Sample records for anisotropic superconducting ybco

  1. Passivation of Flexible YBCO Superconducting Current Lead With Amorphous SiO2 Layer

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Johannes, Daniel; Webber, Robert

    2013-01-01

    Adiabatic demagnetization refrigerators (ADR) are operated in space to cool detectors of cosmic radiation to a few 10s of mK. A key element of the ADR is a superconducting magnet operating at about 0.3 K that is continually energized and de-energized in synchronism with a thermal switch, such that a piece of paramagnetic salt is alternately warm in a high magnetic field and cold in zero magnetic field. This causes the salt pill or refrigerant to cool, and it is able to suck heat from an object, e.g., the sensor, to be cooled. Current has to be fed into and out of the magnets from a dissipative power supply at the ambient temperature of the spacecraft. The current leads that link the magnets to the power supply inevitably conduct a significant amount of heat into the colder regions of the supporting cryostat, resulting in the need for larger, heavier, and more powerful supporting refrigerators. The aim of this project was to design and construct high-temperature superconductor (HTS) leads from YBCO (yttrium barium copper oxide) composite conductors to reduce the heat load significantly in the temperature regime below the critical temperature of YBCO. The magnet lead does not have to support current in the event that the YBCO ceases to be superconducting. Cus - tomarily, a normal metal conductor in parallel with the YBCO is a necessary part of the lead structure to allow for this upset condition; however, for this application, the normal metal can be dispensed with. Amorphous silicon dioxide is deposited directly onto the surface of YBCO, which resides on a flexible substrate. The silicon dioxide protects the YBCO from chemically reacting with atmospheric water and carbon dioxide, thus preserving the superconducting properties of the YBCO. The customary protective coating for flexible YBCO conductors is silver or a silver/gold alloy, which conducts heat many orders of magnitude better than SiO2 and so limits the use of such a composite conductor for passing current

  2. Critical current survival in the YBCO superconducting layer of a delaminated coated conductor

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Feng, Feng; Fu, Qishu; Qu, Timing; Mu, Hui; Gu, Chen; Yue, Yubin; Wang, Linli; Yang, Zhirong; Han, Zhenghe; Feng, Pingfa

    2018-04-01

    A high-temperature superconducting coated conductor can be practically applied in electric equipment due to its favorable mechanical properties and critical current (I c) performance. However, the coated conductor can easily delaminate because of its poor stress tolerance along the thickness direction. It would be interesting to investigate whether the I c of the delaminated YBa2Cu3O7-δ (YBCO) layer can be preserved. In this study, coated conductor samples manufactured through the metal organic deposition route were delaminated by liquid nitrogen immersion. Delaminated samples, including the YBCO layer and silver stabilizer, were obtained. Delamination occurred inside the YBCO layer and near the YBCO-CeO2 interface, as suggested by the results of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and x-ray diffraction. A scanning Hall probe system was employed to measure the I c distribution of the original sample and the delaminated sample. It was found that approximately 50% of the I c can be preserved after delamination, which was verified by I c measurements using the four-probe method. Dense and crack-free morphologies of the delaminated surfaces were observed by SEM, which accounts for the I c survival of the delaminated YBCO layer. The potential application of the delaminated sample in superconducting joints was discussed based on the oxygen diffusion estimation.

  3. High trapped fields in bulk YBCO superconductors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fuchs, Günter; Gruss, Stefan; Krabbes, Gernot; Schätzle, Peter; Verges, Peter; Müller, Karl-Hartmut; Fink, Jörg; Schultz, Ludwig

    The trapped field properties of bulk melt-textured YBCO material were investigated at different temperatures. In the temperature range of liquid nitrogen, maximum trapped fields of 1.1 T were found at 77 K by doping of YBCO with small amounts of zinc. The improved pinning of zinc-doped YBa2Cu3O7-x (YBCO) results in a pronounced peak effect in the field dependence of the critical current density. the trapped field at lower temperatures increases due to the increasing critical current density, however, at temperatures around 50 K cracking of the material is observed which is exposed to considerably tensile stresses due to Lorentz forces. Very high trapped fields up to 14.4 T were achieved at 22.5 K for a YBCO disk pair by the addition of silver improving the tensile strength of YBCO and by using a bandage made of a steel tube. The steel tube produces a compressive stress on YBCO after cooling down from 300 K to the measuring temperature, which is due to the higher coeeficient of thermal expansion of steel compared with that of YBCO in the a,b plane. The application of superconducting permanent magnets with trapped fields of 10 T and more in superconducting bearings would allow to obtain very high levitation pressures up to 2500 N/cm2 which is two orders of magnitude higher than the levitation pressure achievable in superconducting bearings with conventional permanent magnets. The most important problem for the application of superconducting permanent magnets is the magnetizing procedure of the YBCO material. Results of magnetizing YBCO disks by using of pulsed magnetic fields will be presented.

  4. In-situ deposition of YBCO high-Tc superconducting thin films by MOCVD and PE-MOCVD

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Zhao, J.; Noh, D. W.; Chern, C.; Li, Y. Q.; Norris, P. E.; Kear, B.; Gallois, B.

    1991-01-01

    Metal-Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) offers the advantages of a high degree of compositional control, adaptability for large scale production, and the potential for low temperature fabrication. The capability of operating at high oxygen partial pressure is particularly suitable for in situ formation of high temperature superconducting (HTSC) films. Yttrium barium copper oxide (YBCO) thin films having a sharp zero-resistance transition with T(sub c) greater than 90 K and J(sub c) of approximately 10(exp 4) A on YSZ have been prepared, in situ, at a substrate temperature of about 800 C. Moreover, the ability to form oxide films at low temperature is very desirable for device applications of HTSC materials. Such a process would permit the deposition of high quality HTSC films with a smooth surface on a variety of substrates. Highly c-axis oriented, dense, scratch resistant, superconducting YBCO thin films with mirror-like surfaces have been prepared, in situ, at a reduced substrate temperature as low as 570 C by a remote microwave-plasma enhanced metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (PE-MOCVD) process. Nitrous oxide was used as a reactant gas to generate active oxidizing species. This process, for the first time, allows the formation of YBCO thin films with the orthorhombic superconducting phase in the as-deposited state. The as-deposited films grown by PE-MOCVD show attainment of zero resistance at 72 K with a transition width of about 5 K. MOCVD was carried out in a commercial production scale reactor with the capability of uniform deposition over 100 sq cm per growth run. Preliminary results indicate that PE-MOCVD is a very attractive thin film deposition process for superconducting device technology.

  5. Fatigue tests of YBCO coated conductors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bamba, S.; Tanaka, Y.; Ando, T.; Ueda, H.; Ishiyama, A.; Yamada, Y.; Shiohara, Y.

    2008-02-01

    In this paper, we report the fatigue characteristics of IBAD/PLD YBCO coated conductors. A YBCO coated conductor used in the superconducting coil of a SMES system is repeatedly subjected to mechanical tensile or compressive strain due to the Lorentz force during electrical charging or discharging. The superconducting characteristic of this conductor may deteriorate because of this cyclic strain. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the effect of cyclic strain on the superconducting characteristics of YBCO coated conductors that have a laminated structure. We developed an experimental apparatus with a U-shaped sample holder in order to apply cyclic strain to the sample tape. This apparatus was used to perform the fatigue tests on YBCO coated conductors in liquid nitrogen in the absence of an external magnetic field. The strain cycles with the maximum strain epsilonmax (zero external strain → epsilonmax → zero external strain) were applied and repeated up to 5000 times, and the Ic measurements were performed at epsilonmax. Therefore, the application of cyclic strain with epsilonmax ranging from 0.3% to 0.5% did not result in any significant deterioration of the superconducting characteristics of the conductor.

  6. High temperature superconducting YBCO microwave filters

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Aghabagheri, S.; Rasti, M.; Mohammadizadeh, M. R.; Kameli, P.; Salamati, H.; Mohammadpour-Aghdam, K.; Faraji-Dana, R.

    2018-06-01

    Epitaxial thin films of YBCO high temperature superconductor are widely used in telecommunication technology such as microwave filter, antenna, coupler and etc., due to their lower surface resistance and lower microwave loss than their normal conductor counterparts. Thin films of YBCO were fabricated by PLD technique on LAO substrate. Transition temperature and width were 88 K and 3 K, respectively. A filter pattern was designed and implemented by wet photolithography method on the films. Characterization of the filter at 77 K has been compared with the simulation results and the results for a made gold filter. Both YBCO and gold filters show high microwave loss. For YBCO filter, the reason may be due to the improper contacts on the feedlines and for gold filter, low thickness of the gold film has caused the loss increased.

  7. In Situ deposition of YBCO high-T(sub c) superconducting thin films by MOCVD and PE-MOCVD

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Zhao, J.; Noh, D. W.; Chern, C.; Li, Y. Q.; Norris, P.; Gallois, B.; Kear, B.

    1990-01-01

    Metalorganic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) offers the advantages of a high degree of compositional control, adaptability for large scale production, and the potential for low temperature fabrication. The capability of operating at high oxygen partial pressure is particularly suitable for in situ formation of high temperature superconducting (HTSC) films. Yttrium barium copper oxide (YBCO) thin films having a sharp zero-resistance transition with T( sub c) greater than 90 K and Jc approx. 10 to the 4th power A on YSZ have been prepared, in situ, at a substrate temperature of about 800 C. Moreover, the ability to form oxide films at low temperature is very desirable for device applications of HTSC materials. Such a process would permit the deposition of high quality HTSC films with a smooth surface on a variety of substrates. Highly c-axis oriented, dense, scratch resistant, superconducting YBCO thin films with mirror-like surfaces have been prepared, in situ, at a reduced substrate temperature as low as 570 C by a remote microwave-plasma enhanced metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (PE-MOCVD) process. Nitrous oxide was used as a reactant gas to generate active oxidizing species. This process, for the first time, allows the formation of YBCO thin films with the orthorhombic superconducting phase in the as-deposited state. The as-deposited films grown by PE-MOCVD show attainment of zero resistance at 72 K with a transition width of about 5 K. MOCVD was carried out in a commercial production scale reactor with the capability of uniform deposition over 100 sq cm per growth run. Preliminary results indicate that PE-MOCVD is a very attractive thin film deposition process for superconducting device technology.

  8. The effect of the YBCO-PST composite composition on the superconducting carrier concentration determined by microwave studies under high pressure

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Krupski, M.; Stankowski, J.; Przybył, S.; Andrzejewski, B.; Kaczmarek, A.; Hilczer, B.; Marfaing, J.; Caranoni, C.

    1999-07-01

    The effect of hydrostatic pressure ( p<0.6 GPa) on the superconducting critical temperature Tc in YBa 2Cu 3O 7- δ-Pb(Sc 0.5Ta 0.5)O 3 (YBCO-PST) composite is measured by the method of magnetically modulated microwave absorption (MMMA). The Tc dependence on the PST fraction in weight x (0, 0.25, 0.5 and 0.75) is approximated by an inverted parabola function whereas the influence of pressure on Tc is represented by the equation: d Tc/d p=0.61(2)-1.72(6) x. The result may be explained assuming that PST phase in YBCO-PST composite influences the superconducting carrier concentration similar to the chemical substitution in YBa 2Cu 3O 7 [J.J. Neumeier, H.A. Zimmermann, Phys. Rev. B 47 (1993) 8385]. It is suggested that ions from PST diffuse to YBCO cell during the sintering of the composite.

  9. Exfoliated YBCO filaments for second-generation superconducting cable

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Solovyov, Vyacheslav; Farrell, Paul

    2017-01-01

    The second-generation high temperature superconductor (2G HTS) wire is the most promising conductor for high-field magnets such as accelerator dipoles and compact fusion devices. The key element of the wire is a thin Y1Ba2Cu3O7 (YBCO) layer deposited on a flexible metal substrate. The substrate, which becomes incorporated in the 2G conductor, reduces the electrical and mechanical performance of the wire. This is a process that exfoliates the YBCO layer from the substrate while retaining the critical current density of the superconductor. Ten-centimeter long coupons of exfoliated YBCO layers were manufactured, and detailed structural, electrical, and mechanical characterization were reported. After exfoliation, the YBCO layer was supported by a 75 μm thick stainless steel foil, which makes for a compact, mechanically stronger, and inexpensive conductor. The critical current density of the filaments was measured at both 77 K and 4.2 K. The exfoliated YBCO retained 90% of the original critical current. Similarly, tests in an external magnetic field at 4.2 K confirmed that the pinning strength of the YBCO layer was also retained following exfoliation.

  10. Superconducting-electromagnetic hybrid bearing using YBCO bulk blocks for passive axial levitation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nicolsky, R.; de Andrade, R., Jr.; Ripper, A.; David, D. F. B.; Santisteban, J. A.; Stephan, R. M.; Gawalek, W.; Habisreuther, T.; Strasser, T.

    2000-06-01

    A superconducting/electromagnetic hybrid bearing has been designed using active radial electromagnetic positioning and a superconducting passive axial levitator. This bearing has been tested for an induction machine with a vertical shaft. The prototype was conceived as a four-pole, two-phase induction machine using specially designed stator windings for delivering torque and radial positioning simultaneously. The radial bearing uses four eddy-current sensors, displaced 90° from each other, for measuring the shaft position and a PID control system for feeding back the currents. The stator windings have been adapted from the ones of a standard induction motor. The superconducting axial bearing has been assembled with commercial NdFeB permanent magnets and a set of seven top-seeded-melt-textured YBCO large-grain cylindrical blocks. The bearing set-up was previously simulated by a finite element method for different permanent magnet-superconductor block configurations. The stiffness of the superconducting axial bearing has been investigated by measuring by a dynamic method the vertical and transversal elastic constants for different field cooling processes. The resulting elastic constants show a linear dependence on the air gap, i.e. the clearance between the permanent magnet assembly and the set of superconducting large-grain blocks, which is dependent on cooling distance.

  11. Growth rate of YBCO-Ag superconducting single grains

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Congreve, J. V. J.; Shi, Y. H.; Dennis, A. R.; Durrell, J. H.; Cardwell, D. A.

    2017-12-01

    The large scale use of (RE)Ba2Cu3O7 bulk superconductors, where RE=Y, Gd, Sm, is, in part, limited by the relatively poor mechanical properties of these inherently brittle ceramic materials. It is reported that alloying of (RE)Ba2Cu3O7 with silver enables a significant improvement in the mechanical strength of bulk, single grain samples without any detrimental effect on their superconducting properties. However, due to the complexity and number of inter-related variables involved in the top seeded melt growth (TSMG) process, the growth of large single grains is difficult and the addition of silver makes it even more difficult to achieve successful growth reliably. The key processing variables in the TSMG process include the times and temperatures of the stages within the heating profile, which can be derived from the growth rate during the growth process. To date, the growth rate of the YBa2Cu3O7-Ag system has not been reported in detail and it is this lacuna that we have sought to address. In this work we measure the growth rate of the YBCO-Ag system using a method based on continuous cooling and isothermal holding (CCIH). We have determined the growth rate by measuring the side length of the crystallised region for a number of samples for specified isothermal hold temperatures and periods. This has enabled the growth rate to be modelled and from this an optimized heating profile for the successful growth of YBCO-Ag single grains to be derived.

  12. A Thermally Actuated Flux Pump for Energizing YBCO Pucks

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-05-01

    transmitted through the thermal magnetic material sweeping magnetic field lines into the superconducting puck. We used YBCO as the superconductor with...of the YBCO sweeping vortices into the superconductor . These vortices would gradually accumulate in the superconductor . Successes have been reported...superconducting flux pump,” PHYSICA C, vol. 468, pp. 153-159, 2008. [2] T. A. Coombs, Z. Hong, Y. Yan and C. D. Rawlings, “ Superconductors : The

  13. On Pokrovskii's anisotropic gap equations in superconductivity theory

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, Yisong

    2003-11-01

    An existence and uniqueness theorem for Pokrovskii's zero-temperature anisotropic gap equation is proved. Furthermore, it is shown that Pokrovskii's finite-temperature equation is inconsistent with the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) theory. A reformulation of the anisotropic gap equation is presented along the line of Pokrovskii and it is shown that the new equation is consistent with the BCS theory for the whole temperature range. As an application, the Markowitz-Kadanoff model for anisotropic superconductivity is considered and a rigorous proof of the half-integer-exponent isotope effect is obtained. Furthermore, a sharp estimate of the gap solution near the transition temperature is established.

  14. Fabrication and characterization of hybrid Nb-YBCO dc SQUIDs

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Frack, E.K.; Drake, R.E.; Patt, R.

    This paper reports on the fabrication of hybrid low T{sub c}/high T{sub c} dc SQUIDs of two flavors. The first kind utilizes niobium tunnel junctions and a YBCO film strip as the most inductive portion of the SQUID loop. This configuration allows a direct measurement of the inductance of the YBCO microstrip from which the effective penetration depth can be calculated. The successful fabrication of these SQUIDs has required 1. superconducting Nb-to-YBCO contacts, 2. deposition and patterning of an SiO{sub 2} insulation layer over YBCO, and 3. selective patterning of niobium and SiO{sub 2} relative to YBCO. All these processmore » steps are pertinent to the eventual use of YBCO thin films in electronic devices.« less

  15. Design of a cryogenic system for a 20m direct current superconducting MgB2 and YBCO power cable

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cheadle, Michael J.; Bromberg, Leslie; Jiang, Xiaohua; Glowacki, Bartek; Zeng, Rong; Minervini, Joseph; Brisson, John

    2014-01-01

    The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, and Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, are collaborating to design, construct, and test a 20 m, direct current, superconducting MgB2 and YBCO power cable. The cable will be installed in the State Key Laboratory of Power Systems at Tsinghua University in Beijing beginning in 2013. In a previous paper [1], the cryogenic system was briefly discussed, focusing on the cryogenic issues for the superconducting cable. The current paper provides a detailed discussion of the design, construction, and assembly of the cryogenic system and its components. The two-stage system operates at nominally 80 K and 20 K with the primary cryogen being helium gas. The secondary cryogen, liquid nitrogen, is used to cool the warm stage of binary current leads. The helium gas provides cooling to both warm and cold stages of the rigid cryostat housing the MgB2 and YBCO conductors, as well as the terminations of the superconductors at the end of the current leads. A single cryofan drives the helium gas in both stages, which are thermally isolated with a high effectiveness recuperator. Refrigeration for the helium circuit is provided by a Sumitomo RDK415 cryocooler. This paper focuses on the design, construction, and assembly of the cryostat, the recuperator, and the current leads with associated superconducting cable terminations.

  16. High quality uniform YBCO film growth by the metalorganic deposition using trifluoroacetates

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, S. S.; Zhang, Z. L.; Wang, L.; Gao, L. K.; Liu, J.

    2017-03-01

    A need exists for the large-area superconducting YBa2Cu3O7-x (YBCO) films with high critical current density for microwave communication and/or electric power applications. Trifluoroacetic metalorganic (TFA-MOD) method is a promising low cost technique for large-scale production of YBCO films, because it does not need high vacuum device and is easily applicable to substrates of various shape and size. In this paper, double-sided YBCO films with maximum 2 in diameter were prepared on LaAlO3 substrates by TFA-MOD method. Inductive critical current densitiy Jc, microwave surface resistance Rs, as well as the microstructure were characterized. A newly homemade furnace system was used to epitaxially grown YBCO films, which can improve the uniformity of YBCO film significantly by gas supply and temperature distribution proper design. Results showed that the large area YBCO films were very uniform in microstructure and thickness distribution, an average inductive Jc in excess of 6 MA/cm2 with uniform distribution, and low Rs (10 GHz) below 0.3 mΩ at 77 K were obtained. Andthe film filter may be prepared to work at temperatures lower than 74 K. These results are very close to the highest value of YBCO films made by conventional vacuum method, so we show a very promising route for large-scale production of high quality large-area YBCO superconducting films at a lower cost.

  17. Transport performance of a HTS current lead prepared by the TFA-MOD processed YBCO tapes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shiohara, K.; Sakai, S.; Ohki, S.; Yamada, Y.; Tachikawa, K.; Koizumi, T.; Aoki, Y.; Hikichi, Y.; Nishioka, J.; Hasegawa, T.

    2009-10-01

    A superconducting current lead has been prepared using 12 tapes of the trifluoroacetates - metal organic deposition (TFA-MOD) processed Y 1Ba 2Cu 3O 7-δ (YBCO) coated conductors with critical current ( I c) of about 100 A at 77 K in self-field. The tapes are 4.5 mm in width, 220 mm in length and about 120 μm in overall thickness. The 1 μm thick superconducting YBCO layer was formed through the TFA-MOD process on Hastelloy TM substrate tapes with two buffer oxide layers of Gd 2Zr 2O 7 (GZO) and CeO 2. The 12 YBCO tapes were arrayed on the both sides (six tapes on each side) of a stainless steel board with 3 mm in thickness for a board type shape. They were similarly soldered to copper caps at the both ends. The transport current of 1000 A was stably applied for 10 min in the liquid nitrogen temperature without any voltage generation in all tapes. Although some voltage in some YBCO tapes generated at the applied currents of about 1100 A, the transport current of 1200 A was successfully applied without quenching. The voltage between both copper caps linearly increased with increasing the transport current, and it was about 300 μV at an applied current of 1000 A. A low joint resistance between the YBCO tapes and the copper caps resulted in small amounts of the Joule heating at the joints when 1000 A was applied. The overall (effective) thermal conductivity of the current leads composed of YBCO tapes and the stainless steel board was much lower than that of Non-superconducting current leads. Therefore, the present current leads with small heat leakage seemed to be practically promising for superconducting magnets.

  18. Levitation forces of a bulk YBCO superconductor in gradient varying magnetic fields

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jiang, J.; Gong, Y. M.; Wang, G.; Zhou, D. J.; Zhao, L. F.; Zhang, Y.; Zhao, Y.

    2015-09-01

    The levitation forces of a bulk YBCO superconductor in gradient varying high and low magnetic fields generated from a superconducting magnet were investigated. The magnetic field intensity of the superconducting magnet was measured when the exciting current was 90 A. The magnetic field gradient and magnetic force field were both calculated. The YBCO bulk was cooled by liquid nitrogen in field-cooling (FC) and zero-field-cooling (ZFC) condition. The results showed that the levitation forces increased with increasing the magnetic field intensity. Moreover, the levitation forces were more dependent on magnetic field gradient and magnetic force field than magnetic field intensity.

  19. Anisotropic type-I superconductivity and anomalous superfluid density in OsB2

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bekaert, J.; Vercauteren, S.; Aperis, A.; Komendová, L.; Prozorov, R.; Partoens, B.; Milošević, M. V.

    2016-10-01

    We present a microscopic study of superconductivity in OsB2, and discuss the origin and characteristic length scales of the superconducting state. From first-principles we show that OsB2 is characterized by three different Fermi sheets, and we prove that this fermiology complies with recent quantum-oscillation experiments. Using the found microscopic properties, and experimental data from the literature, we employ Ginzburg-Landau relations to reveal that OsB2 is a distinctly type-I superconductor with a very low Ginzburg-Landau parameter κ —a rare property among compound materials. We show that the found coherence length and penetration depth corroborate the measured thermodynamic critical field. Moreover, our calculation of the superconducting gap structure using anisotropic Eliashberg theory and ab initio calculated electron-phonon interaction as input reveals a single but anisotropic gap. The calculated gap spectrum is shown to give an excellent account for the unconventional behavior of the superfluid density of OsB2 measured in experiments as a function of temperature. This reveals that gap anisotropy can explain such behavior, observed in several compounds, which was previously attributed solely to a two-gap nature of superconductivity.

  20. Anisotropic type-I superconductivity and anomalous superfluid density in OsB 2

    DOE PAGES

    Bekaert, Jonas; Vercauteren, S.; Aperis, A.; ...

    2016-10-12

    Here, we present a microscopic study of superconductivity in OsB 2, and discuss the origin and characteristic length scales of the superconducting state. From first-principles we show that OsB 2 is characterized by three different Fermi sheets, and we prove that this fermiology complies with recent quantum-oscillation experiments. Using the found microscopic properties, and experimental data from the literature, we employ Ginzburg-Landau relations to reveal that OsB 2 is a distinctly type-I superconductor with a very low Ginzburg-Landau parameter κ—a rare property among compound materials. We show that the found coherence length and penetration depth corroborate the measured thermodynamic criticalmore » field. Moreover, our calculation of the superconducting gap structure using anisotropic Eliashberg theory and ab initio calculated electron-phonon interaction as input reveals a single but anisotropic gap. The calculated gap spectrum is shown to give an excellent account for the unconventional behavior of the superfluid density of OsB 2 measured in experiments as a function of temperature. This reveals that gap anisotropy can explain such behavior, observed in several compounds, which was previously attributed solely to a two-gap nature of superconductivity.« less

  1. Origin of photovoltaic effect in superconducting YBa2Cu3O6.96 ceramics

    PubMed Central

    Yang, F.; Han, M. Y.; Chang, F. G.

