselfas a significant improvement in the critical current density (J c) for all magnetic field orientations. The results demonstrate the possibility of achieving an ideal flux pinning landscape (from an orientation and strength viewpoint), which permits the design of HTS wires with fully-tunable properties by processes suitable for large-scale manufacturing.

Original languageEnglish
Article number095013
JournalSuperconductor Science and Technology
Volume25
Issue number9
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2012

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