    2015-01-01

    We report remarkable photovoltaic effect in YBa2Cu3O6.96 (YBCO) ceramic between 50 and 300 K induced by blue-laser illumination, which is directly related to the superconductivity of YBCO and the YBCO-metallic electrode interface. There is a polarity reversal for the open circuit voltage Voc and short circuit current Isc when YBCO undergoes a transition from superconducting to resistive state. We show that there exists an electrical potential across the superconductor-normal metal interface, which provides the separation force for the photo-induced electron-hole pairs. This interface potential directs from YBCO to the metal electrode when YBCO is superconducting and switches to the opposite direction when YBCO becomes nonsuperconducting. The origin of the potential may be readily associated with the proximity effect at metal-superconductor interface when YBCO is superconducting and its value is estimated to be ~10–8 mV at 50 K with a laser intensity of 502 mW/cm2. Combination of a p-type material YBCO at normal state with an n-type material Ag-paste forms a quasi-pn junction which is responsible for the photovoltaic behavior of YBCO ceramics at high temperatures. Our findings may pave the way to new applications of photon-electronic devices and shed further light on the proximity effect at the superconductor-metal interface. PMID:26099727

  2. Strong Flux Pinning of Nano-Sized Ysz Particles in Ybco Films Prepared by Mod Method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ye, S.; Suo, H. L.; Liu, M.; Tang, X.; Wu, Z. P.; Zhao, Y.; Zhou, M. L.

    The YBCO films with doped YSZ nanoparticles have been prepared successfully by metal organic doepositon method using trifluoroacetates (TFA-MOD) through dissolving Zr organic salt into the YBCO precursor solution. The doped films have well in-plane and out-plane textures detected by both XRD Φ-scan and ω-scan. The YSZ nanoparticles with the size of about 5 ~ 15 nm were observed on the surface of the YBCO films using both FE-SEM and TEM. By comparing the superconducting properties, it was found that the doped YBCO films had lower Tc than that of undoped YBCO films. However, as increasing the applied magnetic field, Jc of the doped YBCO films were much better than that of undoped one. The Jc was as higher as 2.5 times than that of undoped YBCO film at 77 K and 1 T applied field.

  3. Architecture for high critical current superconducting tapes

    DOEpatents

    Jia, Quanxi; Foltyn, Stephen R.

    2002-01-01

    Improvements in critical current capacity for superconducting film structures are disclosed and include the use of, e.g., multilayer YBCO structures where individual YBCO layers are separated by a layer of an insulating material such as CeO.sub.2 and the like, a layer of a conducting material such as strontium ruthenium oxide and the like or by a second superconducting material such as SmBCO and the like.

  4. Levitation force of melt-textured YBCO superconductors under non-quasi-static situation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhao, Z. M.; Xu, J. M.; Yuan, X. Y.; Zhang, C. P.

    2018-06-01

    The superconducting levitation force of a simple superconductor-magnet system under non-quasi-static situation is investigated experimentally. Two yttrium barium copper oxide (YBCO) samples with different performances are chosen from two small batches of samples prepared by the top-seeded melt-textured growth process. The residual carbon content of the precursor powders of the two batches is different due to different heat treatment processes. During the experimental process for measuring the levitation force, the value of the relative speed between the YBCO sample and the permanent magnet is higher than that in conventional studies. The variation characteristics of the superconducting levitation force are analyzed and a crossing phenomenon in the force-displacement hysteresis curves is observed. The results indicate that the superconducting levitation force is different due to the different residual carbon contents. As residual carbon contents reduce, the crossing phenomenon is more obvious accordingly.

  5. Ideal charge-density-wave order in the high-field state of superconducting YBCO

    DOE PAGES

    Jang, H.; Lee, W. -S.; Nojiri, H.; ...

    2016-12-05

    The existence of charge-density-wave (CDW) correlations in cuprate superconductors has now been established. However, the nature of the CDW ground state has remained uncertain because disorder and the presence of superconductivity typically limit the CDW correlation lengths to only a dozen unit cells or less. Here we explore the field-induced 3D CDW correlations in extremely pure detwinned crystals of YBa 2Cu 3O 2 (YBCO) ortho-II and ortho-VIII at magnetic fields in excess of the resistive upper critical field ( H c2) where superconductivity is heavily suppressed. We observe that the 3D CDW is unidirectional and possesses a long in-plane correlationmore » length as well as significant correlations between neighboring CuO 2 planes. It is significant that we observe only a single sharply defined transition at a critical field proportional to H c2, given that the field range used in this investigation overlaps with other high-field experiments including quantum oscillation measurements. The correlation volume is at least two to three orders of magnitude larger than that of the zero-field CDW. Furthermore, this is by far the largest CDW correlation volume observed in any cuprate crystal and so is presumably representative of the high-field ground state of an “ideal” disorder-free cuprate.« less

  6. Platinum group metals as flux pinning additions in screen printed superconducting YBa 2Cu 3O 7-δ thick films

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Langhorn, J.; Bi, Y. J.; Abell, J. S.

    1996-02-01

    Platinum group metal additions made to thick films of YBCO have induced significant improvements in the superconducting properties, in particular critical current densities ( Jc). Values in excess of 7 × 10 3 A cm -2 at 77 K and zero applied field have been measured. Optical and transmission electron microscopy have shown a homogeneous distribution of sub-micron sized, and larger highly anisotropic 211, believed to result from a reaction between Pt and YBCO to create nucleation sites for 211 precipitates. Indirect supporting thermal analysis evidence for this reaction is presented. An increased density of dislocations associated with the {123}/{211} interface suggests that refined 211 precipitates may act as heterogeneous nucleation sites for flux pinning defects. Similar effects have been observed for additions of other platinum group metals (Rh, Pd).

  7. Development of an YBCO coil with SSTC conductors for high field application

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shi, Y.; Liu, H. J.; Liu, F.; Tan, Y. F.; Jin, H.; Yu, M.; Lei, L.; Guo, L.; Hong, Z. Y.

    2018-07-01

    With the continuous reduction of the production costs and improvement of the transport performance, YBCO coated conductor is the most promising candidate for the high field magnet application due to its high irreversibility field and strong mechanical properties. Presently a stable production capacity of the YBCO conductors has been achieved by Shanghai Superconducting Technology Co., Ltd (SSTC) in China. Therefore, the demand in high field application with YBCO conductors is growing in China. This paper describes the design, fabrication and preliminary experiment of a solenoid coil with YBCO conductors supplied by SSTC to validate the possibility of high field application. Four same double pancakes were manufactured and assembled for the YBCO coil where the outer diameter and height was 54.3 and 48 mm respectively to match the dimensional limitation of the 14 T background magnets. The critical current (Ic) of YBCO conductors was obtained by measuring as a function of the applied field perpendicular to the YBCO conductor surface which provides the necessary input parameters for preliminary performance evaluation of the coil. Finally the preliminary test and discussion at 77 and 4.2 K were carried out. The consistency of four double pancakes Ic was achieved. The measured results indicate that the fabrication technology of HTS coil is reliable which gives the conference for the in-field test in high field application. This YBCO coil is the first demonstration of the SSTC YBCO coated conductors.

  8. Polycrystalline Superconducting Thin Films: Texture Control and Critical Current Density

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, Feng

    1995-01-01

    The growth processes of polycrystalline rm YBa_2CU_3O_{7-X} (YBCO) and yttria-stabilized-zirconia (YSZ) thin films have been developed. The effectiveness of YSZ buffer layers on suppression of the reaction between YBCO thin films and metallic substrates was carefully studied. Grown on the chemically inert surfaces of YSZ buffer layers, YBCO thin films possessed good quality of c-axis alignment with the c axis parallel to the substrate normal, but without any preferred in-plane orientations. This leads to the existence of a large percentage of the high-angle grain boundaries in the YBCO films. The critical current densities (rm J_{c}'s) found in these films were much lower than those in single crystal YBCO thin films, which was the consequence of the weak -link effect of the high-angle grain boundaries in these films. It became clear that the in-plane alignment is vital for achieving high rm J_{c }s in polycrystalline YBCO thin films. To induce the in-plane alignment, ion beam-assisted deposition (IBAD) technique was integrated into the conventional pulsed laser deposition process for the growth of the YSZ buffer layers. It was demonstrated that using IBAD the in-plane orientations of the YSZ grains could be controlled within a certain range of a common direction. This ion -bombardment induced in-plane texturing was explained using the anisotropic sputtering yield theory. Our observations and analyses have provided valuable information on the optimization of the IBAD process, and shed light on the texturing mechanism in YSZ. With the in-plane aligned YSZ buffer layers, YBCO thin films grown on metallic substrates showed improved rm J_{c}s. It was found that the in-plane alignment of YSZ and that of YBCO were closely related. A direct correlation was revealed between the rm J_{c} value and the degree of the in-plane alignment for the YBCO thin films. To explain this correlation, a numerical model was applied to multi-grain superconducting paths with different

  9. Vortex pinning landscape in MOD-TFA YBCO nanostroctured films

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gutierrez, J.; Puig, T.; Pomar, A.; Obradors, X.

    2008-03-01

    A methodology of general validity to study vortex pinning in YBCO based on Jc transport measurements is described. It permits to identify, separate and quantify three basic vortex pinning contributions associated to anisotropic-strong, isotropic-strong and isotropic-weak pinning centers. Thereof, the corresponding vortex pinning phase diagrams are built up. This methodology is applied to the new solution-derived YBCO nanostructured films, including controlled interfacial pinning by the growth of nanostructured templates by means of self-assembled processes [1] and YBCO-BaZrO3 nanocomposites prepared by modified solution precursors. The application of the methodology and comparison with a standard solution-derived YBCO film [2], enables us to identify the nature and the effect of the additional pinning centers induced. The nanostructured templates films show c-axis pinning strongly increased, controlling most of the pinning phase diagram. On the other hand, the nanocomposites have achieved so far, the highest pinning properties in HTc-superconductors [3], being the isotropic-strong defects contribution the origin of their unique properties. [1] M. Gibert et al, Adv. Mat. vol 19, p. 3937 (2007) [2] Puig.T et al, SuST EUCAS 2007 (to be published) [3] J. Gutierrez et al, Nat. Mat. vol. 6, p. 367 (2007) * Work supported by HIPERCHEM, NANOARTIS and MAT2005-02047

  10. Quantitative magneto-optical analysis of the role of finite temperatures on the critical state in YBCO thin films

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Albrecht, Joachim; Brück, Sebastian; Stahl, Claudia; Ruoß, Stephen

    2016-11-01

    We use quantitative magneto-optical microscopy to investigate the influence of finite temperatures on the critical state of thin YBCO films. In particular, temperature and time dependence of supercurrents in inhomogeneous and anisotropic films are analyzed to extract the role of temperature on the supercurrents themselves and the influence of thermally activated relaxation. We find that inhomogeneities and anisotropies of the current density distribution correspond to a different temperature dependence of local supercurrents. In addition, the thermally activated decay of supercurrents can be used to extract local vortex pinning energies. With these results the modification of vortex pinning introduced by substrate structures is studied. In summary the local investigation of supercurrent densities allows the full description of the vortex pinning landscape with respect to pinning forces and energies in superconducting films with complex properties under the influence of finite temperatures.

  11. Excess current experiment on YBCO tape conductor with metal stabilized layer

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tasaki, Kenji; Yazawa, Takashi; Ono, Michitaka; Kuriyama, Toru

    2006-06-01

    Excess current experiments were performed using YBCO tape conductors with a metal stabilized layer on the superconducting layer. The purpose of this research is to obtain the stable criteria of energy dissipation when YBCO tape is forced to flow excess current higher than its critical current. This situation should be considered in power applications. In the experiments short-length samples were immersed in liquid nitrogen and several cycles of 50Hz sinusoidal current were supplied to the samples by an induction voltage regulator. The critical current of the samples was about 110 A. With pulse length as long as 60 ms, YBCO tapes were able to be energized up to twelve times as the critical current without electrical or mechanical deformation. Prior to the excess current experiments, temperature dependency of resistance of the sample was measured so that the temperature rise was estimated by the generated resistance. It is found that YBCO tapes with a copper stabilized layer can be transiently heated to over 400K without degradation.

  12. Enhanced pinning in YBCO films with BaZrO.sub.3 nanoparticles

    DOEpatents

    Driscoll, Judith L.; Foltyn, Stephen R.

    2010-06-15

    A process and composition of matter are provided and involve flux pinning in thin films of high temperature superconductive oxides such as YBCO by inclusion of particles including barium and a group 4 or group 5 metal, such as zirconium, in the thin film.

  13. YBCO High-Temperature Superconducting Filters on M-Plane Sapphire Substrates

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Sabataitis, J. C.; Mueller, C. H.; Miranda, F. A.; Warner, J.; Bhasin, K. B.

    1996-01-01

    Since the discovery of High Temperature Superconductors (HTS) in 1986, microwave circuits have been demonstrated using HTS films on various substrates. These HTS-based circuits have proven to operate with less power loss than their metallic film counterparts at 77 K. This translates into smaller and lighter microwave circuits for space communication systems such as multiplexer filter banks. High quality HTS films have conventionally been deposited on lanthanum aluminate (LaAlO3) substrates. However, LaAlO3 has a relative dielectric constant (epsilon(sub r)) of 24. With a epsilon(sub r) approx. 9.4-11.6, sapphire (Al2O3) would be a preferable substrate for the fabrication of HTS-based components since the lower dielectric constant would permit wider microstrip lines to be used in filter design, since the lower dielectric constant would permit wider microstrip lines to be used for a given characteristic impedance (Z(sub 0)), thus lowering the insertion losses and increasing the power handling capabilities of the devices. We report on the fabrication and characterization of YBa2Cu3O(7-delta) (YBCO) on M-plane sapphire bandpass filters at 4.0 GHz. For a YBCO 'hairpin' filter, a minimum insertion loss of 0.5 dB was measured at 77 K as compared with 1.4 dB for its gold counterpart. In an 'edge-coupled' configuration, the insertion loss went down from 0.9 dB for the gold film to 0.8 dB for the YBCO film at the same temperature.

  14. Disorder-controlled superconductivity at YBa2Cu3O7/SrTiO3 interfaces

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Garcia-Barriocanal, J.; Perez-Muñoz, A. M.; Sefrioui, Z.; Arias, D.; Varela, M.; Leon, C.; Pennycook, S. J.; Santamaria, J.

    2013-06-01

    We examine the effect of interface disorder in suppressing superconductivity in coherently grown ultrathin YBa2Cu3O7 (YBCO) layers on SrTiO3 (STO) in YBCO/STO superlattices. The termination plane of the STO is TiO2 and the CuO chains are missing at the interface. Disorder (steps) at the STO interface cause alterations of the stacking sequence of the intracell YBCO atomic layers. Stacking faults give rise to antiphase boundaries which break the continuity of the CuO2 planes and depress superconductivity. We show that superconductivity is directly controlled by interface disorder outlining the importance of pair breaking and localization by disorder in ultrathin layers.

  15. Coexistence of ferromagnetism and superconductivity in YBCO nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Zhu, Zhonghua; Gao, Daqiang; Dong, Chunhui; Yang, Guijin; Zhang, Jing; Zhang, Jinlin; Shi, Zhenhua; Gao, Hua; Luo, Honggang; Xue, Desheng

    2012-03-21

    Nanoparticles of superconducting YBa(2)Cu(3)O(7-δ) were synthesized via a citrate pyrolysis technique. Room temperature ferromagnetism was revealed in the samples by a vibrating sample magnetometer. Electron spin resonance spectra at selected temperatures indicated that there is a transition from the normal to the superconducting state at temperatures below 100 K. The M-T curves with various applied magnetic fields showed that the superconducting transition temperatures are 92 K and 55 K for the air-annealed and the post-annealed samples, respectively. Compared to the air-annealed sample, the saturation magnetization of the sample by reheating the air-annealed one in argon atmosphere is enhanced but its superconductivity is weakened, which implies that the ferromagnetism maybe originates from the surface oxygen defects. By superconducting quantum interference device measurements, we further confirmed the ferromagnetic behavior at high temperatures and interesting upturns in field cooling magnetization curves within the superconducting region are found. We attributed the upturn phenomena to the coexistence of ferromagnetism and superconductivity at low temperatures. Room temperature ferromagnetism of superconducting YBa(2)Cu(3)O(7-δ) nanoparticles has been observed in some previous related studies, but the issue of the coexistence of ferromagnetism and superconductivity within the superconducting region is still unclear. In the present work, it will be addressed in detail. The cooperation phenomena found in the spin-singlet superconductors will help us to understand the nature of superconductivity and ferromagnetism in more depth.

  16. High Tc YBCO superconductor deposited on biaxially textured Ni substrate

    DOEpatents

    Budai, John D.; Christen, David K.; Goyal, Amit; He, Qing; Kroeger, Donald M.; Lee, Dominic F.; List, III, Frederick A.; Norton, David P.; Paranthaman, Mariappan; Sales, Brian C.; Specht, Eliot D.

    1999-01-01

    A superconducting article includes a biaxially-textured Ni substrate, and epitaxial buffer layers of Pd (optional), CeO.sub.2 and YSZ, and a top layer of in-plane aligned, c-axis oriented YBCO having a critical current density (J.sub.c) in the range of at least 100,000 A/cm.sup.2 at 77 K.

  17. Aspects of passive magnetic levitation based on high-T(sub c) superconducting YBCO thin films

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Schoenhuber, P.; Moon, F. C.

    1995-01-01

    Passive magnetic levitation systems reported in the past were mostly confined to bulk superconducting materials. Here we present fundamental studies on magnetic levitation employing cylindrical permanent magnets floating above high-T(sub c) superconducting YBCO thin films (thickness about 0.3 mu m). Experiments included free floating rotating magnets as well as well-established flexible beam methods. By means of the latter, we investigated levitation and drag force hysteresis as well as magnetic stiffness properties of the superconductor-magnet arrangement. In the case of vertical motion of the magnet, characteristic high symmetry of repulsive (approaching) and attractive (withdrawing) branches of the pronounced force-displacement hysteresis could be detected. Achievable force levels were low as expected but sufficient for levitation of permanent magnets. With regard to magnetic stiffness, thin films proved to show stiffness-force ratios about one order of magnitude higher than bulk materials. Phenomenological models support the measurements. Regarding the magnetic hysteresis of the superconductor, the Irie-Yamafuji model was used for solving the equation of force balance in cylindrical coordinates allowing for a macroscopic description of the superconductor magnetization. This procedure provided good agreement with experimental levitation force and stiffness data during vertical motion. For the case of (lateral) drag force basic qualitative characteristics could be recovered, too. It is shown that models, based on simple asymmetric magnetization of the superconductor, describe well asymptotic transition of drag forces after the change of the magnet motion direction. Virgin curves (starting from equilibrium, i.e. symmetric magnetization) are approximated by a linear approach already reported in literature only. This paper shows that basic properties of superconducting thin films allow for their application to magnetic levitation or - without need of levitation

  18. Magnetic suspension using high temperature superconducting cores

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Scurlock, R. G.

    1992-01-01

    The development of YBCO high temperature superconductors, in wire and tape forms, is rapidly approaching the point where the bulk transport current density j vs magnetic field H characteristics with liquid nitrogen cooling will enable its use in model cores. On the other hand, BSCCO high temperature superconductor in wire form has poor j-H characteristics at 77 K today, although with liquid helium or hydrogen cooling, it appears to be superior to NbTi superconductor. Since liquid nitrogen cooling is approx. 100 times cheaper than liquid helium cooling, the use of YBCO is very attractive for use in magnetic suspension. The design is discussed of a model core to accommodate lift and drag loads up to 6000 and 3000 N respectively. A comparison is made between the design performance of a liquid helium cooled NbTi (or BSCCO) superconducting core and a liquid nitrogen cooled YBCO superconducting core.

  19. Anisotropic superconductivity in β-(BDA-TTP)2SbF6: STM spectroscopy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nomura, K.; Muraoka, R.; Matsunaga, N.; Ichimura, K.; Yamada, J.

    2009-03-01

    We have investigated the gap symmetry in the superconducting phase of β-(BDA-TTP)2SbF6 with use of the scanning tunneling microscope (STM). The tunneling spectra obtained on the conducting surface show a clear superconducting gap structure. Its functional form is of V-shaped similarly to κ-(BEDT-TTF)2X and suggests the anisotropic superconducting gap with line nodes. For lateral surfaces the shape of tunneling spectra varies from the U-shape with relatively large gap to the V-shape with small gap depending on the tunneling direction alternately twice between directional angle 0 and π. From the analysis of conductance curve taking the k dependence of the tunneling probability into account, it is found that the gap has maximum near the a* and c* axes and the nodes appear along near a*+c* and the a-c* directions. These indicate that the d like superconducting pair is formed in this system as the case of κ-(BEDT-TTF)2X. This node direction is consistent with the theoretical prediction based on the spin fluctuation mechanism. However, the zero-bias conductance peak has not been observed yet.

  20. Crossover between superconductivity and magnetism in SrRuO3 mesocrystal embedded YBa2Cu3O7-x heterostructures.

    PubMed

    Suresh, Vandrangi; Lin, Jheng-Cyuan; Liu, Heng-Jui; Zhang, Zaoli; Chiang, Ping-Chih; Hsun, Yu-Ching; Chen, Yi-Chun; Lin, Jiunn-Yuan; Chu, Ying-Hao

    2016-11-03

    The competition between superconductivity and ferromagnetism poses great challenges and has attracted renewed interest for applications in novel spintronic devices. In order to emphasize their interactions, we fabricated a heterostructure composed of superconducting YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-δ (YBCO) film embedded with itinerant ferromagnetic SrRuO 3 (SRO) mesocrystals. Starting from a doping concentration of 10 vol% of SRO mesocrystal in a YBCO matrix, corresponding to the density of SRO nanocrystals ∼5 × 10 9 cm -2 , which exhibits the typical characteristic of a metal-superconductor transition, and then increasing the magnetic interactions as a function of SRO embedment, the electronic correlation and the interplay between superconductivity and magnetism throughout the temperature regime were investigated. A metal-insulator transition in the normal state of YBCO and a crossover between superconductivity and magnetism at low temperatures were found upon increasing the density of nano-size SRO crystallites in the YBCO matrix as a consequence of competing interactions between these two ordered phases.

  1. Superstrate loading effects on the resonant characteristics of high Tc superconducting circular patch printed on anisotropic materials

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bedra, Sami; Bedra, Randa; Benkouda, Siham; Fortaki, Tarek

    2017-12-01

    In this paper, the effects of both anisotropies in the substrate and superstrate loading on the resonant frequency and bandwidth of high-Tc superconducting circular microstrip patch in a substrate-superstrate configuration are investigated. A rigorous analysis is performed using a dyadic Galerkin's method in the vector Hankel transform domain. Galerkin's procedure is employed in the spectral domain where the TM and TE modes of the cylindrical cavity with magnetic side walls are used in the expansion of the disk current. The effect of the superconductivity of the patch is taken into account using the concept of the complex resistive boundary condition. London's equations and the two-fluid model of Gorter and Casimir are used in the calculation of the complex surface impedance of the superconducting circular disc. The accuracy of the analysis is tested by comparing the computed results with previously published data for several anisotropic substrate-superstrate materials. Good agreement is found among all sets of results. The numerical results obtained show that important errors can be made in the computation of the resonant frequencies and bandwidths of the superconducting resonators when substrate dielectric anisotropy, and/or superstrate anisotropy are ignored. Other theoretical results obtained show that the superconducting circular microstrip patch on anisotropic substrate-superstrate with properly selected permittivity values along the optical and the non-optical axes combined with optimally chosen structural parameters is more advantageous than the one on isotropic substrate-superstrate by exhibiting wider bandwidth characteristic.

  2. Fiber optic quench detection via optimized Rayleigh Scattering in high-field YBCO accelerator magnets

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Flanagan, Gene

    Yttrium barium copper oxide (YBCO) coated conductors are known for their ability to operate in the superconducting state at relatively high temperatures, even above the boiling point of liquid nitrogen (77 K). When these same conductors are operated at lower temperatures, they are able to operate in much higher magnetic fields than traditional superconductors like NiTi or Nb 3Sn. Thus, YBCO superconducting magnets are one of the primary options for generating the high magnetic fields needed for future high energy physics devices. Due to slow quench propagation, quench detection remains one of the primary limitations to YBCO magnets. Fiber opticmore » sensing, based upon Rayleigh scattering, has the potential for spatial resolution approaching the wavelength of light, or very fast temporal resolution at low spatial resolution, and a continuum of combinations in between. This project has studied, theoretically and experimentally, YBCO magnets and Rayleigh scattering quench detection systems to demonstrate feasibility of the systems for YBCO quench protection systems. Under this grant an experimentally validated 3D quench propagation model was used to accurately define the acceptable range of spatial and temporal resolutions for effective quench detection in YBCO magnets and to evaluate present-day and potentially improved YBCO conductors. The data volume and speed requirements for quench detection via Rayleigh scattering required the development of a high performance fiber optic based quench detection/data acquisition system and its integration with an existing voltage tap/thermo-couple based system. In this project, optical fibers are tightly co-wound into YBCO magnet coils, with the fiber on top of the conductor as turn-to-turn insulation. Local changes in the temperature or strain of the conductor are sensed by the optical fiber, which is in close thermal and mechanical contact with the conductor. Intrinsic imperfections in the fiber reflect Rayleigh

  3. Research on resistance characteristics of YBCO tape under short-time DC large current impact

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Zhifeng; Yang, Jiabin; Qiu, Qingquan; Zhang, Guomin; Lin, Liangzhen

    2017-06-01

    Research of the resistance characteristics of YBCO tape under short-time DC large current impact is the foundation of the developing DC superconducting fault current limiter (SFCL) for voltage source converter-based high voltage direct current system (VSC-HVDC), which is one of the valid approaches to solve the problems of renewable energy integration. SFCL can limit DC short-circuit and enhance the interrupting capabilities of DC circuit breakers. In this paper, under short-time DC large current impacts, the resistance features of naked tape of YBCO tape are studied to find the resistance - temperature change rule and the maximum impact current. The influence of insulation for the resistance - temperature characteristics of YBCO tape is studied by comparison tests with naked tape and insulating tape in 77 K. The influence of operating temperature on the tape is also studied under subcooled liquid nitrogen condition. For the current impact security of YBCO tape, the critical current degradation and top temperature are analyzed and worked as judgment standards. The testing results is helpful for in developing SFCL in VSC-HVDC.

  4. Studies of anisotropic in-plane aligned a-axis oriented YBa(2)Cu(3)O(7-x) thin films

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Trajanovic, Zoran

    1997-12-01

    Due to their layered planar structure, cuprate oxide superconductors possess remarkable anisotropic properties which may be related to their high transition temperatures. In-plane aligned a-axis YBa2Cu3O7 (YBCO) films are good candidates for such anisotropic studies. Furthermore, the full advantage of favorable material characteristics can be then utilized in applications such as vertical SNS junctions with the leads along the b-direction of YBCO and other novel junction configurations. High quality, smooth, in-plane aligned films are obtained on (100) LaSrGaO4. Form x-ray data, the films show complete b- and c-axes separation for the measured a-axis orientation. The anisotropic resistivity ratio (ρ c/ρ b), measured along the two crystallographic axes of single films gives ρ c/ρ b of ≈20 near the transition, with T cs near 90 K. In such films the grain boundary effects can be decoupled from the intrinsic anisotropic properties of YBCO. From oxygen annealing studies it was estimated that the CuO chains supply about 60% of the carriers. From J c measurements it is determined that the orientation of magnetic field with respect to the crystallographic film axes is the primary factor governing the J c values. The angular dependence of J c on the applied magnetic field is compared against various theoretical models showing the best agreement with the modified Ginzburg-Landau's anisotropic mass model (at T ≈ T c) and Tinkham's thin film model (at T < T c). By utilizing the Co-dopant, the coupling between CuO2 planes and the resulting enhancement of the intrinsic anisotropy of YBCO can be studied. Deposition and cooling conditions are shown to be the primary factor that influence the quality of dopant incorporation and the resulting oxygen ordering within the YBCO lattice. Various complex structures and devices utilizing in-plane aligned, a-axis films are presented. Other materials exhibiting in-plane alignment and a-axis growth are described. Optional substrates

  5. General approach for the determination of the magneto-angular dependence of the critical current of YBCO coated conductors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, X.; Zhong, Z.; Ruiz, H. S.; Geng, J.; Coombs, T. A.

    2017-02-01

    The physical understanding and numerical modelling of superconducting devices which exploit the high performance of second generation high temperature superconducting tapes (2G-HTS), is commonly hindered by the lack of accurate functions which allow the consideration of the in-field dependence of the critical current. This is true regardless of the manufacturer of the superconducting tape. In this paper, we present a general approach for determining a unified function I c(B, θ), ultimately capable of describing the magneto-angular dependence of the in-field critical current of commercial 2G-HTS tapes in the Lorentz configuration. Five widely different superconducting tapes, provided by three different manufacturers, have been tested in a liquid nitrogen bath and external magnetic fields of up to 400 mT. The critical current was recorded at 90 different orientations of the magnetic field ranging from θ = 0°, i.e., with B aligned with the crystallographic ab-planes of the YBCO layer, towards ±90°, i.e., with B perpendicular to the wider surfaces of the 2G-HTS tape. The whole set of experimental data has been analysed using a novel multi-objective model capable of predicting a sole function I c(B, θ). This allows an accurate validation of the experimental data regardless of the fabrication differences and widths of the superconducting tapes. It is shown that, in spite of the wide set of differences between the fabrication and composition of the considered tapes, at liquid nitrogen temperature the magneto-angular dependence of the in-field critical current of YBCO-based 2G-HTS tapes, can be described by a universal function I c(f(B), θ), with a power law field dependence dominated by the Kim’s factor B/B 0, and an angular dependence moderated by the electron mass anisotropy ratio of the YBCO layer.

  6. Maximum permissible voltage of YBCO coated conductors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wen, J.; Lin, B.; Sheng, J.; Xu, J.; Jin, Z.; Hong, Z.; Wang, D.; Zhou, H.; Shen, X.; Shen, C.

    2014-06-01

    Superconducting fault current limiter (SFCL) could reduce short circuit currents in electrical power system. One of the most important thing in developing SFCL is to find out the maximum permissible voltage of each limiting element. The maximum permissible voltage is defined as the maximum voltage per unit length at which the YBCO coated conductors (CC) do not suffer from critical current (Ic) degradation or burnout. In this research, the time of quenching process is changed and voltage is raised until the Ic degradation or burnout happens. YBCO coated conductors test in the experiment are from American superconductor (AMSC) and Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU). Along with the quenching duration increasing, the maximum permissible voltage of CC decreases. When quenching duration is 100 ms, the maximum permissible of SJTU CC, 12 mm AMSC CC and 4 mm AMSC CC are 0.72 V/cm, 0.52 V/cm and 1.2 V/cm respectively. Based on the results of samples, the whole length of CCs used in the design of a SFCL can be determined.

  7. Over-current carrying characteristics of rectangular-shaped YBCO thin films prepared by MOD method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hotta, N.; Yokomizu, Y.; Iioka, D.; Matsumura, T.; Kumagai, T.; Yamasaki, H.; Shibuya, M.; Nitta, T.

    2008-02-01

    A fault current limiter (FCL) may be manufactured at competitive qualities and prices by using rectangular-shaped YBCO films which are prepared by metal-organic deposition (MOD) method, because the MOD method can produce large size elements with a low-cost and non-vacuum technique. Prior to constructing a superconducting FCL (SFCL), AC over-current carrying experiments were conducted for 120 mm long elements where YBCO thin film of about 200 nm in thickness was coated on sapphire substrate with cerium oxide (CeO2) interlayer. In the experiments, only single cycle of the ac damping current of 50 Hz was applied to the pure YBCO element without protective metal coating or parallel resistor and the magnitude of the current was increased step by step until the breakdown phenomena occurred in the element. In each experiment, current waveforms flowing through the YBCO element and voltage waveform across the element were measured to get the voltage-current characteristics. The allowable over-current and generated voltage were successfully estimated for the pure YBCO films. It can be pointed out that the lower n-value trends to bring about the higher allowable over-current and the higher withstand voltage more than tens of volts. The YBCO film having higher n-value is sensitive to the over-current. Thus, some protective methods such as a metal coating should be employed for applying to the fault current limiter.

  8. Design study of an YBCO-coated beam screen for the super proton-proton collider bending magnets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gan, Pingping; Zhu, Kun; Fu, Qi; Li, Haipeng; Lu, Yuanrong; Easton, Matt; Liu, Yudong; Tang, Jingyu; Xu, Qingjin

    2018-04-01

    In order to reduce the beam impedance and refrigeration power dramatically, we have designed a high temperature superconductor (HTS) coated beam screen to screen the cold chamber walls of the super proton-proton collider bending magnets from beam-induced heat loads. It employs an absorber, inspired by the future circular collider studies, to absorb the immense synchrotron radiation power of 12.8 W/m emitted from the 37.5 TeV proton beams. Such a structure has the advantage of decreasing the electron cloud effect and improving the beam vacuum. We have compared the critical magnetic field and current density and accessibility of two potential HTS materials for the beam screen, TlBa2Ca2Cu3O9-δ (Tl-1223) and Yttrium Barium Copper Oxide (YBCO) and finally chose YBCO for coating. The beam screen is tentatively designed to work at 55-70 K because of the limited development of the YBCO material. The thermal analysis with oxygen cooling fluid indicates that the YBCO conductor can maintain its superconductivity even if the synchrotron radiation hits the YBCO-coated surface and the mechanical analysis shows that the structure has the ability to resist the Lorenz force during magnet quenches.

  9. Influence of artificial pinning centers on structural and superconducting properties of thick YBCO films on ABAD-YSZ templates

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pahlke, Patrick; Sieger, Max; Ottolinger, Rick; Lao, Mayraluna; Eisterer, Michael; Meledin, Alexander; Van Tendeloo, Gustaaf; Hänisch, Jens; Holzapfel, Bernhard; Schultz, Ludwig; Nielsch, Kornelius; Hühne, Ruben

    2018-04-01

    Recent efforts in the development of YBa2Cu3O7-x (YBCO) coated conductors are devoted to the increase of the critical current I c in magnetic fields. This is typically realized by growing thicker YBCO layers as well as by the incorporation of artificial pinning centers. We studied the growth of doped YBCO layers with a thickness of up to 7 μm using pulsed laser deposition with a growth rate of about 1.2 nm s-1. Industrially fabricated ion-beam textured YSZ templates based on metal tapes were used as substrates for this study. The incorporation of BaHfO3 (BHO) or Ba2Y(Nb0.5Ta0.5)O6 (BYNTO) secondary phase additions leads to a denser microstructure compared to undoped films. A purely c-axis-oriented YBCO growth is preserved up to a thickness of about 4 μm, whereas misoriented texture components were observed in thicker films. The critical temperature is slightly reduced compared to undoped films and independent of film thickness. The critical current density J c of the BHO- and BYNTO-doped YBCO layers is lower at 77 K and self-field compared to pure YBCO layers; however, I c increases up to a thickness of 5 μm. A comparison between films with a thickness of 1.3 μm revealed that the anisotropy of the critical current density J c(θ) strongly depends on the incorporated pinning centers. Whereas BHO nanorods lead to a strong B∣∣c-axis peak, the overall anisotropy is significantly reduced by the incorporation of BYNTO forming a mixture of short c-axis-oriented nanorods and small (a-b)-oriented platelets. As a result, the J c values of the doped films outperform the undoped samples at higher fields and lower temperatures for most magnetic field directions.

  10. Superconductivity devices: Commercial use of space

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Haertling, Gene; Furman, Eugene; Hsi, Chi-Shiung; Li, Guang

    1993-01-01

    A YBCO thick film containing 20 percent Ag2O with a T(sub c) of 86.8 K and J(sub c) of 108 A/sq cm was obtained. The film was fabricated by a two-step firing process, i.e., firing the film at 1000 C for 10 minutes and annealing at 970 C for 30 minutes. The two-step firing process, however, was not suitable for the multiple-lead YBCO sample due to the formation of the 211 green phase at 1000 C in the multiple-lead YBCO sample. A BSCCO thick film printed on a MgO coated MSZ substrate and fired at 845 C for 2 hours exhibited a superconducting behavior at 89 K. Because of its porous microstructure, the critical current density of the BSCCO thick film was limited. This report also includes the results of the YBCO and BSCCO materials used as oxide electrodes for ferroelectric materials. The YBCO electroded PLZT showed higher remanent polarization and coercive field than the sample electroded with silver paste. A higher Curie temperature for the PLZT was obtained from the YBCO electroded sample. The BSCCO electroded sample, however, exhibited the same Curie temperature as that of a silver electroded sample. Dissipation factors of the ferroelectric samples increased when the oxide electrode was applied.

  11. I-V Characteristics vs. Spatial Dissipation Maps in YBCO Grain Boundary on Bicrystal Substrates

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kwon, Chuhee; Yamamoto, Megumi; Pottish, Samuel; Haugan, Timothy; Barnes, Paul

    2008-03-01

    Grain boundary (GB) properties of YBCO films on SrTiO3 bicrystal substrates with 24 degree misorientations are examined by transport and scanning laser microscopy (SLM) techniques. Thermoelectric SLM clearly shows the location of grain boundaries, and variable temperature SLM confirms that GB has lower Tc. A series of I-V measured in superconducting states exhibit clear step-like features identified in earlier papers as sub-gap structures. The low temperature SLM shows a close relation between the step-like features and the local dissipation pattern in GB. We believe that the activation of Fiske steps is responsible for the step-like I-V, and SLM images show the spatial pattern of the self-excited resonance in GB. We will also discuss how Ca-doping and nanoparticle additions on YBCO affect the junction properties.

  12. Nucleation of stable superconductivity in YBCO-films

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kötzler, J.

    By means of the linear dynamic conductivity, inductively measured on epitaxial films between 30mHz and 30 MHz, the transition line T g (B) to generic superconductivity is studied in fields between B=0 and 19T. It follows closely the melting line T m (B) described recently in terms of a blowout of thermal vortex loops in clean materials. The critical exponents of the correlation length and time near T g (B), however, enem to be dominated by some intrinsic disorder. Columnar defects produced by heavy-ion irradiation up to field-equivalent-doses of B ϕ =10T lead to adisappointing reduction of T g (B→0) while for B>B ϕ the generic line of the pristine film is recovered. These novel results are also discussed in terms of a loop-driven destruction of generic superconductivity.

  13. Experimentally determined transport and magnetization ac losses of small cable models constructed from YBCO coated conductors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Šouc, J.; Vojenčiak, M.; Gömöry, F.

    2010-04-01

    Several short cable models were constructed from YBCO coated conductor (YBCO CC) to study their basic dc and ac electrical properties. They were prepared using superconducting tapes helically wound on fiberglass former of different diameter (5, 8 and 10 mm) with different twist pitch (from 1.7 up to 2.4 cm). The number of parallel-connected tapes ranged from 1 up to 6. The standard length of the models was 11 cm. In one case a 35 cm long model has been manufactured in order to perform a bending test. We observed that the critical currents of the models were proportional to the number of tapes used for their construction. Transport and magnetization ac loss were measured at 36 and 72 Hz.

  14. Fabrication of Large YBCO Superconducting Disks

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Koczor, Ronald J.; Noever, David A.; Robertson, Glen A.

    1999-01-01

    We have undertaken fabrication of large bulk items to develop a repeatable process and to provide test articles in laboratory experiments investigating reported coupling of electromagnetic fields with the local gravity field in the presence of rotating superconducting disks. A successful process was developed which resulted in fabrication of 30 cm diameter annular disks. The disks were fabricated of the superconductor YBa2Cu3O(7-x). Various material parameters of the disks were measured.

  15. Static Test for a Gravitational Force Coupled to Type 2 YBCO Superconductors

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Li, Ning; Noever, David; Robertson, Tony; Koczor, Ron; Brantley, Whitt

    1997-01-01

    As a Bose condensate, superconductors provide novel conditions for revisiting previously proposed couplings between electromagnetism and gravity. Strong variations in Cooper pair density, large conductivity and low magnetic permeability define superconductive and degenerate condensates without the traditional density limits imposed by the Fermi energy (approx. 10(exp -6) g cc. Recent experiments have reported anomalous weight loss for a test mass suspended above a rotating type II, YBCO superconductor, with the percentage change (0.05 - 2.1 %) independent of the test mass' chemical composition and diamagnetic properties. A variation of 5 parts per 10' was reported above a stationary (non-rotating) superconductor. In experiments using a sensitive gravimeter, bulk YBCO superconductors were stably levitated in a DC magnetic field. Changes in acceleration were measured to be less than 2 parts in 108 of the normal gravitational acceleration. This result puts new limits on the strength and range of the proposed coupling between static superconductors and gravity.

  16. Processing and property evaluation of metal matrix superconducting materials

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rao, Appajosula S.

    1995-01-01

    Metal - superconductor (YBCO) systems have been prepared and characterized by resistivity, ac susceptibility and dc SQUID magnetic moment measurements. The silver composites showed superconducting transition for all the composites processed and the superconducting transition temperature tends to depend upon the concentration of the silver in the composite. Aluminum composites showed an unusual resistivity results with two transitions around 90 K and 120 K. The superconducting property of silver composites can be explained qualitatively in terms of the proximity theory that has been suggested for the low temperature superconductors.

  17. Contribution of ion beam analysis methods to the development of second generation high temperature superconducting wires

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Usov, I. O.; Arendt, P. N.; Foltyn, S. R.; Stan, L.; DePaula, R. F.; Holesinger, T. G.

    2010-06-01

    One of the crucial steps in the second generation high temperature superconducting wire program was development of the buffer-layer architecture. The architecture designed at the Superconductivity Technology Center at Los Alamos National Laboratory consists of several oxide layers wherein each layer plays a specific role, namely: nucleation layer, diffusion barrier, biaxially textured template, and intermediate layer providing a suitable lattice match to the superconducting Y 1Ba 2Cu 3O 7 (YBCO) compound. This report demonstrates how a wide range of ion beam analysis techniques (SIMS, RBS, channeling, PIXE, PIGE, NRA and ERD) was employed for analysis of each buffer layer and the YBCO film. These results assisted in understanding of a variety of physical processes occurring during the buffer layer fabrication and helped to optimize the buffer-layer architecture as a whole.

  18. Superconductivity-induced magnetization depletion in a ferromagnet through an insulator in a ferromagnet-insulator-superconductor hybrid oxide heterostructure.

    PubMed

    Prajapat, C L; Singh, Surendra; Paul, Amitesh; Bhattacharya, D; Singh, M R; Mattauch, S; Ravikumar, G; Basu, S

    2016-05-21

    Coupling between superconducting and ferromagnetic states in hybrid oxide heterostructures is presently a topic of intense research. Such a coupling is due to the leakage of the Cooper pairs into the ferromagnet. However, tunneling of the Cooper pairs though an insulator was never considered plausible. Using depth sensitive polarized neutron reflectivity we demonstrate the coupling between superconductor and magnetic layers in epitaxial La2/3Ca1/3MnO3 (LCMO)/SrTiO3/YBa2Cu3O7-δ (YBCO) hybrid heterostructures, with SrTiO3 as an intervening oxide insulator layer between the ferromagnet and the superconductor. Measurements above and below the superconducting transition temperature (TSC) of YBCO demonstrate a large modulation of magnetization in the ferromagnetic layer below the TSC of YBCO in these heterostructures. This work highlights a unique tunneling phenomenon between the epitaxial layers of an oxide superconductor (YBCO) and a magnetic layer (LCMO) through an insulating layer. Our work would inspire further investigations on the fundamental aspect of a long range order of the triplet spin-pairing in hybrid structures.

  19. Testing of a 1.25-m HTS Cable Made from YBCO Tapes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gouge, M. J.; Lue, J. W.; Demko, J. A.; Duckworth, R. C.; Fisher, P. W.; Daumling, M.; Lindsay, D. T.; Roden, M. L.; Tolbert, J. C.

    2004-06-01

    Ultera and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have jointly designed, built, and tested a 1.25-m-long, prototype high-temperature superconducting (HTS) power cable made from 1-cm-wide, second-generation YBa2Cu3Ox (YBCO)-coated conductor tapes. Electrical tests of this cable were performed in boiling liquid nitrogen at 77 K. DC testing of the 1.25-m cable included determination of the V-I curve, with a critical current of 4200 A. This was consistent with the properties of the 24 individual YBCO tapes. AC testing of the cable was conducted at currents up to 2500 Arms. The ac losses were measured calorimetrically by measuring the response of a calibrated temperature sensor placed on the former and electrically by use of a Rogowski coil with a lock-in amplifier. AC losses of about 2 W/m were measured at a cable ac current of 2000 Arms. Overcurrent testing was conducted at peak current values up to 12 kA for pulse lengths of 0.1-0.2 s. The cable temperature increased to 105 K for a 12 kA, 0.2 s overcurrent pulse, and the cable showed no degradation after the sequence of overcurrent testing. This commercial-grade HTS cable demonstrated the feasibility of second-generation YBCO tapes in an ac cable application.

  20. A double-superconducting axial bearing system for an energy storage flywheel model

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Deng, Z.; Lin, Q.; Ma, G.; Zheng, J.; Zhang, Y.; Wang, S.; Wang, J.

    2008-02-01

    The bulk high temperature superconductors (HTSCs) with unique flux-pinning property have been applied to fabricate two superconducting axial bearings for an energy storage flywheel model. The two superconducting axial bearings are respectively fixed at two ends of the vertical rotational shaft, whose stator is composed of seven melt-textured YBa2Cu3O7-x (YBCO) bulks with diameter of 30 mm, height of 18 mm and rotor is made of three cylindrical axial-magnetized NdFeB permanent magnets (PM) by superposition with diameter of 63 mm, height of 27 mm. The experimental results show the total levitation and lateral force produced by the two superconducting bearings are enough to levitate and stabilize the 2.4 kg rotational shaft. When the two YBCO stators were both field cooled to the liquid nitrogen temperature at respective axial distances above or below the PM rotor, the shaft could be automatically levitated between the two stators without any contact. In the case of a driving motor, it can be stably rotated along the central axis besides the resonance frequency. This double-superconducting axial bearing system can be used to demonstrate the flux-pinning property of bulk HTSC for stable levitation and suspension and the principle of superconducting flywheel energy storage system to visitors.

  1. Effect of the Cu/Ba ratio for the YBCO deposition onto IBAD template by the MOCVD method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Choi, J. K.; Kim, H. J.; Jun, B. H.; Kim, C. J.

    2005-10-01

    YBa2Cu3O7-x (YBCO) thin films were fabricated by the metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) using a single liquid source. The copper/barium (Cu/Ba) ratio was varied from 1.26 to 1.38 to optimize the deposition condition. The IBAD template (CeO2/YSZ/stainless steel) was used as a substrate. The growth features of the YBCO films were not significantly influenced by the Cu/Ba ratio, while the superconducting transition temperature (Tc) and critical current (Ic) depended on the Cu/Ba ratio. When Cu/Ba ratio was between 1.26 and 1.29, Tc was as low as 80 K, while as Cu/Ba ratio increased to 1.38, it increased to above 85 K. The highest Tc (89.0 K) and Ic (46.3 A/cm-width) were achieved at the Cu/Ba ratio of 1.38 (Y:Ba:Cu = 1:2.1:2.9). It indicates that the optimum Cu/Ba ratio which differs from stoichiometric balance exists for the formation of the superconducting phase with a high Tc and Ic in MOCVD method.

  2. Enhancement of superconducting transition temperature by pointlike disorder and anisotropic energy gap in FeSe single crystals

    DOE PAGES

    Teknowijoyo, S.; Cho, K.; Tanatar, M. A.; ...

    2016-08-29

    A highly anisotropic superconducting gap is found in single crystals of FeSe by studying the London penetration depth Δλ measured down to 50 mK in samples before and after 2.5 MeV electron irradiation. The gap minimum increases with introduced pointlike disorder, indicating the absence of symmetry-imposed nodes. Surprisingly, the superconducting transition temperature T c increases by 0.4 K from T c0 ≈ 8.8 K while the structural transition temperature T s decreases by 0.9 K from T s0 ≈ 91.2 K after electron irradiation. Finally, we discuss several explanations for the T c enhancement and propose that local strengthening ofmore » the pair interaction by irradiation-induced Frenkel defects most likely explains the phenomenon.« less

  3. Anisotropic superconductivity and elongated vortices with unusual bound states in quasi-one-dimensional nickel-bismuth compounds

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Wen-Lin; Zhang, Yi-Min; Lv, Yan-Feng; Ding, Hao; Wang, Lili; Li, Wei; He, Ke; Song, Can-Li; Ma, Xu-Cun; Xue, Qi-Kun

    2018-04-01

    We report low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy studies of Ni-Bi films grown by molecular beam epitaxy. Highly anisotropic and twofold symmetric superconducting gaps are revealed in two distinct composites, Bi-rich NiBi3 and near-equimolar NixBi , both sharing quasi-one-dimensional crystal structure. We further reveal axially elongated vortices in both phases, but Caroli-de Gennes-Matricon states solely within the vortex cores of NiBi3. Intriguingly, although the localized bound state splits energetically off at a finite distance ˜10 nm away from a vortex center along the minor axis of elliptic vortex, no splitting is found along the major axis. We attribute the elongated vortices and unusual vortex behaviors to the combined effects of twofold superconducting gap and Fermi velocity. The findings provide a comprehensive understanding of the electron pairing and vortex matter in quasi-one-dimensional superconductors.

  4. Superconducting Mixers for Far-Infrared Spectroscopy

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Betz, A. L.; Boreiko, R. T.; Grossman, E. R.; Reintsema, C. D.; Ono, R. H.; Gerecht, E.

    2002-01-01

    The goal of this project was to fabricate and test planar arrays of superconducting mixers for the 2-6 THz band. The technology is intended for multi-beam receivers aboard Explorer-class missions and the SOFIA Airborne Observatory. The mixer technology is the superconducting transition-edge microbolometer, which is more commonly known as the Hot-Electron micro-Bolometer (HEB). As originally proposed, two superconducting technologies were to be developed: (1) low-Tc niobium HEBs which could approach quantum-noise-limited sensitivities but require cooling to 2- 4 K, and (2) high-Tc YBCO HEBs with sensitivities 10 times worse but with a relaxed cooling requirement of 30-60 K. The low-Tc devices would be best for astronomy applications on SOFIA, whereas the high-Tc devices would be more suitable for planetary missions using systems without stored cryogens. The work plan called for planar micro-fabrication and initial testing of HEB devices at the NIST Boulder clean-room facility. Subsequent assembly and RF testing of selected devices would be done at the CASA laboratory at U. Colorado. Approximately 1-year after work began on this project, Dr. Eyal Gerecht joined the NIST group, and assumed day-to-day responsibility for Nb-HEB development at NIST outside of micro-fabrication. The YBCO-HEB work was to be guided by Dr. Ron Ono, who was the NIST expert in YBCO technology. Unfortunately, recurrent health problems limited the time Ron could devote to the project in its first year. These problems became aggravated in early 2001, and sadly led to Ron's death in October, 2001. His loss was not only a blow to his friends and associates at NIST, but was mounted by the US superconductivity community at large. With his passing, work on high-Tc HEBs ceased at NIST. There was no one to replace him or his expertise. Our work subsequently shifted solely to Nb-HEB devices. In the sections which follow, our progress in the development of diffusion-cooled Nb-HEB mixers is detailed. To

  5. Influence of Sm2O3 microalloying and Yb contamination on Y211 particles coarsening and superconducting properties of IG YBCO bulk superconductors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vojtkova, L.; Diko, P.; Kovac, J.; Vojtko, M.

    2018-06-01

    Single grain YBa2Cu3O7‑x (YBCO or Y123) bulk superconductors were produced by an infiltration growth process. The solid phase precursor was prepared by solid state synthesis from Y2O3 + BaCuO2 powders. The influence of the addition of Sm2O3 and YB contamination from the substrate on the microstructure and superconducting properties was analyzed. The dependences of Yb concentration on the distance from the bottom of the samples measured by energy dispersive spectroscopy microanalysis used in conjunction with scanning electron microscopy confirmed the contamination of the samples during the melting stage of the sample preparation. It is shown that the addition of Sm in low concentration and its combination with Yb from the substrate modify the coarsening of the Y211 particles as well as lead to the appearance of a secondary peak effect in the field dependences of the critical current density.

  6. Superconducting YBa2Cu3O7- δ Thin Film Detectors for Picosecond THz Pulses

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Probst, P.; Scheuring, A.; Hofherr, M.; Wünsch, S.; Il'in, K.; Semenov, A.; Hübers, H.-W.; Judin, V.; Müller, A.-S.; Hänisch, J.; Holzapfel, B.; Siegel, M.

    2012-06-01

    Ultra-fast THz detectors from superconducting YBa2Cu3O7- δ (YBCO) thin films were developed to monitor picosecond THz pulses. YBCO thin films were optimized by the introduction of CeO2 and PrBaCuO buffer layers. The transition temperature of 10 nm thick films reaches 79 K. A 15 nm thick YBCO microbridge (transition temperature—83 K, critical current density at 77 K—2.4 MA/cm2) embedded in a planar log-spiral antenna was used to detect pulsed THz radiation of the ANKA storage ring. First time resolved measurements of the multi-bunch filling pattern are presented.

  7. Observation of dark pulses in 10 nm thick YBCO nanostrips presenting hysteretic current voltage characteristics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ejrnaes, M.; Parlato, L.; Arpaia, R.; Bauch, T.; Lombardi, F.; Cristiano, R.; Tafuri, F.; Pepe, G. P.

    2017-12-01

    We have fabricated several 10 nm thick and 65 nm wide YBa2Cu3O7-δ (YBCO) nanostrips. The nanostrips with the highest critical current densities are characterized by hysteretic current voltage characteristics (IVCs) with a direct bistable switch from the zero-voltage to the finite voltage state. The presence of hysteretic IVCs allowed the observation of dark pulses due to fluctuations phenomena. The key role of the bistable behavior is its ability to transform a small disturbance (e.g. an intrinsic fluctuation) into a measurable transient signal, i.e. a dark pulse. On the contrary, in devices characterized by lower critical current density values, the IVCs are non-hysteretic and dark pulses have not been observed. To investigate the physical origin of the dark pulses, we have measured the bias current dependence of the dark pulse rate: the observed exponential increase with the bias current is compatible with mechanisms based on thermal activation of magnetic vortices in the nanostrip. We believe that the successful amplification of small fluctuation events into measurable signals in nanostrips of ultrathin YBCO is a milestone for further investigation of YBCO nanostrips for superconducting nanostrip single photon detectors and other quantum detectors for operation at higher temperatures.

  8. Multi-Aperture Shower Design for the Improvement of the Transverse Uniformity of MOCVD-Derived GdYBCO Films

    PubMed Central

    Zhao, Ruipeng; Liu, Qing; Xia, Yudong; Zhang, Fei; Lu, Yuming; Cai, Chuanbing; Tao, Bowan; Li, Yanrong

    2017-01-01

    A multi-aperture shower design is reported to improve the transverse uniformity of GdYBCO superconducting films on the template of sputtered-LaMnO3/epitaxial-MgO/IBAD-MgO/solution deposition planarization (SDP)-Y2O3-buffered Hastelloy tapes. The GdYBCO films were prepared by the metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) process. The transverse uniformities of structure, morphology, thickness, and performance were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), step profiler, and the standard four-probe method using the criteria of 1 μV/cm, respectively. Through adopting the multi-aperture shower instead of the slit shower, measurement by step profiler revealed that the thickness difference between the middle and the edges based on the slit shower design was well eliminated. Characterization by SEM showed that a GdYBCO film with a smooth surface was successfully prepared. Moreover, the transport critical current density (Jc) of its middle and edge positions at 77 K and self-field were found to be over 5 MA/cm2 through adopting the micro-bridge four-probe method. PMID:28914793

  9. Macroscopic Magnetic Coupling Effect: The Physical Origination of a High-Temperature Superconducting Flux Pump

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Wei; Coombs, Tim

    2018-04-01

    We have uncovered at the macroscopic scale a magnetic coupling phenomenon in a superconducting YBa2Cu3O7 -δ (YBCO) film, which physically explains the mechanism of the high-temperature superconducting flux pump. The coupling occurs between the applied magnetic poles and clusters of vortices induced in the YBCO film, with each cluster containing millions of vortices. The coupling energy is verified to originate from the inhomogeneous field of the magnetic poles, which reshapes the vortex distribution, aggregates millions of vortices into a single cluster, and accordingly moves with the poles. A contrast study is designed to verify that, to provide the effective coupling energy, the applied wavelength must be short while the field amplitude must be strong, i.e., local-field inhomogeneity is the crucial factor. This finding broadens our understanding of the collective vortex behavior in an applied magnetic field with strong local inhomogeneity. Moreover, this phenomenon largely increases the controlled vortex flow rate by several orders of magnitude compared with existing methods, providing motivation for and physical support to a new branch of wireless superconducting dc power sources, i.e., the high-temperature superconducting flux pump.

  10. Isotropic enhancement in the critical current density of YBCO thin films incorporating nanoscale Y2BaCuO5 inclusions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jha, Alok K.; Matsumoto, Kaname; Horide, Tomoya; Saini, Shrikant; Mele, Paolo; Ichinose, Ataru; Yoshida, Yutaka; Awaji, Satoshi

    2017-09-01

    The effect of incorporation of nanoscale Y2BaCuO5 (Y211) inclusions on the vortex pinning properties of YBa2Cu3O7-δ (YBCO or Y123) superconducting thin films is investigated in detail on the basis of variation of critical current density (JC) with applied magnetic field and also with the orientation of the applied magnetic field at two different temperatures: 77 K and 65 K. Surface modified target approach is employed to incorporate nanoscale Y211 inclusions into the superconducting YBCO matrix. The efficiency of Y211 nanoinclusions in reducing the angular anisotropy of critical current density is found to be significant. The observed angular dependence of the critical current density is discussed on the basis of mutually occupied volume by a vortex and spherical and/or planar defect. A dip in JC near the ab-plane is also observed which has been analyzed on the basis of variation of pinning potential corresponding to a spherical (3-D) or planar (2-D) pinning center and has been attributed to a reduced interaction volume of the vortices with a pinning center and competing nature of the potentials due to spherical and planar defects.

  11. High Tc superconducting bolometric and nonbolometric infrared (IR) detectors

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lakeou, Samuel; Rajeswari, M.; Goyal, Anuja

    1995-01-01

    The workplan for the period August 1994 through August 1995 includes the following: (1) expand the Applied Superconductivity Laboratory to include stand-alone optical response and noise measurement setups; (2) pursue studies of the low frequency excess electrical noise in YBCO films; and (3) enhance the academic support component of the project through increased student and faculty participation.

  12. Low energy electron beam processing of YBCO thin films

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chromik, Š.; Camerlingo, C.; Sojková, M.; Štrbík, V.; Talacko, M.; Malka, I.; Bar, I.; Bareli, G.; Jung, G.

    2017-02-01

    Effects of low energy 30 keV electron irradiation of superconducting YBa2Cu3O7-δ thin films have been investigated by means of transport and micro-Raman spectroscopy measurements. The critical temperature and the critical current of 200 nm thick films initially increase with increasing fluency of the electron irradiation, reach the maximum at fluency 3 - 4 × 1020 electrons/cm2, and then decrease with further fluency increase. In much thinner films (75 nm), the critical temperature increases while the critical current decreases after low energy electron irradiation with fluencies below 1020 electrons/cm2. The Raman investigations suggest that critical temperature increase in irradiated films is due to healing of broken Cusbnd O chains that results in increased carrier's concentration in superconducting CuO2 planes. Changes in the critical current are controlled by changes in the density of oxygen vacancies acting as effective pinning centers for flux vortices. The effects of low energy electron irradiation of YBCO turned out to result from a subtle balance of many processes involving oxygen removal, both by thermal activation and kick-off processes, and ordering of chains environment by incident electrons.

  13. Superconducting bearings for a LHe transfer pump

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kloeppel, S.; Muehsig, C.; Funke, T.; Haberstroh, C.; Hesse, U.; Lindackers, D.; Zielke, S.; Sass, P.; Schoendube, R.

    2017-12-01

    Superconducting bearings are used in a number of applications for high speed, low loss suspension. Most of these applications suspend a warm shaft and thus require continuous cooling, which leads to additional power consumption. Therefore, it seems advantageous to use these bearings in systems that are inherently cold. One respective application is a submerged pump for the transfer of liquid helium into mobile dewars. Centrifugal pumps require tight sealing clearances, especially for low viscosity fluids and small sizes. This paper covers the design and qualification of superconducting YBCO bearings for a laboratory sized liquid helium transfer pump. Emphasis is given to the axial positioning, which strongly influences the achievable volumetric efficiency.

  14. Superconductivity in Cuba: Reaching the Frontline

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Arés Muzio, Oscar; Altshuler, Ernesto

    The start of experimental research in the field of superconductivity was a very special moment for Cuban physics: Cuban scientists at the Physics Faculty, University of Havana, synthesized the first Cuban superconductor (a 123-YBCO ceramic sample) just 2 months after the publication of the famous paper by Wu and co-workers that triggered the frantic race of High Tc superconductors all over the world. We timely joined the world's frontline in superconductor research.

  15. Imaging of current distributions in superconducting thin film structures

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dönitz, Dietmar

    2006-10-01

    Local analysis plays an important role in many fields of scientific research. However, imaging methods are not very common in the investigation of superconductors. For more than 20 years, Low Temperature Scanning Electron Microscopy (LTSEM) has been successfully used at the University of Tübingen for studying of condensed matter phenomena, especially of superconductivity. In this thesis LTSEM was used for imaging current distributions in different superconducting thin film structures: - Imaging of current distributions in Josephson junctions with ferromagnetic interlayer, also known as SIFS junctions, showed inhomogeneous current transport over the junctions which directly led to an improvement in the fabrication process. An investigation of improved samples showed a very homogeneous current distribution without any trace of magnetic domains. Either such domains were not present or too small for imaging with the LTSEM. - An investigation of Nb/YBCO zigzag Josephson junctions yielded important information on signal formation in the LTSEM both for Josephson junctions in the short and in the long limit. Using a reference junction our signal formation model could be verified, thus confirming earlier results on short zigzag junctions. These results, which could be reproduced in this work, support the theory of d-wave symmetry in the superconducting order parameter of YBCO. Furthermore, investigations of the quasiparticle tunneling in the zigzag junctions showed the existence of Andreev bound states, which is another indication of the d-wave symmetry in YBCO. - The LTSEM study of Hot Electron Bolometers (HEB) allowed the first successful imaging of a stable 'Hot Spot', a self-heating region in HEB structures. Moreover, the electron beam was used to induce an - otherwise unstable - hot spot. Both investigations yielded information on the homogeneity of the samples. - An entirely new method of imaging the current distribution in superconducting interference devices

  16. Rapid and semi-analytical design and simulation of a toroidal magnet made with YBCO and MgB 2 superconductors

    DOE PAGES

    Dimitrov, I. K.; Zhang, X.; Solovyov, V. F.; ...

    2015-07-07

    Recent advances in second-generation (YBCO) high-temperature superconducting wire could potentially enable the design of super high performance energy storage devices that combine the high energy density of chemical storage with the high power of superconducting magnetic storage. However, the high aspect ratio and the considerable filament size of these wires require the concomitant development of dedicated optimization methods that account for the critical current density in type-II superconductors. In this study, we report on the novel application and results of a CPU-efficient semianalytical computer code based on the Radia 3-D magnetostatics software package. Our algorithm is used to simulate andmore » optimize the energy density of a superconducting magnetic energy storage device model, based on design constraints, such as overall size and number of coils. The rapid performance of the code is pivoted on analytical calculations of the magnetic field based on an efficient implementation of the Biot-Savart law for a large variety of 3-D “base” geometries in the Radia package. The significantly reduced CPU time and simple data input in conjunction with the consideration of realistic input variables, such as material-specific, temperature, and magnetic-field-dependent critical current densities, have enabled the Radia-based algorithm to outperform finite-element approaches in CPU time at the same accuracy levels. Comparative simulations of MgB 2 and YBCO-based devices are performed at 4.2 K, in order to ascertain the realistic efficiency of the design configurations.« less

  17. The Improvement of Utilization Ratio of Metal Organic Sources for the Low Cost Preparation of MOCVD-synthesized YBCO Films based on a Self-heating Technology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhao, Ruipeng; Liu, Qing; Xia, Yudong; Tao, Bowan; Li, Yanrong

    2017-12-01

    We have successfully applied metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) to synthesize biaxially textured YBa2Cu3O7-δ (YBCO) superconducting films on the templates of LaMnO3/epitaxial MgO/IBAD-MgO/solution deposition planarization (SDP) Y2O3/Hastelloy tape. The YBCO films have obtained dense and smooth surface with good structure and performance. A new self-heating method, which replaced the conventional heating-wire radiation heating method, has been used to heat the Hastelloy metal tapes by us. Compared with the heating-wire radiation heating method, the self-heating method shows higher energy efficiency and lower power consumption, which has good advantage to simplify the structure of the MOCVD system. Meanwhile, the utilization ratio of metal organic sources can be increased from 6% to 20% through adopting the new self-heating method. Then the preparation cost of the YBCO films can be also greatly reduced.

  18. Evolution of superconducting gap and metallic ground state in cuprates from transport

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Taillefer, Louis

    2006-03-01

    We report on fundamental characteristics of the ground state of cuprates in the limit of T=0, for both normal and superconducting states, obtained from transport measurements on high-quality single crystals of YBCO and Tl-2201, as a function of hole concentration. The superconducting gap is extracted from thermal conductivity; it is found to scale with the superconducting transition temperature throughout the overdoped regime, with a gap-to-Tc ratio of 5 [1]. The normal state is accessed by suppressing superconductivity with magnetic fields up to 60 T and is characterized by the limiting behavior of its electrical resistivity; while carrier localization is observed in YBCO at low temperature for carrier concentrations p below 0.1 hole/planar Cu, at p=0.1 and above the material remains highly metallic down to T=0 [2]. This shows that the non-superconducting state of underdoped cuprates, deep in the pseudogap phase, is remarkably similar to that of strongly overdoped cuprates, e.g. at p=0.3. We compare these results with similar measurements on other cuprates and discuss their implication for our understanding of the cuprate phase diagram. [1] In collaboration with: D.G. Hawthorn, S.Y. Li, M. Sutherland, E. Boaknin, R.W. Hill, C. Proust, F. Ronning, M. Tanatar, J. Paglione, D. Peets, R. Liang, D.A. Bonn, W.N. Hardy, and N.N. Kolesnikov. [2] In collaboration with: C. Proust, M. Sutherland, N. Doiron- Leyraud, S.Y. Li, R. Liang, D.A. Bonn, W.N. Hardy, N.E. Hussey, S. Adachi, S. Tajima, J. Levallois, and M. Narbone.

  19. Anisotropic Eliashberg theory of MgB 2: Tc, isotope effects, superconducting energy gaps, quasiparticles, and specific heat

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Choi, Hyoung Joon; Cohen, Marvin L.; Louie, Steven G.

    2003-03-01

    The anisotropic Eliashberg formalism, employing results from the ab initio pseudopotential density functional calculations, is applied to study the superconducting properties of MgB 2. It is shown that the relatively high transition temperature of MgB 2 originates from strong electron-phonon coupling of the hole states in the boron σ-bonds although the coupling strength averaged over the Fermi surface is moderate, and the reduction of the isotope effect arises from the large anharmonicity of the relevant phonons. The superconducting energy gap is nodeless but its value varies strongly on different pieces of the Fermi surface. The gap values Δ( k) cluster into two groups at low temperature, a small value of ∼2 meV and a large value of ∼7 meV, resulting in two thresholds in the quasiparticle density of states and an increase in the specific heat at low temperature due to quasiparticle excitations over the small gap. All of these results are in good agreement with corresponding experiments and support the view that MgB 2 is a phonon-mediated multiple-gap superconductor.

  20. Superconducting antennas for telecommunication applications based on dual mode cross slotted patches

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cassinese, A.; Barra, M.; Fragalà, I.; Kusunoki, M.; Malandrino, G.; Nakagawa, T.; Perdicaro, L. M. S.; Sato, K.; Ohshima, S.; Vaglio, R.

    2002-08-01

    Dual mode devices based on high temperature superconducting films represent an interesting class for telecommunication applications since they combine a miniaturized size with a good power handling. Here we report on a novel compact antenna obtained by crossing a square patch with two or more slots. The proposed design has an antenna size reduction of about 40% as compared to the conventional square patch microstrip antennas. Single patch antenna both with linear (LP) and circular (CP) polarization operating in the X-band have been designed and tested at prototype level. They are realized by using double sided (YBa 2Cu 3O 7- x) YBCO and Tl 2Ba 2Ca 1Cu 2O 8 (Tl-2212) superconducting films grown on MgO substrates and tested with a portable cryocooler. They showed at T=77 K a return loss <25 dB and a power handling of 23 dBm. Exemplary 16 elements arrays LP antennas operating in the X band have been also realized by using YBCO film grown on 2 ″ diameter MgO substrate.

  1. Disentangling vortex pinning landscape in chemical solution deposited superconducting YBa2Cu3O7-x films and nanocomposites

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Palau, A.; Vallès, F.; Rouco, V.; Coll, M.; Li, Z.; Pop, C.; Mundet, B.; Gàzquez, J.; Guzman, R.; Gutierrez, J.; Obradors, X.; Puig, T.

    2018-07-01

    In-field angular pinning performances at different temperatures have been analysed on chemical solution deposited (CSD) YBa2Cu3O7-x (YBCO) pristine films and nanocomposites. We show that with this analysis we are able to quantify the vortex pinning strength and energies, associated with different kinds of natural and artificial pinning defects, acting as efficient pinning centres at different regions of the H-T phase diagram. A good quantification of the variety of pinning defects active at different temperatures and magnetic fields provides a unique tool to design the best vortex pinning landscape under different operating conditions. We have found that by artificially introducing a unique defect in the YBCO matrix, the stacking faults, we are able to modify three different contributions to vortex pinning (isotropic-strong, anisotropic-strong, and isotropic-weak). The isotropic-strong contribution, widely studied in CSD YBCO nanocomposites, is associated with nanostrained regions induced at the partial dislocations surrounding the stacking faults. Moreover, the stacking fault itself acts as a planar defect which provides a very effective anisotropic-strong pinning at H//ab. Finally, the large presence of Cu-O cluster vacancies found in the stacking faults have been revealed as a source of isotropic-weak pinning sites, very active at low temperatures and high fields.

  2. High performance YBCO films. Quarterly status report No. 6, 1 February-30 April 1993. [YBCO (yttrium barium copper oxides)

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Denlinger, E.J.; Fathy, A.; Kalokitis, D.

    1993-04-30

    YBCO on MgF2 withstood post annealing to 750 deg C without deterioration. This allows the deposition of high quality multiple layer YBCO films onto both sides of a MgF2 substrate. GdBaCuO films were deposited onto LaAlO3 and appear to be superior to YBCO in terms of lower particulate density, slightly higher T[sub c]'s, and higher critical current density. The ramifications could be very beneficial to the MCM program. Furthermore, the tolerance of these films to a wider range of deposition conditions indicates a possibility of using these films on MgF2.

  3. Incorporating YBCO Coated Conductors in High-speed Superconducting Generators

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2008-07-01

    Maiorov, M. E. Hawley , M. P. Maley, D. E. Peterson, ―Strongly enhanced current densities in superconducting coated conductors of YBa2Cu3O7-x + BaZrO3...2nd ed., New York: Taylor and Francis, 2001. [23] S. P. Ashworth, M. Maley, M. Suenaga, S. R. Foltyn, and J. O. Willis , J. Appl. Phys., vol. 88

  4. PREFACE: Anisotropic and multiband pairing: from borides to multicomponent superconductivity Anisotropic and multiband pairing: from borides to multicomponent superconductivity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Annett, James; Kusmartsev, Feodor; Bianconi, Antonio

    2009-01-01

    In 2001, the discovery of superconductivity in MgB2 rapidly led to the understanding that its complex multi-sheeted Fermi surface had two distinct values of the gap parameter Δ, each with its own characteristic temperature dependence. While the theory of multigap superconductivity had been developed long ago, this was the first well studied example where multigap behaviour was observed clearly, and indeed is essential to understand the full superconducting properties of the material. Following this discovery, evidence for multigap behaviour has appeared in a number of materials, including cuprates, ruthenates, and most recently the iron pnictides. As well as multigap pairing on different Fermi-surface sheets, strong gap anisotropy in k-space and strong modulations of the gap in real space (e.g. stripes and phase separation models) are also important in cuprates. The aim of this special section is to present a selection of high-quality papers from experts in these diverse systems, showing the links and common physical issues arising from the existence of multi-component Cooper pairing. The papers collected together for the special section provide a snapshot of the current state of the understanding of multi-component superconductivity in a wide range of materials. In a model motivated by MgB2, Tanaka and Eschrig describe Abrikosov vortex lattice in a two-gap superconductor, examining how the vortex structure is modified by three-dimensionality or quasi two-dimensionality of the Fermi surface. The multi-sheeted Fermi surfaces of the nickel borocarbides are probed using angle-resolved positron annihilation spectroscopy, described by Dugdale et al, leading to a full three-dimensional picture of the complex Fermi surface in this superconducting material. Possible evidence for multigap superconductivity in the iron pnictides, obtained using Andreev point contact spectroscopy, is described by Samuely et al. The iron pnictides are also the subject of the article by

  5. Crystal growth of YBCO coated conductors by TFA MOD method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yoshizumi, M.; Nakanishi, T.; Matsuda, J.; Nakaoka, K.; Sutoh, Y.; Izumi, T.; Shiohara, Y.

    2008-09-01

    The crystal growth mechanism of TFA (trifluoroacetates)-MOD (metal organic deposition) derived YBa 2Cu 3O y has been investigated to understand the process for higher production rates of the conversion process. YBCO films were prepared by TFA-MOD on CeO 2/Gd 2Zr 2O 7/Hastelloy C276 substrates. The growth rates of YBCO derived from Y:Ba:Cu = 1:2:3 and 1:1.5:3 starting solutions were investigated by XRD and TEM analyses. YBCO growth proceeds in two steps of the epitaxial one from the substrate and solid state reaction. The overall growth rate estimated from the residual amounts of BaF 2 with time measured by XRD is proportional to a square root of P(H 2O). The trend was independent of the composition of starting solutions, however, the growth rate obtained from the 1:1.5:3 starting solutions was high as twice as that of 1:2:3, which could not be explained by the composition of BaF 2 included in the precursor films. On the other hand, the growth rate measured from the thickness of the YBCO quenched film at the same process time showed no difference between the samples of 1:2:3 and 1:1.5:3. The epitaxial growth rate of 1:1.5:3 was also the same as the overall growth rate of that, which means there was no solid state reaction to form YBCO after the epitaxial growth. The YBCO growth mechanism was found to be as follows; YBCO crystals nucleate at the surface of the substrate and epitaxially grow into the precursor by layer-by-layer by a manner with trapping unreacted particles. The amounts of YBCO and the unreacted particles trapped in the YBCO film are independent of the composition of the starting solution in this step. Unreacted particles react with each other to form YBCO and pores by solid state reaction as long as there is BaF 2 left in the film. The Ba-poor starting solution gives little BaF 2 left in the film and so the solid state reaction is completed within a short time, resulting in the fast overall growth rate.

  6. Effects of graphene oxide doping on the structural and superconducting properties of YBa2Cu3O7-δ

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dadras, S.; Falahati, S.; Dehghani, S.

    2018-05-01

    In this research we reported the effects of graphene oxide (GO) doping on the structural and superconducting properties of YBa2Cu3O7-δ (YBCO) high temperature superconductors. We synthesized YBCO powder by sol-gel method. After calcination, the powder mixed with different weight percent (0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.7, 1 wt.%) of GO. Refinement of X-ray diffraction (XRD) was carried out by material analysis using diffraction (MAUD) program to obtain the structural parameters such as lattice parameters, site occupancy of different atoms and orthorhombicity value for the all samples. Results show that GO doping does not change the structure of YBCO compound, Cu (1), Cu (2) and oxygen sites occupancy. It seems that GO remains between the grains and can play the role of weak links. We found that GO addition to YBCO compound increases transition temperature (TC). The oxygen contents of the all GO-doped samples are increased with respect to the pure one. The strain (ɛ) of the samples obtained from Williamson-Hall method, varies with increasing of GO doping. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of the samples show better YBCO grain connections by GO doping.

  7. Magnetic field distribution in superconducting composites as revealed by ESR-probe and magnetization

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Davidov, D.; Bontemps, N.; Golosovsky, M.; Waysand, G.

    1998-03-01

    The distribution of a static magnetic field in superconductor-insulator composites consisting of BSCCO (YBCO) powder in paraffin wax is studied by ESR bulk probing and magnetization. The average field and field variance in the non-superconducting host are measured as function of temperature and volume fraction of superconductor. We develop a model of the field distribution in dilute magnetic and superconducting composites that relates the field inhomogeneity to magnetization and particle shape. We find that this model satisfactorily describes field distribution in our superconducting composites in the regime of strong flux pinning, i.e. below irreversibility line. We find deviations from the model above the irreversibility line and attribute this to flux motion. We show that the field distribution in superconducting composites is determined not only by magnetization and particle shape, but is strongly affected by the flux profile within the superconducting particles.

  8. Temperature dependence of lower critical field of YBCO superconductor

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rani, Poonam; Hafiz, A. K.; Awana, V. P. S.

    2018-05-01

    We report the detailed study of the temperature dependence of the lower critical field (Hc1) of the YBa2Cu3O7 superconductor by magnetization measurements. The curve shows the multiband gap behavior of the sample. It is found that the sample is not a single BCS type superconductor. Hc1 is measured as the point at which the curve deviates from a Meissner-like linear M(H) curve to a nonlinear path. The Hc1 for YBCO at different temperatures from 10K to 85K has been determined by magnetization measurements M(H) with applied field parallel to the c-axis. The sample phase purity has been confirmed by Rietveld fitted X-ray diffraction data. The amplitude (1-17Oe) dependent AC susceptibility confirms the granular nature of superconducting compound. Using Bean model we calculated the temperature dependency of inter-grain critical current density and Jc(0) is found as 699.14kAcm-2.

  9. Room-temperature growth of thin films of niobium on strontium titanate (0 0 1) single-crystal substrates for superconducting joints

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shimizu, Yuhei; Tonooka, Kazuhiko; Yoshida, Yoshiyuki; Furuse, Mitsuho; Takashima, Hiroshi

    2018-06-01

    With the eventual aim of forming joints between superconducting wires of YBa2Cu3O7-δ (YBCO), thin films of Nb were grown at room-temperature on SrTiO3 (STO) (0 0 1), a single-crystal substrate that shows good lattice matching with YBCO. The crystallinity, surface morphology, and superconducting properties of the Nb thin films were investigated and compared with those of similar films grown on a silica glass substrate. The Nb thin films grew with an (hh0) orientation on both substrates. The crystallinity of the Nb thin films on the STO substrate was higher than that on the silica glass substrate. X-ray diffraction measurements and observation of the surface morphology by atomic-force microscopy indicated that Nb grew in the plane along the [1 0 0] and [0 1 0] directions of the STO substrate. This growth mode relaxes strain between Nb and STO, and is believed to lead to the high crystallinity observed. As a result, the Nb thin films on the STO substrates showed lower electric resistivity and a higher superconducting transition temperature than did those on the silica glass substrates. The results of this study should be useful in relation to the production of superconducting joints.

  10. Thermally actuated magnetization flux pump in single-grain YBCO bulk

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yan, Yu; Li, Quan; Coombs, T. A.

    2009-10-01

    Recent progress in material processing has proved that high temperature superconductors (HTS) have a great potential to trap large magnetic fields at cryogenic temperatures. For example, HTS are widely used in MRI scanners and in magnetic bearings. However, using traditional ways to magnetize, the YBCO will always need the applied field to be as high as the expected field on the superconductor or much higher than it, leading to a much higher cost than that of using permanent magnets. In this paper, we find a method of YBCO magnetization in liquid nitrogen that only requires the applied field to be at the level of a permanent magnet. Moreover, rather than applying a pulsed high current field on the YBCO, we use a thermally actuated material (gadolinium) as an intermedia and create a travelling magnetic field through it by changing the partial temperature so that the partial permeability is changed to build up the magnetization of the YBCO gradually after multiple pumps. The gadolinium bulk is located between the YBCO and the permanent magnet and is heated and cooled repeatedly from the outer surface to generate a travelling thermal wave inwards. In the subsequent experiment, an obvious accumulation of the flux density is detected on the surface of the YBCO bulk.

  11. Role of nano and micron-sized inclusions on the oxygen controlled preform optimized infiltration growth processed YBCO superconductors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pavan Kumar Naik, S.; Bai, V. Seshu

    2017-02-01

    In the present work, with the aim of improving the local flux pinning at the unit cell level in the YBa2Cu3O7-δ (YBCO) bulk superconductors, 20 wt% of nanoscale Sm2O3 and micron sized (Nd, Sm, Gd)2BaCuO5 secondary phase particles were added to YBCO and processed in oxygen controlled preform optimized infiltration growth process. Nano Dispersive Sol Casting method is employed to homogeneously distribute the nano Sm2O3 particles of 30-50 nm without any agglomeration in the precursor powder. Microstructural investigations on doped samples show the chemical fluctuations as annuli cores in the 211 phase particles. The introduction of mixed rare earth elements at Y-site resulted in compositional fluctuations in the superconducting matrix. The associated lattice mismatch defects have provided flux pinning up to large magnetic fields. Magnetic field dependence of current density (Jc(H)) at different temperatures revealed that the dominant pinning mechanism is caused by spatial variations of critical temperatures, due to the spatial fluctuations in the matrix composition. As the number of rare earth elements increased in the YBCO, the peak field position in the scaling of the normalized pinning force density (Fp/Fp max) significantly gets shifted towards the higher fields. The curves of Jc(H) and Fp/Fp max at different temperatures clearly indicate the LRE substitution for LRE' or Ba-sites for δTc pinning.

  12. Superconducting Generators for Airborne Applications and YBCO-Coated Conductors (Preprint)

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2008-10-01

    Maiorov, M. E. Hawley , M. P. Maley, D. E. Peterson, “Strongly enhanced current densities in superconducting coated conductors of YBa2Cu3O7-x + BaZrO3...ed., New York: Taylor and Francis, 2001. [17] S. P. Ashworth, M. Maley, M. Suenaga, S. R. Foltyn, and J. O. Willis , J. Appl. Phys., vol. 88, p

  13. A novel pre-sintering technique for the growth of Y-Ba-Cu-O superconducting single grains from raw metal oxides

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Jiawei; Shi, Yun-Hua; Dennis, Anthony R.; Namburi, Devendra Kumar; Durrell, John H.; Yang, Wanmin; Cardwell, David A.

    2017-09-01

    Most established top seeded melt growth (TSMG) processes of bulk, single grain Y-Ba-Cu-O (YBCO) superconductors are performed using a mixture of pre-reacted precursor powders. Here we report the successful growth of large, single grain YBCO samples by TSMG with good superconducting properties from a simple precursor composition consisting of a sintered mixture of the raw oxides. The elimination of the requirement to synthesize precursor powders in a separate process prior to melt processing has the potential to reduce significantly the cost of bulk superconductors, which is essential for their commercial exploitation. The growth morphology, microstructure, trapped magnetic field and critical current density, J c, at different positions within the sample and maximum levitation force of the YBCO single grains fabricated by this process are reported. Measurements of the superconducting properties show that the trapped filed can reach 0.45 T and that a zero field J c of 2.5 × 104 A cm-2 can be achieved in these samples. These values are comparable to those observed in samples fabricated using pre-reacted, high purity commercial oxide precursor powders. The experimental results are discussed and the possibility of further improving the melt process using raw oxides is outlined.

  14. Impact of oxygen diffusion on superconductivity in YBa2Cu3O7 -δ thin films studied by positron annihilation spectroscopy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Reiner, M.; Gigl, T.; Jany, R.; Hammerl, G.; Hugenschmidt, C.

    2018-04-01

    The oxygen deficiency δ in YBa2Cu3O7 -δ (YBCO) plays a crucial role for affecting high-temperature superconductivity. We apply (coincident) Doppler broadening spectroscopy of the electron-positron annihilation line to study in situ the temperature dependence of the oxygen concentration and its depth profile in single crystalline YBCO film grown on SrTiO3 (STO) substrates. The oxygen diffusion during tempering is found to lead to a distinct depth dependence of δ , which is not accessible using x-ray diffraction. A steady state reached within a few minutes is defined by both, the oxygen exchange at the surface and at the interface to the STO substrate. Moreover, we reveal the depth-dependent critical temperature Tc in the as prepared and tempered YBCO film.

  15. A fully superconducting bearing system for flywheel applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xu, Ke-xi; Wu, Dong-jie; Jiao, Y. L.; Zheng, M. H.

    2016-06-01

    A fully superconducting magnetic suspension structure has been designed and constructed for the purpose of superconducting bearing applications in flywheel energy storage systems. A thrust type bearing and two journal type bearings, those that are composed of melt textured high-Tc superconductor YBCO bulks and Nd-Fe-B permanent magnets, are used in the bearing system. The rotor dynamical behaviors, including critical speeds and rotational loss, are studied. Driven by a variable-frequency three-phase induction motor, the rotor shaft attached with a 25 kg flywheel disc can be speeded up to 15 000 rpm without serious resonance occurring. Although the flywheel system runs stably in the supercritical speeds region, very obvious rotational loss is unavoidable. The loss mechanism has been discussed in terms of eddy current loss and hysteresis loss.

  16. Superconductivity devices: Commercial use of space

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Haertling, Gene; Furman, Eugene; Hsi, Chi-Shiung; Li, Guang

    1993-01-01

    The processing and screen printing of the superconducting BSCCO and 123 YBCO materials on substrates is described. The resulting superconducting properties and the use of these materials as possible electrode materials for ferroelectrics at 77 K are evaluated. Also, work performed in the development of solid-state electromechanical actuators is reported. Specific details include the fabrication and processing of high strain PBZT and PLZT electrostrictive materials, the development of PSZT and PMN-based ceramics, and the testing and evaluation of these electrostrictive materials. Finally, the results of studies on a new processing technology for preparing piezoelectric and electrostrictive ceramic materials are summarized. The process involves a high temperature chemical reduction which leads to an internal pre-stressing of the oxide wafer. These reduced and internally biased oxide wafers (RAINBOW) can produce bending-mode actuator devices which possess a factor of ten more displacement and load bearing capacity than present-day benders.

  17. Magnetic preferential orientation of metal oxide superconducting materials

    DOEpatents

    Capone, D.W.; Dunlap, B.D.; Veal, B.W.

    1990-07-17

    A superconductor comprised of a polycrystalline metal oxide such as YBa[sub 2]Cu[sub 3]O[sub 7[minus]X] (where 0 < X < 0.5) exhibits superconducting properties and is capable of conducting very large current densities. By aligning the two-dimensional Cu-O layers which carry the current in the superconducting state in the a- and b-directions, i.e., within the basal plane, a high degree of crystalline axes alignment is provided between adjacent grains permitting the conduction of high current densities. The highly anisotropic diamagnetic susceptibility of the polycrystalline metal oxide material permits the use of an applied magnetic field to orient the individual crystals when in the superconducting state to substantially increase current transport between adjacent grains. In another embodiment, the anisotropic paramagnetic susceptibility of rare-earth ions substituted into the oxide material is made use of as an applied magnetic field orients the particles in a preferential direction. This latter operation can be performed with the material in the normal (non-superconducting) state. 4 figs.

  18. Magnetic preferential orientation of metal oxide superconducting materials

    DOEpatents

    Capone, Donald W.; Dunlap, Bobby D.; Veal, Boyd W.

    1990-01-01

    A superconductor comprised of a polycrystalline metal oxide such as YBa.sub.2 Cu.sub.3 O.sub.7-X (where 0superconducting properties and is capable of conducting very large current densities. By aligning the two-dimensional Cu-O layers which carry the current in the superconducting state in the a- and b-directions, i.e., within the basal plane, a high degree of crystalline axes alignment is provided between adjacent grains permitting the conduction of high current densities. The highly anisotropic diamagnetic susceptibility of the polycrystalline metal oxide material permits the use of an applied magnetic field to orient the individual crystals when in the superconducting state to substantially increase current transport between adjacent grains. In another embodiment, the anisotropic paramagnetic susceptibility of rare-earth ions substituted into the oxide material is made use of as an applied magnetic field orients the particles in a preferential direction. This latter operation can be performed with the material in the normal (non-superconducting) state.

  19. High Tc superconducting bolometric and nonbolometric infrared (IR) detectors

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lakeou, Samuel

    1995-01-01

    Activities carried out during the reporting period are summarized. The workplan for the period August 1994 to August 1995 included the following: (1) expansion of the Applied Superconductivity Laboratory to include stand-alone optical response and noise measurement setups; (2) study the low frequency excess electrical noise in YBCO films; and (3) enhancement of the academic support component of the project through increased student and faculty participation. Abstracts of papers submitted for publication during this reporting period are included as attachments.

  20. Magnetic levitation and its application for education devices based on YBCO bulk superconductors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, W. M.; Chao, X. X.; Guo, F. X.; Li, J. W.; Chen, S. L.

    2013-10-01

    A small superconducting maglev propeller system, a small spacecraft model suspending and moving around a terrestrial globe, several small maglev vehicle models and a magnetic circuit converter have been designed and constructed. The track was paved by NdFeB magnets, the arrangement of the magnets made us easy to get a uniform distribution of magnetic field along the length direction of the track and a high magnetic field gradient in the lateral direction. When the YBCO bulks mounted inside the vehicle models or spacecraft model was field cooled to LN2 temperature at a certain distance away from the track, they could be automatically floating over and moving along the track without any obvious friction. The models can be used as experimental or demonstration devices for the magnetic levitation applications.

  1. Ultra low noise YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7−δ} nano superconducting quantum interference devices implementing nanowires

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Arpaia, R.; CNR-SPIN, Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, Università degli Studi di Napoli “Federico II,” I-80125 Napoli; Arzeo, M.

    2014-02-17

    We present results on ultra low noise YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7–δ} (YBCO) nano Superconducting QUantum Interference Devices (nanoSQUIDs). To realize such devices, we implemented high quality YBCO nanowires, working as weak links between two electrodes. We observe critical current modulation as a function of an externally applied magnetic field in the full temperature range below the transition temperature T{sub C}. The white flux noise below 1μΦ{sub 0}/√(Hz) at T=8 K makes our nanoSQUIDs very attractive for the detection of small spin systems.

  2. Ultrafast relaxation dynamics in BiFeO 3/YBa 2Cu 3O 7 bilayers

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Springer, D.; Nair, Saritha K.; He, Mi

    The temperature dependence of the relaxation dynamics in the bilayer thin film heterostructure composed of multiferroic BiFeO 3 (BFO) and superconducting YBa 2Cu 3O 7 (YBCO) grown on (001) SrTiO 3 substrate is studied by time-resolved pump-probe technique, and compared with that of pure YBCO thin film grown under the same growth conditions. The superconductivity of YBCO is found to be retained in the heterostructure. We observe a speeding up of the YBCO recombination dynamics in the superconducting state of the heterostructure, and attribute it to the presence of weak ferromagnetism at the BFO/YBCOinterface as observed inmagnetization data. An extensionmore » of the Rothwarf-Taylor model is used to fit the ultrafast dynamics of BFO/YBCO, that models an increased quasiparticle occupation of the ferromagnetic interfacial layer in the superconducting state of YBCO.« less

  3. Ultrafast relaxation dynamics in BiFeO 3/YBa 2Cu 3O 7 bilayers

    DOE PAGES

    Springer, D.; Nair, Saritha K.; He, Mi; ...

    2016-02-12

    The temperature dependence of the relaxation dynamics in the bilayer thin film heterostructure composed of multiferroic BiFeO 3 (BFO) and superconducting YBa 2Cu 3O 7 (YBCO) grown on (001) SrTiO 3 substrate is studied by time-resolved pump-probe technique, and compared with that of pure YBCO thin film grown under the same growth conditions. The superconductivity of YBCO is found to be retained in the heterostructure. We observe a speeding up of the YBCO recombination dynamics in the superconducting state of the heterostructure, and attribute it to the presence of weak ferromagnetism at the BFO/YBCOinterface as observed inmagnetization data. An extensionmore » of the Rothwarf-Taylor model is used to fit the ultrafast dynamics of BFO/YBCO, that models an increased quasiparticle occupation of the ferromagnetic interfacial layer in the superconducting state of YBCO.« less

  4. Experimental studies of diffusion welding of YBCO to copper using solder layers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xie, Y.; Ouyang, Z.; Shi, L.; Kuang, Z.; Meng, M.

    2017-02-01

    The welding technology is of great importance in YBCO application. To make better joints, the diffusion welding of YBCO tape to copper has been carried out in a vacuum environment. In consideration of high welding temperature (above 200°C) could do damage to the material performance, a new kind of diffusion welding method with temperature below 200 °C has been developed recently. A new welding appliance which can offer pressure over 35Kg/mm2 and controlled temperature has been designed and built; several YBCO coated conductors joints soldered with different melting points of tins has been tested. The results showed that the diffusion can perfectly connect YBCO to copper as well as stainless steel and resistance of the joint was low, and the YBCO tape could bear 217°C for at least 15mins.

  5. Voltage-ampere characteristics of YBCO coated conductor under inhomogeneous oscillating magnetic field

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Geng, J.; Shen, B.; Li, C.; Zhang, H.; Matsuda, K.; Li, J.; Zhang, X.; Coombs, T. A.

    2016-06-01

    Direct current carrying type II superconductors present a dynamic resistance when subjected to an oscillating magnetic field perpendicular to the current direction. If a superconductor is under a homogeneous field with high magnitude, the dynamic resistance value is nearly independent of transport current. Hoffmann and coworkers [Hoffmann et al., IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. 21, 1628 (2011)] discovered, however, flux pumping effect when a superconducting tape is under an inhomogeneous field orthogonal to the tape surface generated by rotating magnets. Following their work, we report the whole Voltage-Ampere (V-I) curves of an YBCO coated conductor under permanent magnets rotating with different frequencies and directions. We discovered that the two curves under opposite rotating directions differ from each other constantly when the transport current is less than the critical current, whereas the difference gradually reduces after the transport current exceeds the critical value. We also find that for different field frequencies, the difference between the two curves decreases faster with lower field frequency. The result indicates that the transport loss is dependent on the relative direction of the transport current and field travelling, which is distinct from traditional dynamic resistance model. The work may be instructive for the design of superconducting motors.

  6. Solution-Based Approaches to Fabrication of YBa2Cu3O7-δ (YBCO): Precursors of Tri-Fluoroacetate (TFA) and Nanoparticle Colloids

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mukhopadhyay, S. M.; Su, J.; Chintamaneni, V.

    2007-10-01

    Detailed investigation of superconducting films of YBa2Cu3O7-δ (YBCO) prepared from solution-based precursors have been performed. Two precursors have been compared in this study: the presently used trifluoroacetate (TFA) solution and a recently developed colloidal suspension containing nanoparticles of mixed oxide. Detailed analyses of the evolution of microstructure and chemistry of the films have been performed, and process parameters have been correlated with final superconducting properties. Both films need two heating steps: a low temperature calcination and a higher temperature crystallization step. For TFA films, it was seen that the heating rate during calcination needs to be carefully optimized and is expected to be slow. For the alternate process using a nanoparticle precursor, a significantly faster calcination rate is possible. In the TFA process, the Ba ion remains as fluoride and the Y remains as oxyfluoride after calcination. This implies that, during the final crystallization stage to form YBCO, fluorine-containing gases will evolve, resulting in residual porosity. On the other hand, the film from the nanoparticle process is almost fully oxidized after calcination. Therefore, no gases evolve at the final firing (crystallization) stage, and the film has much lower porosity. The superconducting properties of both types of films are adequate, but the nanoparticle films appear to have persistently higher J c values. Moreover, they show improved flux pinning in higher magnetic fields, probably due to nanoscale precipitates of a Cu-rich phase. In addition, the nanocolloid films seem to show additionally enhanced flux pinning when doped with minute amounts of second phase precipitates. It therefore appears that, whereas the TFA process is already quite successful, the newly developed nanoparticle process has significant scope for additional improvement. It can be scaled-up with ease, and can be easily adapted to incorporate nanoscale flux pinning defects

  7. Critical Current Properties in Longitudinal Magnetic Field of YBCO Superconductor with APC

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kido, R.; Kiuchi, M.; Otabe, E. S.; Matsushita, T.; Jha, A. K.; Matsumoto, K.

    The critical current density (Jc) properties of the Artificial Pinning Center (APC) introduced YBa2Cu3O7 (YBCO) films in the longitudinal magnetic field were measured. Y2O3 or Y2BaCuO5 (Y211) was introduced as APCs to YBCO, and YBCO films with APC were fabricated on SrTiO3 single crystal substrate. The sizes of Y2O3 and Y211 were 5-10 nm and 10-20 nm, respectively. As a result, Jc enhancement in the longitudinal magnetic field was observed in Y2O3 introduced YBCO films. However, it was not observed in Y211 introduced YBCO films. Therefore, it was considered that Jc properties in the longitudinal magnetic field were affected by introducing of small size APC, and it was necessary that APC does not disturb the current pathway in the superconductor.

  8. BaHfO3 artificial pinning centres in TFA-MOD-derived YBCO and GdBCO thin films

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Erbe, M.; Hänisch, J.; Hühne, R.; Freudenberg, T.; Kirchner, A.; Molina-Luna, L.; Damm, C.; Van Tendeloo, G.; Kaskel, S.; Schultz, L.; Holzapfel, B.

    2015-11-01

    Chemical solution deposition (CSD) is a promising way to realize REBa2Cu3O7-x (REBCO; RE = rare earth (here Y, Gd))-coated conductors with high performance in applied magnetic fields. However, the preparation process contains numerous parameters which need to be tuned to achieve high-quality films. Therefore, we investigated the growth of REBCO thin films containing nanometre-scale BaHfO3 (BHO) particles as pinning centres for magnetic flux lines, with emphasis on the influence of crystallization temperature and substrate on the microstructure and superconductivity. Conductivity, microscopy and x-ray investigations show an enhanced performance of BHO nano-composites in comparison to pristine REBCO. Further, those measurements reveal the superiority of GdBCO to YBCO—e.g. by inductive critical current densities, J c, at self-field and 77 K. YBCO is outperformed by more than 1 MA cm-2 with J c values of up to 5.0 MA cm-2 for 265 nm thick layers of GdBCO(BHO) on lanthanum aluminate. Transport in-field J c measurements demonstrate high pinning force maxima of around 4 GN m-3 for YBCO(BHO) and GdBCO(BHO). However, the irreversibility fields are appreciably higher for GdBCO. The critical temperature was not significantly reduced upon BHO addition to both YBCO and GdBCO, indicating a low tendency for Hf diffusion into the REBCO matrix. Angular-dependent J c measurements show a reduction of the anisotropy in the same order of magnitude for both REBCO compounds. Theoretical models suggest that more than one sort of pinning centre is active in all CSD films.

  9. Operation and design selection of high temperature superconducting magnetic bearings

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Werfel, F. N.; Floegel-Delor, U.; Riedel, T.; Rothfeld, R.; Wippich, D.; Goebel, B.

    2004-10-01

    Axial and radial high temperature superconducting (HTS) magnetic bearings are evaluated by their parameters. Journal bearings possess advantages over thrust bearings. High magnetic gradients in a multi-pole permanent magnet (PM) configuration, the surrounding melt textured YBCO stator and adequate designs are the key features for increasing the overall bearing stiffness. The gap distance between rotor and stator determines the specific forces and has a strong impact on the PM rotor design. We report on the designing, building and measuring of a 200 mm prototype 100 kg HTS bearing with an encapsulated and thermally insulated melt textured YBCO ring stator. The encapsulation requires a magnetically large-gap (4-5 mm) operation but reduces the cryogenic effort substantially. The bearing requires 3 l of LN2 for cooling down, and about 0.2 l LN2 h-1 under operation. This is a dramatic improvement of the efficiency and in the practical usage of HTS magnetic bearings.

  10. High T(sub c) Superconducting Bolometer on Chemically Etched 7 Micrometer Thick Sapphire

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lakew, B.; Brasunas, J. C.; Pique, A.; Fettig, R.; Mott, B.; Babu, S.; Cushman, G. M.

    1997-01-01

    A transition-edge IR detector, using a YBa2Cu3O(7-x) (YBCO) thin film deposited on a chemically etched, 7 micrometer thick sapphire substrate has been built. To our knowledge it is the first such high T(sub c) superconducting (HTS) bolometer on chemically thinned sapphire. The peak optical detectivity obtained is l.2 x 10(exp 10) cmHz(sup 1/2)/W near 4Hz. Result shows that it is possible to obtain high detectivity with thin films on etched sapphire with no processing after the deposition of the YBCO film. We discuss the etching process and its potential for micro-machining sapphire and fabricating 2-dimensional detector arrays with suspended sapphire membranes. A 30 micrometer thick layer of gold black provided IR absorption. Comparison is made with the current state of the art on silicon substrates.

  11. Structural and electrical properties of epitaxial YBCO films on Si (Abstract Only).

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fork, David K.; Barrera, A.; Phillips, Julia M.; Newman, N.; Fenner, David B.; Geballe, Theodore H.; Connell, G. A. N.; Boyce, James B.

    1991-03-01

    Efforts to grow high quality films of YBCO on Si have been complicated by factors discussed in Ref. 1, chief among them being the reaction between YBCO and Si, which is damaging even at 550 C. This is well below the customary temperatures for YBCO film growth. To avoid the reaction problem, epitaxial YBCO films were grown on Si (100) using an intermediate buffer layer of yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ).2 Both layers are grown via an entirely in situ process by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). Although the buffer layer prevents reaction, another problem arises; the large difference in thermal expansion coefficients between silicon and YBCO causes strain at room temperature. Thin (<500 A) YBCO films are unrelaxed and under tensile strain with a distorted unit cell. Thicker films are cracked and have poorer electrical properties. The thermal strain may be reduced by growing on silicon-on-sapphire (SOS) rather than silicon.3 This allows the growth of films of arbitrary thickness. Ion channeling reveals a high degree of crystalline perfection with a channeling minimum yield for Ba as low as 12% on either silicon or SOS. The normal state resistivity is 250-300 i-cm at 300 K; the critical temperature, Tc (R=0), is 86-88 K with a transition width (ATc) of I K. Critical current densities (J)°f 2x107 A/cm2 at 4.2 K and >2x106 A/cm2 at 77 K have been achieved. In addition, the surface resistance of a YBCO film on SOS was measured against Nb at 4.2 K. At 10 GHz, a value of 45 was obtained. This compares favorably to values reported for LaAlO3. Application of this technology to produce reaction patterned microstrip lines has been tested.4 This was done by ion milling away portions of the YSZ buffer layer prior to the YBCO deposition. YBCO landing on regions of exposed Si reacts to form an insulator. This technique was used to make 3 micron lines 1.5 mm long. The resulting structure had a Jc of l.6xl06 A/cm2 at 77 K. Isolation of separate structures exceeded 20 M. Several

  12. Design and comparative analysis of 10 MW class superconducting wind power generators according to different types of superconducting wires

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sung, Hae-Jin; Kim, Gyeong-Hun; Kim, Kwangmin; Park, Minwon; Yu, In-Keun; Kim, Jong-Yul

    2013-11-01

    Wind turbine concepts can be classified into the geared type and the gearless type. The gearless type wind turbine is more attractive due to advantages of simplified drive train and increased energy yield, and higher reliability because the gearbox is omitted. In addition, this type resolves the weight issue of the wind turbine with the light weight of gearbox. However, because of the low speed operation, this type has disadvantage such as the large diameter and heavy weight of generator. Super-Conducting (SC) wind power generator can reduce the weight and volume of a wind power system. Properties of superconducting wire are very different from each company. This paper considers the design and comparative analysis of 10 MW class SC wind power generators according to different types of SC wires. Super-Conducting Synchronous Generators (SCSGs) using YBCO and Bi-2223 wires are optimized by an optimal method. The magnetic characteristics of the SCSGs are investigated using the finite elements method program. The optimized specifications of the SCSGs are discussed in detail, and the optimization processes can be used effectively to develop large scale wind power generation systems.

  13. Operating characteristics of superconducting fault current limiter using 24kV vacuum interrupter driven by electromagnetic repulsion switch

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Endo, M.; Hori, T.; Koyama, K.; Yamaguchi, I.; Arai, K.; Kaiho, K.; Yanabu, S.

    2008-02-01

    Using a high temperature superconductor, we constructed and tested a model Superconducting Fault Current Limiter (SFCL). SFCL which has a vacuum interrupter with electromagnetic repulsion mechanism. We set out to construct high voltage class SFCL. We produced the electromagnetic repulsion switch equipped with a 24kV vacuum interrupter(VI). There are problems that opening speed becomes late. Because the larger vacuum interrupter the heavier weight of its contact. For this reason, the current which flows in a superconductor may be unable to be interrupted within a half cycles of current. In order to solve this problem, it is necessary to change the design of the coil connected in parallel and to strengthen the electromagnetic repulsion force at the time of opening the vacuum interrupter. Then, the design of the coil was changed, and in order to examine whether the problem is solvable, the current limiting test was conducted. We examined current limiting test using 4 series and 2 parallel-connected YBCO thin films. We used 12-centimeter-long YBCO thin film. The parallel resistance (0.1Ω) is connected with each YBCO thin film. As a result, we succeed in interrupting the current of superconductor within a half cycle of it. Furthermore, series and parallel-connected YBCO thin film could limit without failure.

  14. Investigation of Pb doping on electrical, structural and superconducting properties of YBa2-xPbxCu3O7-δ superconductors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ezzatpour, S.; Sharifzadegan, L.; Sarvari, F.; Sedghi, H.

    2018-06-01

    In this study the high temperature superconductor YBa2-xPbxCu3O7-δ with doping x = ,0.05,0.1,0.15 were prepared by the standard solid-state reaction method. The effect of Pb substitution on Ba site of YBCO superconducting system, structural, electrical and superconducting properties of Y-based superconductor has been investigated. The measurements of dc resisitivity were performed on all samples with four-probe method using low frequency/lowAC current (4 mA) . The superconducting temperature, Tc, were determined from the resistivity versus temperature (R-T) curves. Results show that Pb doping reduced the cirtical temperature(Tc) and superconductivity properties of our samples. The maximum and the minimum Tc were observed for the samples with x = 0.15 and x = 0.1 respectively. The structure and phase purity of samples were examined by the X-ray powder diffraction technique (XRD) performed by means of D8 Advance Bruker diffractometer with Cu kα radiation. The grain morphology of surface of the samples was analyzed by sacanning electron microscopy (SEM). XRD patterns of polycrystalline materials of composition YBa2-xPbxCu3O7-δ revealed that all prepared samples are orthorhombic. All of the peaks of YBCO and YBa2-xPbxCu3O7-δ have been used for the estimation of volume fractions of the phases and ignored the void peaks.

  15. Test Status for Proposed Coupling of a Gravitational Force to Extreme Type II YBCO Ceramic Superconductors

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Noever, David; Li, Ning; Robertson, Tony; Koczor, Ron; Brantley, Whitt

    1999-01-01

    As a Bose condensate, superconductors provide novel conditions for revisiting previously proposed couplings between electromagnetism and gravity. Strong variations in Cooper pair electron density, large conductivity and low magnetic permeability define superconductive and degenerate condensates without the traditional density limits imposed by the Fermi energy (about 10-6 g/cu cm). Recent experiments have reported anomalous weight loss for a test mass suspended above a rotating Type II, YBCO superconductor, with the percentage change (0.05-2.1%) independent of the test mass' chemical composition and diamagnetic properties. A variation of 5 parts per 10(exp 4) was reported above a stationary (non-rotating) superconductor. In the present experiments reported using a sensitive gravimeter (resolution <10(exp -9) unit gravity or variation of 10(exp -6) cm/sq s in accelerations), bulk YBCO superconductors were stably levitated in a DC magnetic field (0.6 Tesla) subject to lateral AC fields (60 Gauss at 60 Hz) and rotation. With magnetic shielding, thermal control and buoyancy compensation, changes in acceleration were measured to be less than 2 parts in 10(exp 8) of the normal gravitational acceleration. This result puts new limits on the strength and range of the proposed coupling between high-Tc superconductors and gravity. Latest test results will be reported, along with status for future improvements and prospects.

  16. Application of textured YBCO bulks with artificial holes for superconducting magnetic bearing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dias, D. H. N.; Sotelo, G. G.; Moysés, L. A.; Telles, L. G. T.; Bernstein, P.; Kenfaui, D.; Aburas, M.; Chaud, X.; Noudem, J. G.

    2015-07-01

    The levitation force between a superconductor and a permanent magnet has been investigated for the development of superconducting magnetic bearings (SMBs). Depending on the proposed application, the SMBs can be arranged with two kinds of symmetries: rotational or linear. The SMBs present passive operation, low level of noise and no friction, but they need a cooling system for their operation. Nowadays the cooling problem may be easily solved by the use of a commercial cryocooler. The levitation force of SMBs is directly related to the quality of the superconductor material (which depends on its critical current density) and the permanent magnet arrangement. Also, research about the YBa2Cu3Ox (Y123) bulk materials has shown that artificial holes enhance the superconducting properties, in particular the magnetic trapped field. In this context, this work proposes the investigation of the levitation force of a bulk Y123 sample with multiple holes and the comparison of its performances with those of conventional plain Y123 superconductors.

  17. Superconductivity in Russia: Update and prospects

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ozhogin, V.

    1995-01-01

    The research projects and new technological developments that have occured in Russia are highlighted in this document. Some of the research discussed includes: x-ray structure analysis of YBCO superconducting single crystals and accompanying phase transformations; the role of electron-electron interaction in High Temperature Superconductors (HTSC); the formation of Cooper pairs in crystals; the synthesis and research on a new family of superconductors based on complex copper and mercury oxides (HgBa2CuO4 + alpha and HgBa2CaCu2O6 + alpha); methods for the extraction of higher (up to C200) fullerenes and metalfullerenides has been developed; and process of production of Josephson junctions and development of SQUID's.

  18. Effective method to control the levitation force and levitation height in a superconducting maglev system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, Peng-Tao; Yang, Wan-Min; Wang, Miao; Li, Jia-Wei; Guo, Yu-Xia

    2015-11-01

    The influence of the width of the middle magnet in the permanent magnet guideways (PMGs) on the levitation force and the levitation height of single-domain yttrium barium copper oxide (YBCO) bulks has been investigated at 77 K under the zero field cooled (ZFC) state. It is found that the largest levitation force can be obtained in the system with the width of the middle magnet of the PMG equal to the size of the YBCO bulk when the gap between the YBCO bulk and PMG is small. Both larger levitation force and higher levitation height can be obtained in the system with the width of the middle magnet of the PMG larger than the size of the YBCO bulk. The stiffness of the levitation force between the PMG and the YBCO bulk is higher in the system with a smaller width of the middle magnet in the PMG. These results provide an effective way to control the levitation force and the levitation height for the superconducting maglev design and applications. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 51342001 and 50872079), the Key-grant Project of Chinese Ministry of Education (Grant No. 311033), the Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education of China (Grant No. 20120202110003), the Innovation Team in Shaanxi Province, China (Grant No. 2014KTC-18), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, China (Grant Nos. GK201101001 and GK201305014), and the Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Foundation Project of Shaanxi Normal University, China (Grant Nos. X2011YB08 and X2012YB05).

  19. Longitudinal disordering of vortex lattices in anisotropic superconductors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Harshman, D. R.; Brandt, E. H.; Fiory, A. T.; Inui, M.; Mitzi, D. B.; Schneemeyer, L. F.; Waszczak, J. V.

    1993-02-01

    Vortex disordering in superconducting crystals is shown to be markedly sensitive to penetration-depth anisotropy. At low temperature and high magnetic field, the muon-spin-rotation spectra for the highly anisotropic Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ material are found to be anomalously narrow and symmetric about the applied field, in a manner consistent with a layered vortex sublattice structure with pinning-induced misalignment between layers. In contrast, spectra for the less-anisotropic YBa2Cu3O7-δ compounds taken at comparable fields are broader and asymmetric, showing that the vortex lattices are aligned parallel to the applied-field direction.

  20. Microstructural investigation of current barriers in high temperature superconducting tapes and coated conductors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Reeves, Jodi Lynn

    Microstructural barriers to supercurrent occur on many length scales in all high temperature oxide superconductors. Eliminating microstructural barriers is key to making these potentially valuable materials more favorable for commercial applications. In silver-sheathed Bi2Sr2CaCu 2Ox (Bi-2212) tapes and multifilaments, the principal barriers on the scale of 10--100's of micrometers are bubbling, porosity, second phase particles, and poorly aligned grains. In state-of-the-art YBa2 Cu3Ox (YBCO) coated conductors, supercurrent barriers on the 0.1--100mum scale are grain boundaries. This thesis work clarifies the role of grain boundaries in the nickel substrate of RABiTS (Rolling Assisted Biaxially Textured Substrate) coated conductors. Plan-view SEM imaging, focused ion beam cutting, magneto-optical imaging and grain orientation mapping were used to determine barriers to supercurrent. Experiments showed enhanced magnetic flux penetration, and hence reduced Jc, in the YBCO above nearly all nickel grain boundaries with misorientation angles (theta) greater than 5°, independent of the rotation axis. Monochromatic backscattered electron Kikuchi pattern percolation maps imply there is a fully connected current path through the YBCO microstructure within the chosen tolerance angle criterion of the map. However, it is the grain boundary map that displays the constrictions of the current path. Therefore, grain boundary maps are better tools for illustrating supercurrent barriers than percolation maps. Grain boundary maps and grain orientation maps were used to investigate how the texture of the substrate was transferred to the buffer layers and to the superconductor. Most grasp boundaries in the nickel were replicated in the buffer and superconductor layers with the same misorientation angle. Anisotropic growth and/or surface energy minimization may be responsible for the improvement in c-axis alignment in the YBCO over the buffer layer. However, the YBCO mosaic spread did

  1. A large-diameter hollow-shaft cryogenic motor based on a superconducting magnetic bearing for millimeter-wave polarimetry.

    PubMed

    Johnson, B R; Columbro, F; Araujo, D; Limon, M; Smiley, B; Jones, G; Reichborn-Kjennerud, B; Miller, A; Gupta, S

    2017-10-01

    In this paper, we present the design and measured performance of a novel cryogenic motor based on a superconducting magnetic bearing (SMB). The motor is tailored for use in millimeter-wave half-wave plate (HWP) polarimeters, where a HWP is rapidly rotated in front of a polarization analyzer or polarization-sensitive detector. This polarimetry technique is commonly used in cosmic microwave background polarization studies. The SMB we use is composed of fourteen yttrium barium copper oxide (YBCO) disks and a contiguous neodymium iron boron (NdFeB) ring magnet. The motor is a hollow-shaft motor because the HWP is ultimately installed in the rotor. The motor presented here has a 100 mm diameter rotor aperture. However, the design can be scaled up to rotor aperture diameters of approximately 500 mm. Our motor system is composed of four primary subsystems: (i) the rotor assembly, which includes the NdFeB ring magnet, (ii) the stator assembly, which includes the YBCO disks, (iii) an incremental encoder, and (iv) the drive electronics. While the YBCO is cooling through its superconducting transition, the rotor is held above the stator by a novel hold and release mechanism. The encoder subsystem consists of a custom-built encoder disk read out by two fiber optic readout sensors. For the demonstration described in this paper, we ran the motor at 50 K and tested rotation frequencies up to approximately 10 Hz. The feedback system was able to stabilize the rotation speed to approximately 0.4%, and the measured rotor orientation angle uncertainty is less than 0.15°. Lower temperature operation will require additional development activities, which we will discuss.

  2. A large-diameter hollow-shaft cryogenic motor based on a superconducting magnetic bearing for millimeter-wave polarimetry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Johnson, B. R.; Columbro, F.; Araujo, D.; Limon, M.; Smiley, B.; Jones, G.; Reichborn-Kjennerud, B.; Miller, A.; Gupta, S.

    2017-10-01

    In this paper, we present the design and measured performance of a novel cryogenic motor based on a superconducting magnetic bearing (SMB). The motor is tailored for use in millimeter-wave half-wave plate (HWP) polarimeters, where a HWP is rapidly rotated in front of a polarization analyzer or polarization-sensitive detector. This polarimetry technique is commonly used in cosmic microwave background polarization studies. The SMB we use is composed of fourteen yttrium barium copper oxide (YBCO) disks and a contiguous neodymium iron boron (NdFeB) ring magnet. The motor is a hollow-shaft motor because the HWP is ultimately installed in the rotor. The motor presented here has a 100 mm diameter rotor aperture. However, the design can be scaled up to rotor aperture diameters of approximately 500 mm. Our motor system is composed of four primary subsystems: (i) the rotor assembly, which includes the NdFeB ring magnet, (ii) the stator assembly, which includes the YBCO disks, (iii) an incremental encoder, and (iv) the drive electronics. While the YBCO is cooling through its superconducting transition, the rotor is held above the stator by a novel hold and release mechanism. The encoder subsystem consists of a custom-built encoder disk read out by two fiber optic readout sensors. For the demonstration described in this paper, we ran the motor at 50 K and tested rotation frequencies up to approximately 10 Hz. The feedback system was able to stabilize the rotation speed to approximately 0.4%, and the measured rotor orientation angle uncertainty is less than 0.15°. Lower temperature operation will require additional development activities, which we will discuss.

  3. Fabrication of interface-modified ramp-edge junction on YBCO ground plane with multilayer structure

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wakana, H.; Adachi, S.; Kamitani, A.; Sugiyama, H.; Sugano, T.; Horibe, M.; Ishimaru, Y.; Tarutani, Y.; Tanabe, K.

    2003-10-01

    We examined the fabrication conditions to obtain high-quality ramp-edge Josephson junctions on a liquid-phase-epitaxy YBa 2Cu 3O y (LPE-YBCO) ground plane, in particular, focusing on the fabrication of a suitable insulating layer on the ground plane and the post-annealing conditions to load oxygen to the ground plane. A (LaAlO 3) 0.3-(SrAl 0.5Ta 0.5O 3) 0.7 (LSAT) insulating film on the ground planes exhibited a conductance ranging from 10 -4 to 10 -8 S after deposition of an upper superconducting film, suggesting existence of some leak paths through the LSAT insulating layer. By introducing approximately 30 nm thick SrTiO 3 (STO) buffer layers on both side of the LSAT insulating layer. We reproducibly obtained a conductance lower than 10 -8 S. The dielectric constant of the STO/LSAT/STO layer was 32, which was slightly larger than that of the single LSAT layer. It was found that a very slow cooling rate of 1.0 °C/h in oxygen was needed to fully oxidize the ground plane through the STO/LSAT/STO insulating layers, while the oxidation time could be effectively reduced by introducing via holes in the insulating layer at an interval of 200 μm. Ramp-edge junctions on LPE-YBCO ground planes with STO/LSAT/STO insulating layers exhibited a 1 σ-spread in Ic of 8% for 100-junction series-arrays and a sheet inductance of 0.7 pH/□ at 4.2 K.

  4. Anomalous anisotropic compression behavior of superconducting CrAs under high pressure

    PubMed Central

    Yu, Zhenhai; Wu, Wei; Hu, Qingyang; Zhao, Jinggeng; Li, Chunyu; Yang, Ke; Cheng, Jinguang; Luo, Jianlin; Wang, Lin; Mao, Ho-kwang

    2015-01-01

    CrAs was observed to possess the bulk superconductivity under high-pressure conditions. To understand the superconducting mechanism and explore the correlation between the structure and superconductivity, the high-pressure structural evolution of CrAs was investigated using the angle-dispersive X-ray diffraction (XRD) method. The structure of CrAs remains stable up to 1.8 GPa, whereas the lattice parameters exhibit anomalous compression behaviors. With increasing pressure, the lattice parameters a and c both demonstrate a nonmonotonic change, and the lattice parameter b undergoes a rapid contraction at ∼0.18−0.35 GPa, which suggests that a pressure-induced isostructural phase transition occurs in CrAs. Above the phase transition pressure, the axial compressibilities of CrAs present remarkable anisotropy. A schematic band model was used to address the anomalous compression behavior of CrAs. The present results shed light on the structural and related electronic responses to high pressure, which play a key role toward understanding the superconductivity of CrAs. PMID:26627230

  5. Magnetoresistance in the superconducting state at the (111) LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interface

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Davis, S.; Huang, Z.; Han, K.; Ariando, Venkatesan, T.; Chandrasekhar, V.

    2017-10-01

    Condensed-matter systems that simultaneously exhibit superconductivity and ferromagnetism are rare due the antagonistic relationship between conventional spin-singlet superconductivity and ferromagnetic order. In materials in which superconductivity and magnetic order are known to coexist (such as some heavy-fermion materials), the superconductivity is thought to be of an unconventional nature. Recently, the conducting gas that lives at the interface between the perovskite band insulators LaAlO3 (LAO) and SrTiO3 (STO) has also been shown to host both superconductivity and magnetism. Most previous research has focused on LAO/STO samples in which the interface is on the (001) crystal plane. Relatively little work has focused on the (111) crystal orientation, which has hexagonal symmetry at the interface, and has been predicted to have potentially interesting topological properties, including unconventional superconducting pairing states. Here we report measurements of the magnetoresistance of (111) LAO/STO heterostructures at temperatures at which they are also superconducting. As with the (001) structures, the magnetoresistance is hysteretic, indicating the coexistence of magnetism and superconductivity, but in addition, we find that this magnetoresistance is anisotropic. Such an anisotropic response is completely unexpected in the superconducting state and suggests that (111) LAO/STO heterostructures may support unconventional superconductivity.

  6. Superconductor-Mediated Modification of Gravity? AC Motor Experiments with Bulk YBCO Disks in Rotating Magnetic Fields

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Noever, David A.; Koczor, Ronald J.; Roberson, Rick

    1998-01-01

    We have previously reported results using a high precision gravimeter to probe local gravity changes in the neighborhood of large bulk-processed high-temperature superconductors. Podkietnov, et al (Podkietnov, E. and Nieminen, R. (1992) A Possibility of Gravitational Force Shielding by Bulk YBa2 Cu3 O7-x Superconductor, Physica C, C203:441-444.) have indicated that rotating AC fields play an essential role in their observed distortion of combined gravity and barometric pressure readings. We report experiments on large (15 cm diameter) bulk YBCO ceramic superconductors placed in the core of a three-phase, AC motor stator. The applied rotating field produces up to a 12,000 revolutions per minute magnetic field. The field intensity decays rapidly from the maximum at the outer diameter of the superconducting disk (less than 60 Gauss) to the center (less than 10 Gauss). This configuration was applied with and without a permanent DC magnetic field levitating the superconducting disk, with corresponding gravity readings indicating an apparent increase in observed gravity of less than 1 x 10(exp -6)/sq cm, measured above the superconductor. No effect of the rotating magnetic field or thermal environment on the gravimeter readings or on rotating the superconducting disk was noted within the high precision of the observation. Implications for propulsion initiatives and power storage flywheel technologies for high temperature superconductors will be discussed for various spacecraft and satellite applications.

  7. Optimization of Thick, Large Area YBCO Film Growth Through Response Surface Methods

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Porzio, J.; Mahoney, C. H.; Sullivan, M. C.

    2014-03-01

    We present our work on the optimization of thick, large area YB2C3O7-δ (YBCO) film growth through response surface methods. Thick, large area films have commercial uses and have recently been used in dramatic demonstrations of levitation and suspension. Our films are grown via pulsed laser deposition and we have optimized growth parameters via response surface methods. Response surface methods is a statistical tool to optimize selected quantities with respect to a set of variables. We optimized our YBCO films' critical temperatures, thicknesses, and structures with respect to three PLD growth parameters: deposition temperature, laser energy, and deposition pressure. We will present an overview of YBCO growth via pulsed laser deposition, the statistical theory behind response surface methods, and the application of response surface methods to pulsed laser deposition growth of YBCO. Results from the experiment will be presented in a discussion of the optimized film quality. Supported by NFS grant DMR-1305637

  8. Possibility of material cost reduction toward development of low-cost second-generation superconducting wires

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ichinose, Ataru; Horii, Shigeru; Doi, Toshiya

    2017-10-01

    Two approaches to reducing the material cost of second-generation superconducting wires are proposed in this paper: (1) instead of the electrical stabilizing layers of silver and copper presently used on the superconducting layer, a Nb-doped SrTiO3 conductive buffer layer and cube-textured Cu are proposed as an advanced architecture, and (2) the use of an electromagnetic (EM) steel tape as a metal substrate of coated conductors in a conventional architecture. In structures fabricated without using electrical stabilizing layers on the superconducting layer, the critical current density achieved at 77 K in a self-field was approximately 2.6 MA/cm2. On the other hand, in the case of using EM steel tapes, although the critical current density was far from practical at the current stage, the biaxial alignment of YBa2Cu3O y (YBCO) and buffer layers was realized without oxidation on the metal surface. In this study, the possibility of material cost reduction has been strongly indicated toward the development of low-cost second-generation superconducting wires in the near future.

  9. Magnetic forces in high-Tc superconducting bearings

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Moon, F. C.

    1991-01-01

    In September 1987, researchers at Cornell levitated a small rotor on superconducting bearings at 10,000 rpm. In April 1989, a speed of 120,000 rpm was achieved in a passive bearing with no active control. The bearing material used was YBa2Cu307. There is no evidence that the rotation speed has any significant effect on the lift force. Magnetic force measurements between a permanent rare-earth magnet and high T(sub c) superconducting material versus vertical and lateral displacements were made. A large hysteresis loop results for large displacements, while minor loops result for small displacements. These minor loops seem to give a slope proportional to the magnetic stiffness, and are probably indicative of flux pinning forces. Experiments of rotary speed versus time show a linear decay in a vacuum. Measurements of magnetic dipole over a high-T(sub c) superconducting disc of YBCO show that the lateral vibrations of levitated rotors were measured which indicates that transverse flux motion in the superconductor will create dissipation. As a result of these force measurements, an optimum shape for the superconductor bearing pads which gives good lateral and axial stability was designed. Recent force measurements on melt-quench processed superconductors indicate a substantial increase in levitation force and magnetic stiffness over free sintered materials. As a result, application of high-T(sub c) superconducting bearings are beginning to show great promise at this time.

  10. A Superconducting Dual-Channel Photonic Switch.

    PubMed

    Srivastava, Yogesh Kumar; Manjappa, Manukumara; Cong, Longqing; Krishnamoorthy, Harish N S; Savinov, Vassili; Pitchappa, Prakash; Singh, Ranjan

    2018-06-05

    The mechanism of Cooper pair formation and its underlying physics has long occupied the investigation into high temperature (high-T c ) cuprate superconductors. One of the ways to unravel this is to observe the ultrafast response present in the charge carrier dynamics of a photoexcited specimen. This results in an interesting approach to exploit the dissipation-less dynamic features of superconductors to be utilized for designing high-performance active subwavelength photonic devices with extremely low-loss operation. Here, dual-channel, ultrafast, all-optical switching and modulation between the resistive and the superconducting quantum mechanical phase is experimentally demonstrated. The ultrafast phase switching is demonstrated via modulation of sharp Fano resonance of a high-T c yttrium barium copper oxide (YBCO) superconducting metamaterial device. Upon photoexcitation by femtosecond light pulses, the ultrasensitive cuprate superconductor undergoes dual dissociation-relaxation dynamics, with restoration of superconductivity within a cycle, and thereby establishes the existence of dual switching windows within a timescale of 80 ps. Pathways are explored to engineer the secondary dissociation channel which provides unprecedented control over the switching speed. Most importantly, the results envision new ways to accomplish low-loss, ultrafast, and ultrasensitive dual-channel switching applications that are inaccessible through conventional metallic and dielectric based metamaterials. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  11. Holographic models with anisotropic scaling

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Brynjolfsson, E. J.; Danielsson, U. H.; Thorlacius, L.; Zingg, T.

    2013-12-01

    We consider gravity duals to d+1 dimensional quantum critical points with anisotropic scaling. The primary motivation comes from strongly correlated electron systems in condensed matter theory but the main focus of the present paper is on the gravity models in their own right. Physics at finite temperature and fixed charge density is described in terms of charged black branes. Some exact solutions are known and can be used to obtain a maximally extended spacetime geometry, which has a null curvature singularity inside a single non-degenerate horizon, but generic black brane solutions in the model can only be obtained numerically. Charged matter gives rise to black branes with hair that are dual to the superconducting phase of a holographic superconductor. Our numerical results indicate that holographic superconductors with anisotropic scaling have vanishing zero temperature entropy when the back reaction of the hair on the brane geometry is taken into account.

  12. Fabrication of biaxially oriented YBCO on (001) biaxially oriented yttria-stabilized-zirconia on polycrystalline substrates

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Arendt, P.; Foltyn, S.; Wu, Xin Di; Townsend, J.; Adams, C.; Hawley, M.; Tiwari, P.; Maley, M.; Willis, J.; Moseley, D.

    Ion-assisted, ion-beam sputter deposition is used to obtain (001) biaxially oriented films of cubic yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) on polycrystalline metal substrates. Yttrium barium copper oxide (YBCO) is then heteroepitaxially pulse laser deposited onto the YSZ. Phi scans of the films show the full-width-half maxima of the YSZ (202) and the YBCO (103) reflections to be 14 deg and 10 deg, respectively. Our best dc transport critical current density measurement for the YBCO is 800,000 A/sq cm at 75 K and 0 T. At 75 K, the total dc transport current in a 1 cm wide YBCO film is 23 A.

  13. Observation of dx2-y-Like Superconducting Gap in an Electron-Doped High-Temperature Superconductor

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sato, T.; Kamiyama, T.; Takahashi, T.; Kurahashi, K.; Yamada, K.

    2001-02-01

    High-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy of the electron-doped high-temperature superconductor Nd2-xCexCuO4 (x = 0.15, transition temperature Tc = 22 K) has found the quasiparticle signature as well as the anisotropic dx2-y-like superconducting gap. The spectral line shape at the superconducting state shows a strong anisotropic nature of the many-body interaction. The result suggests that the electron-hole symmetry is present in the high-temperature superconductors.

  14. High performance YBCO films. Report for 1 August-31 October 1992

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Denlinger, E.J.; Fathy, A.; Kalokitis, D.

    1992-10-31

    The objective of this program is to identify suitable low loss, low dielectric constant substrates and develop and optimize deposition processes for high quality YBCO films including the necessary buffer layers. Ultimate goals are large area substrates having double-sided HTS coating with a surface resistance ten times lower than copper at 40 GHz. High quality HTS films on low dielectric constant substrates are expected to find widespread use in advanced millimeter wave components, in extending the power handling capability of microwave and millimeter wave circuitry, and in facilitating high speed computer interconnects. Sample demonstration circuits will be built toward themore » end of the program. We have successfully deposited a high quality YBCO film on a good low loss and low dielectric constant substrate, magnesium fluoride (e=5). With the use of two buffer layers (magnesium oxide and strontium titanate) between the YBCO and the substrate, transition temperatures of 89 deg K and transition widths of about 0.5 deg K were achieved. The critical current density Jc of 4 x 10 6 A/cm2 at 77K in zero field is among the highest reported for YBCO films. The magnesium fluoride (MgF2) substrate has a tetragonal structure with a dielectric constant of 5.2 in the plane of the substrate and 4.6 perpendicular to the substrate surface. It has a good harness (-575 Knoop) and a linear thermal expansion coefficient that closely matches YBCO and the buffer layers.« less

  15. Multiband full-bandwidth anisotropic Eliashberg theory of interfacial electron-phonon coupling and high - Tc superconductivity in FeSe /SrTiO3

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Aperis, Alex; Oppeneer, Peter M.

    2018-02-01

    We examine the impact of interfacial phonons on the superconducting state of FeSe /SrTiO3 developing a material's specific multiband, full bandwidth, and anisotropic Eliashberg theory for this system. Our self-consistent calculations highlight the importance of the interfacial electron-phonon interaction, which is hidden behind the seemingly weak-coupling constant λm=0.4 , in mediating the high Tc, and explain other puzzling experimental observations, such as the s -wave symmetry and replica bands. We discover that the formation of replica bands has a Tc decreasing effect that is nevertheless compensated by deep Fermi-sea Cooper pairing which has a Tc enhancing effect. We predict a strong-coupling dip-hump signature in the tunneling spectra due to the interfacial coupling.

  16. The p-wave superconductivity in the presence of Rashba interaction in 2DEG

    PubMed Central

    Weng, Ke-Chuan; Hu, C. D.

    2016-01-01

    We investigate the effect of the Rashba interaction on two dimensional superconductivity. The presence of the Rashba interaction lifts the spin degeneracy and gives rise to the spectrum of two bands. There are intraband and interband pairs scattering which result in the coupled gap equations. We find that there are isotropic and anisotropic components in the gap function. The latter has the form of cos φk where . The former is suppressed because the intraband and the interband scatterings nearly cancel each other. Hence, −the system should exhibit the p-wave superconductivity. We perform a detailed study of electron-phonon interaction for 2DEG and find that, if only normal processes are considered, the effective coupling strength constant of this new superconductivity is about one-half of the s-wave case in the ordinary 2DEG because of the angular average of the additional in the anisotropic gap function. By taking into account of Umklapp processes, we find they are the major contribution in the electron-phonon coupling in superconductivity and enhance the transition temperature Tc. PMID:27459677

  17. Measurements and calculations of transport AC loss in second generation high temperature superconducting pancake coils

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yuan, Weijia; Coombs, T. A.; Kim, Jae-Ho; Han Kim, Chul; Kvitkovic, Jozef; Pamidi, Sastry

    2011-12-01

    Theoretical and experimental AC loss data on a superconducting pancake coil wound using second generation (2 G) conductors are presented. An anisotropic critical state model is used to calculate critical current and the AC losses of a superconducting pancake coil. In the coil there are two regions, the critical state region and the subcritical region. The model assumes that in the subcritical region the flux lines are parallel to the tape wide face. AC losses of the superconducting pancake coil are calculated using this model. Both calorimetric and electrical techniques were used to measure AC losses in the coil. The calorimetric method is based on measuring the boil-off rate of liquid nitrogen. The electric method used a compensation circuit to eliminate the inductive component to measure the loss voltage of the coil. The experimental results are consistent with the theoretical calculations thus validating the anisotropic critical state model for loss estimations in the superconducting pancake coil.

  18. Evolution of Anisotropic Displacement Parameters and Superconductivity with Chemical Pressure in BiS2-Based REO0.5F0.5BiS2 (RE = La, Ce, Pr, and Nd)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mizuguchi, Yoshikazu; Hoshi, Kazuhisa; Goto, Yosuke; Miura, Akira; Tadanaga, Kiyoharu; Moriyoshi, Chikako; Kuroiwa, Yoshihiro

    2018-02-01

    In order to understand the mechanisms behind the emergence of superconductivity by the chemical pressure effect in REO0.5F0.5BiS2 (RE = La, Ce, Pr, and Nd), where bulk superconductivity is induced by the substitutions with a smaller-radius RE, we performed synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction, and analyzed the crystal structure and anisotropic displacement parameters. With the decrease of the RE3+ ionic radius, the in-plane disorder of the S1 sites significantly decreased, very similar to the trend observed in the Se-substituted systems: LaO0.5F0.5BiS2-xSex and Eu0.5La0.5FBiS2-xSex. Therefore, the emergence of bulk superconductivity upon the suppression of the in-plane disorder at the chalcogen sites is a universal scenario for the BiCh2-based superconductors. In addition, we indicated that the amplitude of vibration along the c-axis of the in-plane chalcogen sites may be related to the Tc in the BiCh2-based superconductors.

  19. Temporal resistance variation of the second generation HTS tape during superconducting-to-normal state transition.

    PubMed

    Malginov, Vladimir A; Malginov, Andrey V; Fleishman, Leonid S

    2013-01-01

    The quench process in high-temperature superconducting (HTS) wires plays an important role in superconducting power devices, such as fault current limiters, magnets, cables, etc. The superconducting device should survive after the overheating due to quench. We studied the evolution of the resistance of the YBCO tape wire during the quench process with 1 ms time resolution for various excitation voltages. The resistive normal zone was found to be located in a domain of about 1-4 cm long. The normal state nucleation begins in 40-60 ms after voltage is applied across the HTS tape. In subsequent 200-300 ms other normal state regions appear. The normal domain heating continues in the following 5-10s that results in a factor of 2-3 increase of its resistance. Formation of the normal domain during the quench process follows the same stages for different excitation voltages. Characteristic domain sizes, lifetimes and temperatures are determined for all stages.

  20. Study of the inhomogeneity of critical current under in-situ tensile stress for YBCO tape

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhu, Y. P.; Chen, W.; Zhang, H. Y.; Liu, L. Y.; Pan, X. F.; Yang, X. S.; Zhao, Y.

    2018-07-01

    A Hall sensor system was used to measure the local critical current of YBCO tape with high spatial resolution under in-situ tensile stress. The hot spot generation and minimum quench energy of YBCO tape, which depended on the local critical current, was calculated through the thermoelectric coupling model. With the increase in tensile stress, the cracks which have different dimensions and critical current degradation arose more frequently and lowered the thermal stability of the YBCO tape.

  1. YBa2Cu3O7 thin films on nanocrystalline diamond films for HTSC bolometer

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Cui, G.; Beetz, C. P., Jr.; Boerstler, R.; Steinbeck, J.

    1993-01-01

    Superconducting YBa2Cu3O(7-x) films on nanocrystalline diamond thin films have been fabricated. A composite buffer layer system consisting of diamond/Si3N4/YSZ/YBCO was explored for this purpose. The as-deposited YBCO films were superconducting with Tc of about 84 K and a relatively narrow transition width of about 8 K. SEM cross sections of the films showed very sharp interfaces between diamond/Si3N4 and between Si3N4/YSZ. The deposited YBCO film had a surface roughness of about 1000 A, which is suitable for high-temperature superconductive (HTSC) bolometer fabrication. It was also found that preannealing of the nanocrystalline diamond thin films at high temperature was very important for obtaining high-quality YBCO films.

  2. Microwave-assisted synthesis and critical analysis for YBa2Cu3O6+δ nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chhaganlal Gandhi, Ashish; Lin, Jauyn Grace

    2018-05-01

    A new cost effective scheme of a microwave-assisted sol–gel route followed by a short annealing time is proposed to synthesize YBCO nanoparticles (NPs) of various sizes. The advanced techniques of synchrotron radiation x-ray diffraction (SRXRD) and electron spin resonance (ESR) are used to analyze the size effects on their magnetic/superconducting properties. The major interesting finding is that the size of YBCO NPs could confine the amount of oxygen content and consequently change the superconducting transition temperature (T C ) of YBCO NPs. The ESR result demonstrates a sensitive probe to characterize surface defects in the oxygen-deficient YBCO NPs.

  3. Evidence for k-dependent, in-plane anisotropy of the superconducting gap in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wells, B. O.; Shen, Z. X.; Dessau, D. S.; Spicer, W. E.; Mitzi, D. B.; Lombardo, L.; Kapitulnik, A.; Arko, A. J.

    1992-11-01

    We find the superconducting gap in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ single crystals is anisotropic in k space by roughly a factor of 2 using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. Matching the k-space symmetry of the gap values provides a stringent constraint on theories of the mechanism of high-temperature superconductivity. A review of the literature shows that many puzzling results can be explained by anisotropic gaps in the high-Tc cuprates.

  4. Phase transition with trivial quantum criticality in an anisotropic Weyl semimetal

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Xin; Wang, Jing-Rong; Liu, Guo-Zhu

    2018-05-01

    When a metal undergoes continuous quantum phase transition, the correlation length diverges at the critical point and the quantum fluctuation of order parameter behaves as a gapless bosonic mode. Generically, the coupling of this boson to fermions induces a variety of unusual quantum critical phenomena, such as non-Fermi liquid behavior and various emergent symmetries. Here, we perform a renormalization group analysis of the semimetal-superconductor quantum criticality in a three-dimensional anisotropic Weyl semimetal. Surprisingly, distinct from previously studied quantum critical systems, the anomalous dimension of anisotropic Weyl fermions flows to zero very quickly with decreasing energy, and the quasiparticle residue takes a nonzero value. These results indicate that the quantum fluctuation of superconducting order parameter is irrelevant at low energies, and a simple mean-field calculation suffices to capture the essential physics of the superconducting transition. We thus obtain a phase transition that exhibits trivial quantum criticality, which is unique comparing to other invariably nontrivial quantum critical systems. Our theoretical prediction can be experimentally verified by measuring the fermion spectral function and specific heat.

  5. Lighting up superconducting stripes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ergeçen, Emre; Gedik, Nuh

    2018-02-01

    Cuprate superconductors display a plethora of complex phases as a function of temperature and carrier concentration, the understanding of which could provide clues into the mechanism of superconductivity. For example, when about one-eighth of the conduction electrons are removed from the copper oxygen planes in cuprates such as La2‑xBaxCuO4 (LBCO), the doped holes (missing electrons) organize into one-dimensional stripes (1). The bulk superconducting transition temperature (Tc) is greatly reduced, and just above Tc, electrical transport perpendicular to the planes (along the c axis) becomes resistive, but parallel to the copper oxygen planes, resistivity remains zero for a range of temperatures (2). It was proposed a decade ago (3) that this anisotropic behavior is caused by pair density waves (PDWs); superconducting Cooper pairs exist along the stripes within the planes but cannot tunnel to the adjacent layers. On page 575 of this issue, Rajasekaran et al. (4) now report detection of this state in LBCO using nonlinear reflection of high-intensity terahertz (THz) light.

  6. Anisotropic Josephson-vortex dynamics in layered organic superconductors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yasuzuka, S.; Uji, S.; Satsukawa, H.; Kimata, M.; Terashima, T.; Koga, H.; Yamamura, Y.; Saito, K.; Akutsu, H.; Yamada, J.

    2010-06-01

    To study the anisotropic Josephson-vortex dynamics in the d-wave superconductors, the interplane resistance has been measured on layered organic superconductors κ-(ET)2Cu(NCS)2 and β-(BDA-TTP)2SbF6 under magnetic fields precisely parallel to the conducting planes. For κ-(ET)2Cu(NCS)2, in-plane angular dependence of the Josephson-vortex flow resistance is mainly described by the fourfold symmetry and dip structures appear when the magnetic field is applied parallel to the b- and c-axes. The obtained results have a relation to the d-wave superconducting gap symmetry. However, the absence of in-plane fourfold anisotropy was found for β-(BDA-TTP)2SbF6. The different anisotropic behavior is discussed in terms of the interlayer coupling strength.

  7. Generating mixed morphology BaZrO3 artificial pinning centers for strong and isotropic pinning in BaZrO3-Y2O3 double-doped YBCO thin films

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Shihong; Sebastian, Mary Ann; Gautam, Bibek; Wilt, Jamie; Chen, Yanbin; Sun, Lei; Xing, Zhongwen; Haugan, Timothy; Wu, Judy

    2017-12-01

    High concentration artificial pinning centers (APCs), such as BaZrO3 nanorods (BZO 1D APCs) aligned along the c-axis of the high temperature superconductor YBa2Cu3O7 (YBCO) can provide strong pinning of magnetic vortices and are desirable for applications in high magnetic fields. Unfortunately, in YBCO films with single-doping (SD) of BZO 1D APCs, a monotonic decreasing superconducting T c and critical current density J c(H) with BZO doping has been observed due to strain field overlap at high-concentration perfectly c-axis aligned BZO 1D APCs. In order to resolve this issue, double-doping (DD) of 2-6 vol% BZO 1D APCs and 3.0 vol% Y2O3 nanoparticles (Y2O3-NPs) in YBCO films has been explored to promote BZO-NR orientation misalignment from the c-axis. Remarkably, a monotonic increasing J c(H) with BZO 1D APCs concentration has been obtained in the BZO DD samples. Such a microstructure change is evidenced in the much smaller c-lattice parameter expansion of 0.103% in the DD samples as opposed to 0.511% in the SD counterparts and reduced c-axis alignment of the BZO 1D APCs as revealed in TEM. This yields a mixed 1D + 2D + 3D APC morphology and enhanced isotropic pinning with respect to the orientation of the H-field in the BZO DD samples.

  8. Inverse polarity of the resistive switching effect and strong inhomogeneity in nanoscale YBCO-metal contacts

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Truchly, M.; Plecenik, T.; Zhitlukhina, E.; Belogolovskii, M.; Dvoranova, M.; Kus, P.; Plecenik, A.

    2016-11-01

    We have studied a bipolar resistive switching phenomenon in c-axis oriented normal-state YBa2Cu3O7-c (YBCO) thin films at room temperature by scanning spreading resistance microscopy (SSRM) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) techniques. The most striking experimental finding has been the opposite (in contrast to the previous room and low-temperature data for planar metal counter-electrode-YBCO bilayers) voltage-bias polarity of the switching effect in all SSRM and a number of STM measurements. We have assumed that the hysteretic phenomena in current-voltage characteristics of YBCO-based contacts can be explained by migration of oxygen-vacancy defects and, as a result, by the formation or dissolution of more or less conductive regions near the metal-YBCO interface. To support our interpretation of the macroscopic resistive switching phenomenon, a minimalist model that describes radical modifications of the oxygen-vacancy effective charge in terms of a charge-wind effect was proposed. It was shown theoretically that due to the momentum exchange between current carriers (holes in the YBCO compound) and activated oxygen ions, the direction in which oxygen vacancies are moving is defined by the balance between the direct electrostatic force on them and that caused by the current-carrier flow.

  9. New method for introducing nanometer flux pinning centers into single domain YBCO bulk superconductors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, W. M.; Wang, Miao

    2013-10-01

    Single domain YBCO superconductors with different additions of Bi2O3 have been fabricated by top seeded infiltration and growth process (TSIG). The effect of Bi2O3 additions on the growth morphology, microstructure and levitation force of the YBCO bulk superconductor has been investigated. The results indicate that single domain YBCO superconductors can be fabricated with the additions of Bi2O3 less than 2 wt%; Bi2O3 can be reacted with Y2BaCuO5 and liquid phase and finally form Y2Ba4CuBiOx(YBi2411) nanoscale particles; the size of the YBi2411 particles is about 100 nm, which can act as effective flux pinning centers. It is also found that the levitation force of single domain YBCO bulks is increasing from 13 N to 34 N and decreasing to 11 N with the increasing of Bi2O3 addition from 0.1 wt% to 0.7 wt% and 2 wt%. This result is helpful for us to improve the physical properties of REBCO bulk superconductors.

  10. Fabrication of high T(sub c) superconductor thin film devices: Center director's discretionary fund

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Sisk, R. C.

    1992-01-01

    This report describes a technique for fabricating superconducting weak link devices with micron-sized geometries etched in laser ablated Y1Ba2Cu3O(x) (YBCO) thin films. Careful placement of the weak link over naturally occurring grain boundaries exhibited in some YBCO thin films produces Superconducting Quantum Interference Devices (SQUID's) operating at 77 K.

  11. Anisotropic Pressure Effects on Superconductivity in Fe1+yTe1-xSx

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yamamoto, Kazunori; Yamazaki, Teruo; Yamanaka, Takayoshi; Ueta, Daichi; Yoshizawa, Hideki; Yaguchi, Hiroshi

    2018-05-01

    We have investigated the uniaxial and hydrostatic pressure effects on superconductivity in Fe1.07Te0.88S0.12 through magnetic susceptibility measurements down to 1.8 K. The superconducting transition temperature Tc is enhanced by out-of-plane pressure (uniaxial pressure along the c-axis); the onset temperature of the superconductivity reaches 11.8 K at 0.4 GPa. In contrast, Tc is reduced by in-plane pressure (uniaxial pressure along the ab-plane) and hydrostatic pressure. Taking into account these results, it is inferred that the superconductivity of Fe1+yTe1-xSx is enhanced when the lattice constant c considerably decreases. This implies that the relationship between Tc and the anion height for Fe1+yTe1-xSx is similar to that for most iron-based superconductors. We consider the reduction of Tc by hydrostatic pressure to be due to the suppression of spin fluctuations because the system moves away from antiferromagnetic ordering, and the enhancement of Tc by out-of-plane pressure to be due to the anion height effect on Tc.

  12. Observation of Sinusoidal Voltage Behaviour in Silver Doped YBCO

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Altinkok, Atilgan; Olutas, Murat; Kilic, Kivilcim; Kilic, Atilla

    The influence of bi-directional square wave (BSW) current was investigated on the evolution of the V - t curves at different periods (P) , temperatures and external magnetic fields. It was observed that slow transport relaxation measurements result in regular sinusoidal voltage oscillations which were discussed mainly in terms of the dynamic competition between pinning and depinning.The symmetry in the voltage oscillations was attributed to the elastic coupling between the flux lines and the pinning centers along grain boundaries and partly inside the grains. This case was also correlated to the equality between flux entry and exit along the YBCO/Ag sample during regular oscillations. It was shown that the voltage oscillations can be described well by an empirical expression V (t) sin(wt + φ) . We found that the phase angle φgenerally takes different values for the repetitive oscillations. Fast Fourier Transform analysis of the V - t oscillations showed that the oscillation period is comparable to that (PI) of the BSW current. This finding suggests a physical mechanism associated with charge density waves (CDWs), and, indeed, the weakly pinned flux line system in YBCO/Ag resembles the general behavior of CDWs. At certain values of PI, amplitude of BSW current, H and T, the YBCO/Ag sample behaves like a double-integrator, since it converts the BSW current to sinusoidal voltage oscillations in time.

  13. Pulsed laser deposition of YBCO films on ISD MgO buffered metal tapes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ma, B.; Li, M.; Koritala, R. E.; Fisher, B. L.; Markowitz, A. R.; Erck, R. A.; Baurceanu, R.; Dorris, S. E.; Miller, D. J.; Balachandran, U.

    2003-04-01

    Biaxially textured magnesium oxide (MgO) films deposited by inclined-substrate deposition (ISD) are desirable for rapid production of high-quality template layers for YBCO-coated conductors. High-quality YBCO films were grown on ISD MgO buffered metallic substrates by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). Columnar grains with a roof-tile surface structure were observed in the ISD MgO films. X-ray pole figure analysis revealed that the (002) planes of the ISD MgO films are tilted at an angle from the substrate normal. A small full-width at half maximum (FWHM) of approx9° was observed in the phi-scan for ISD MgO films deposited at an inclination angle of 55°. In-plane texture in the ISD MgO films developed in the first approx0.5 mum from the substrate surface, and then stabilized with further increases in film thickness. Yttria-stabilized zirconia and ceria buffer layers were deposited on the ISD MgO grown on metallic substrates prior to the deposition of YBCO by PLD. YBCO films with the c-axis parallel to the substrate normal have a unique orientation relationship with the ISD MgO films. An orientation relationship of YBCOlangle100rangleparallelMgOlangle111rangle and YBCOlangle010rangleparallelMgOlangle110rangle was measured by x-ray pole figure analyses and confirmed by transmission electron microscopy. A Tc of 91 K with a sharp transition and transport Jc of 5.5 × 105 A cm-2 at 77 K in self-field were measured on a YBCO film that was 0.46 mum thick, 4 mm wide and 10 mm long.

  14. Performance analysis of a model-sized superconducting DC transmission system based VSC-HVDC transmission technologies using RTDS

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dinh, Minh-Chau; Ju, Chang-Hyeon; Kim, Sung-Kyu; Kim, Jin-Geun; Park, Minwon; Yu, In-Keun

    2012-08-01

    The combination of a high temperature superconducting DC power cable and a voltage source converter based HVDC (VSC-HVDC) creates a new option for transmitting power with multiple collection and distribution points for long distance and bulk power transmissions. It offers some greater advantages compared with HVAC or conventional HVDC transmission systems, and it is well suited for the grid integration of renewable energy sources in existing distribution or transmission systems. For this reason, a superconducting DC transmission system based HVDC transmission technologies is planned to be set up in the Jeju power system, Korea. Before applying this system to a real power system on Jeju Island, system analysis should be performed through a real time test. In this paper, a model-sized superconducting VSC-HVDC system, which consists of a small model-sized VSC-HVDC connected to a 2 m YBCO HTS DC model cable, is implemented. The authors have performed the real-time simulation method that incorporates the model-sized superconducting VSC-HVDC system into the simulated Jeju power system using Real Time Digital Simulator (RTDS). The performance analysis of the superconducting VSC-HVDC systems has been verified by the proposed test platform and the results were discussed in detail.

  15. Review of High Power Density Superconducting Generators: Present State and Prospects for Incorporating YBCO Windings

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2005-01-01

    Development of a 100 MVA high temperature super- conducting generator. In: IEEE power engineering society meeting 2004, Denver, CL. [38] Schiferl R...Development of ultra efficient electrical motor systems. In: DOE Annual Superconductivity Peer Review Meeting 2004, Wash- ington, DC; Schiferl R, Rockwell

  16. Design and market considerations for axial flux superconducting electric machine design

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ainslie, M. D.; George, A.; Shaw, R.; Dawson, L.; Winfield, A.; Steketee, M.; Stockley, S.

    2014-05-01

    In this paper, the authors investigate a number of design and market considerations for an axial flux superconducting electric machine design that uses high temperature superconductors. The axial flux machine design is assumed to utilise high temperature superconductors in both wire (stator winding) and bulk (rotor field) forms, to operate over a temperature range of 65-77 K, and to have a power output in the range from 10s of kW up to 1 MW (typical for axial flux machines), with approximately 2-3 T as the peak trapped field in the bulk superconductors. The authors firstly investigate the applicability of this type of machine as a generator in small- and medium-sized wind turbines, including the current and forecasted market and pricing for conventional turbines. Next, a study is also carried out on the machine's applicability as an in-wheel hub motor for electric vehicles. Some recommendations for future applications are made based on the outcome of these two studies. Finally, the cost of YBCO-based superconducting (2G HTS) wire is analysed with respect to competing wire technologies and compared with current conventional material costs and current wire costs for both 1G and 2G HTS are still too great to be economically feasible for such superconducting devices.

  17. Transport properties of ultrathin YBa2Cu3O7 -δ nanowires: A route to single-photon detection

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Arpaia, Riccardo; Golubev, Dmitri; Baghdadi, Reza; Ciancio, Regina; Dražić, Goran; Orgiani, Pasquale; Montemurro, Domenico; Bauch, Thilo; Lombardi, Floriana

    2017-08-01

    We report on the growth and characterization of ultrathin YBa2Cu3O7 -δ (YBCO) films on MgO (110) substrates, which exhibit superconducting properties at thicknesses down to 3 nm. YBCO nanowires, with thicknesses down to 10 nm and widths down to 65 nm, have also been successfully fabricated. The nanowires protected by a Au capping layer show superconducting properties close to the as-grown films and critical current densities, which are limited by only vortex dynamics. The 10-nm-thick YBCO nanowires without the Au capping present hysteretic current-voltage characteristics, characterized by a voltage switch which drives the nanowires directly from the superconducting to the normal state. We associate such bistability to the presence of localized normal domains within the superconductor. The presence of the voltage switch in ultrathin YBCO nanostructures, characterized by high sheet resistance values and high critical current values, makes our nanowires very attractive devices to engineer single-photon detectors.

  18. On the Maximum and Characteristic Curvature of Current Density of High tc Superconductor Ybco in Flux Relaxation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ye, Jiping; Sun, Lei; Dai, Xianxi; Dai, Jixin

    The flux relaxation is one of important topics in the studies of high Tc superconductivity, because it is related to the energy loss in practical applications. There are many mechanisms, theories and relaxation laws suggested in the literatures. It is very interesting to test them according to the characters and compare them with the experiments. Some people think that the characters of the famous theories are their negative curvature. According our inversion solution, the relaxation ArcG law and experimental data analysis, the relaxation law has both positive and negative signs. This prediction is hopeful to be checked by experiments in future. The current densities of many high Tc superconductors decrease very rapidly in the early time in the relaxation. People do not know what their maximums are. In this work, a theory to determine these maximums of the current densities is presented. The theory is concretely realized by inversion for some real data of the YBCO and their maximum current densities are obtained.

  19. Superconductivity in Li-intercalated bilayer arsenene and hole-doped monolayer arsenene: a first-principles prediction

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Jianyong; Ge, Yanfeng; Zhou, Wenzhe; Peng, Mengqi; Pan, Jiangling; Ouyang, Fangping

    2018-06-01

    Using first-principles calculations, we find Li-intercalated bilayer arsenene with AB stacking is dynamically stable, which is different from pristine bilayer with AA stacking. Electron–phonon coupling of the stable Li-intercalated bilayer arsenene are dominated by the low frequency vibrational modes (E″(1), (1), E‧(1) and acoustic modes) and lead to an superconductivity with T c  =  8.68 K with isotropical Eliashberg function. Small biaxial tensile strain (2%) can improve T c to 11.22 K due to the increase of DOS and phonon softening. By considering the fully anisotropic Migdal–Eliashberg theory, T c are found to be enhanced by 50% and exhibits a single anisotropic gap nature. In addition, considering its nearly flat top valence band which is favorable for high temperature superconductivity, we also explore the superconducting properties of hole-doped monolayer arsenene under different strains. the unstrained monolayer arsenene superconducts at T c  =  0.22 K with 0.1 hole/cell doping. By applying 3% biaxial strain, T c can be lifted up strikingly to 6.69 K due to a strong Fermi nesting of the nearly flat band. Then T c decreases slowly with strain. Our findings provide another insight to realize 2D superconductivity and suggest that the strain is crucial to further enhance the transition temperature.

  20. Solderability study of RABiTS-based YBCO coated conductors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Yifei; Duckworth, Robert C.; Ha, Tam T.; Gouge, Michael J.

    2011-08-01

    The solderability of commercially available YBa2Cu3O7-x (YBCO) coated conductors that were made from Rolling Assisted Biaxially Textured Substrates (RABiTS)-based templates was studied. The coated conductors, also known as second-generation (2G) high temperature superconductor (HTS) wires (in the geometry of flat tapes about 4 mm wide), were laminated with copper, brass, or stainless steel strips as stabilizers. To understand the factors that influence their solderability, surface profilometry and scanning electron microscopy were used to characterize the wire surfaces. The solderability of three solders, 52In48Sn, 67Bi33In, and 100In (wt.%), was evaluated using a standard test (IPC/ECA J-STD-002) and with two different commercial fluxes. It was found that the solderability varied with the solder and flux but the three different wires showed similar solderability for a fixed combination of solder and flux. Solder joints of the 2G wires were fabricated using the tools and the procedures recommended by the HTS wire manufacturer. The solder joints were made in a lap-joint geometry and with the superconducting sides of the two wires face-to-face. The electrical resistances of the solder joints were measured at 77 K, and the results were analyzed to qualify the soldering materials and evaluate the soldering process. It was concluded that although the selection of soldering materials affected the resistance of a solder joint, the resistivity of the stabilizer was the dominant factor.

  1. Origin of Superconductivity and Latent Charge Density Wave in NbS2

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Heil, Christoph; Poncé, Samuel; Lambert, Henry; Schlipf, Martin; Margine, Elena R.; Giustino, Feliciano

    2017-08-01

    We elucidate the origin of the phonon-mediated superconductivity in 2 H -NbS2 using the ab initio anisotropic Migdal-Eliashberg theory including Coulomb interactions. We demonstrate that superconductivity is associated with Fermi surface hot spots exhibiting an unusually strong electron-phonon interaction. The electron-lattice coupling is dominated by low-energy anharmonic phonons, which place the system on the verge of a charge density wave instability. We also provide definitive evidence for two-gap superconductivity in 2 H -NbS2 , and show that the low- and high-energy peaks observed in tunneling spectra correspond to the Γ - and K -centered Fermi surface pockets, respectively. The present findings call for further efforts to determine whether our proposed mechanism underpins superconductivity in the whole family of metallic transition metal dichalcogenides.

  2. Superconducting Properties of CeIr3 Single Crystal

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sato, Yoshiki J.; Nakamura, Ai; Shimizu, Yusei; Maurya, Arvind; Homma, Yoshiya; Li, Dexin; Honda, Fuminori; Aoki, Dai

    2018-05-01

    Superconducting properties of CeIr3 single crystal with rhombohedral structure were examined for the first time using DC magnetization, specific heat, and electrical resistivity measurements. A bulk type-II superconductivity was clearly detected at Tc = 3.4 K, which is the second highest Tc among Ce-based intermetallic compounds. The thermodynamic properties as well as an upper critical field Hc2(0) ˜ 46.5 kOe for the H || c-axis are fully consistent with the weak-coupling BCS regime. The observed √{H} variation of C(H)/T becomes less pronounced upon cooling, possibly suggesting a suppression of low-energy quasiparticle excitations in an anisotropic s-wave gap in CeIr3, as observed in CeRu2. The origin of superconductivity is discussed from the viewpoints of the valence of Ce atom and Ir 5d-electron with a strong spin-orbit coupling.

  3. Self-doping processes between planes and chains in the metal-to-superconductor transition of YBa2Cu3O6.9.

    PubMed

    Magnuson, M; Schmitt, T; Strocov, V N; Schlappa, J; Kalabukhov, A S; Duda, L-C

    2014-11-12

    The interplay between the quasi 1-dimensional CuO-chains and the 2-dimensional CuO2 planes of YBa(2)Cu(3)O(6+x) (YBCO) has been in focus for a long time. Although the CuO-chains are known to be important as charge reservoirs that enable superconductivity for a range of oxygen doping levels in YBCO, the understanding of the dynamics of its temperature-driven metal-superconductor transition (MST) remains a challenge. We present a combined study using x-ray absorption spectroscopy and resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) revealing how a reconstruction of the apical O(4)-derived interplanar orbitals during the MST of optimally doped YBCO leads to substantial hole-transfer from the chains into the planes, i.e. self-doping. Our ionic model calculations show that localized divalent charge-transfer configurations are expected to be abundant in the chains of YBCO. While these indeed appear in the RIXS spectra from YBCO in the normal, metallic, state, they are largely suppressed in the superconducting state and, instead, signatures of Cu trivalent charge-transfer configurations in the planes become enhanced. In the quest for understanding the fundamental mechanism for high-Tc-superconductivity (HTSC) in perovskite cuprate materials, the observation of such an interplanar self-doping process in YBCO opens a unique novel channel for studying the dynamics of HTSC.

  4. Classification of "multipole" superconductivity in multiorbital systems and its implications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nomoto, T.; Hattori, K.; Ikeda, H.

    2016-11-01

    Motivated by a growing interest in multiorbital superconductors with spin-orbit interactions, we perform the group-theoretical classification of various unconventional superconductivity emerging in symmorphic O , D4, and D6 space groups. The generalized Cooper pairs, which we here call "multipole" superconductivity, possess spin-orbital coupled (multipole) degrees of freedom, instead of the conventional spin singlet/triplet in single-orbital systems. From the classification, we obtain the following key consequences, which have never been focused in the long history of research in this field: (1) A superconducting gap function with Γ9⊗Γ9 in D6 possesses nontrivial momentum dependence different from the usual spin-1/2 classification. (2) Unconventional gap structure can be realized in the BCS approximation of purely local (onsite) interactions irrespective of attraction/repulsion. It implies the emergence of an electron-phonon (e-ph) driven unconventional superconductivity. (3) Reflecting symmetry of orbital basis functions there appear not symmetry protected but inevitable line nodes/gap minima, and thus, anisotropic s -wave superconductivity can be naturally explained even in the absence of competing fluctuations.

  5. Microstructural control and superconducting properties of YBCO melt textured single crystals

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jongprateep, Oratai

    The high temperature superconductor has great potential for practical applications such as superconducting energy storage systems. Since the levitation force, required specifically for these applications, largely depends on the critical current density and loop size of the superconducting current, large-sized single crystals with high critical current density are desired. To achieve the goal in fabricating YBa2Cu3O 7-delta (Y123) samples suitable for the applications, detailed and systematic studies are required to gain further understanding of the crystal growth and flux pinning mechanisms. This research is aimed at constituting a contribution to the knowledge base for the Y123 high temperature superconductor field by extending the study of processing conditions involved in controlling the microstructure of the Y123 superconductors for the enhancement of crystal growth and superconductor properties. Relations among processing parameters, microstructure, crystal growth, and critical current density of Y123 superconductors have been established. The experimental results reveal that low heating rate and short holding time can lead to refinement of Y2BaCuO5 (Y211) particles, which is strongly favorable to enhancement of the crystal growth and electrical properties of the Y123 superconductors. It was observed that relatively large Y123 crystals (17-22 mm in size) can be obtained with fine needle-shaped Y211 particles, processed with low heating rate and short holding time at the maximum temperatures. Additionally, the research also formulated a technique to fabricate Y123 superconductors with improved electrical properties required for the practical applications. By incorporating additives such as BaCeO3, BaSnO 3, Pt and Nd2O3 into Y123 superconductors, refinement of Y211 particles occurs. In addition, secondary phase particles with sizes in sub-micrometer and nanometer range can be formed in the Y123 superconductors. The interfaces between the Y123 matrix and these Y

  6. Reprint of “Performance analysis of a model-sized superconducting DC transmission system based VSC-HVDC transmission technologies using RTDS”

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dinh, Minh-Chau; Ju, Chang-Hyeon; Kim, Sung-Kyu; Kim, Jin-Geun; Park, Minwon; Yu, In-Keun

    2013-01-01

    The combination of a high temperature superconducting DC power cable and a voltage source converter based HVDC (VSC-HVDC) creates a new option for transmitting power with multiple collection and distribution points for long distance and bulk power transmissions. It offers some greater advantages compared with HVAC or conventional HVDC transmission systems, and it is well suited for the grid integration of renewable energy sources in existing distribution or transmission systems. For this reason, a superconducting DC transmission system based HVDC transmission technologies is planned to be set up in the Jeju power system, Korea. Before applying this system to a real power system on Jeju Island, system analysis should be performed through a real time test. In this paper, a model-sized superconducting VSC-HVDC system, which consists of a small model-sized VSC-HVDC connected to a 2 m YBCO HTS DC model cable, is implemented. The authors have performed the real-time simulation method that incorporates the model-sized superconducting VSC-HVDC system into the simulated Jeju power system using Real Time Digital Simulator (RTDS). The performance analysis of the superconducting VSC-HVDC systems has been verified by the proposed test platform and the results were discussed in detail.

  7. Modeling tunneling for the unconventional superconducting proximity effect

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Zareapour, Parisa; Xu, Jianwei; Zhao, Shu Yang F.

    Recently there has been reinvigorated interest in the superconducting proximity effect, driven by predictions of the emergence of Majorana fermions. To help guide this search, we have developed a phenomenological model for the tunneling spectra in anisotropic superconductor-normal metal proximity devices. We combine successful approaches used in s-wave proximity and standard d-wave tunneling to reproduce tunneling spectra in d-wave proximity devices, and clarify the origin of various features. Different variations of the pair potential are considered, resulting from the proximity-induced superconductivity. Furthermore, the effective pair potential felt by the quasiparticles is momentum-dependent in contrast to s-wave superconductors. The probabilities ofmore » reflection and transmission are calculated by solving the Bogoliubov equations. Our results are consistent with experimental observations of the unconventional proximity effect and provide important experimental parameters such as the size and length scale of the proximity induced gap, as well as the conditions needed to observe the reduced and full superconducting gaps.« less

  8. Modeling tunneling for the unconventional superconducting proximity effect

    DOE PAGES

    Zareapour, Parisa; Xu, Jianwei; Zhao, Shu Yang F.; ...

    2016-10-12

    Recently there has been reinvigorated interest in the superconducting proximity effect, driven by predictions of the emergence of Majorana fermions. To help guide this search, we have developed a phenomenological model for the tunneling spectra in anisotropic superconductor-normal metal proximity devices. We combine successful approaches used in s-wave proximity and standard d-wave tunneling to reproduce tunneling spectra in d-wave proximity devices, and clarify the origin of various features. Different variations of the pair potential are considered, resulting from the proximity-induced superconductivity. Furthermore, the effective pair potential felt by the quasiparticles is momentum-dependent in contrast to s-wave superconductors. The probabilities ofmore » reflection and transmission are calculated by solving the Bogoliubov equations. Our results are consistent with experimental observations of the unconventional proximity effect and provide important experimental parameters such as the size and length scale of the proximity induced gap, as well as the conditions needed to observe the reduced and full superconducting gaps.« less

  9. Anisotropic two-gap superconductivity and the absence of a Pauli paramagnetic limit in single-crystalline LaO0.5F0.5BiS2

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chan, Y. C.; Yip, K. Y.; Cheung, Y. W.; Chan, Y. T.; Niu, Q.; Kajitani, J.; Higashinaka, R.; Matsuda, T. D.; Yanase, Y.; Aoki, Y.; Lai, K. T.; Goh, Swee K.

    2018-03-01

    Ambient-pressure-grown LaO0.5F0.5BiS2 with a superconducting transition temperature Tc˜3 K possesses a highly anisotropic normal state. By a series of electrical resistivity measurements with a magnetic-field direction varying between the crystalline c axis and the a b plane, we present datasets displaying the temperature dependence of the out-of-plane upper critical field Hc2 ⊥(T ) , the in-plane upper critical field Hc2 ∥(T ) , as well as the angular dependence of Hc 2 at fixed temperatures for ambient-pressure-grown LaO0.5F0.5BiS2 single crystals. The anisotropy of the superconductivity, Hc2 ∥/Hc2 ⊥ , reaches ˜16 on approaching 0 K, but it decreases significantly near Tc. A pronounced upward curvature of Hc2 ∥(T ) is observed near Tc, which we analyze using a two-gap model. Moreover, Hc2 ∥(0 ) is found to exceed the Pauli paramagnetic limit, which can be understood by considering the strong spin-orbit coupling associated with Bi as well as the breaking of the local inversion symmetry at the electronically active BiS2 bilayers. Hence, LaO0.5F0.5BiS2 with a centrosymmetric lattice structure is a unique platform to explore the physics associated with local parity violation in the bulk crystal.

  10. Solderability Study of RABiTS-Based YBCO Coated Conductors

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Zhang, Yifei; Duckworth, Robert C; Ha, Tam T

    2011-01-01

    The solderability of commercially available YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7-x} (YBCO) coated conductors that were made from Rolling Assisted Biaxially Textured Substrates (RABiTS)-based templates was studied. The coated conductors, also known as second-generation (2G) high temperature superconductor (HTS) wires (in the geometry of flat tapes about 4 mm wide), were laminated with copper, brass, or stainless steel strips as stabilizers. To understand the factors that influence their solderability, surface profilometry and scanning electron microscopy were used to characterize the wire surfaces. The solderability of three solders, 52In48Sn, 67Bi33In, and 100In (wt.%), was evaluated using a standard test (IPC/ECA J-STD-002) and withmore » two different commercial fluxes. It was found that the solderability varied with the solder and flux but the three different wires showed similar solderability for a fixed combination of solder and flux. Solder joints of the 2G wires were fabricated using the tools and the procedures recommended by the HTS wire manufacturer. The solder joints were made in a lap-joint geometry and with the superconducting sides of the two wires face-to-face. The electrical resistances of the solder joints were measured at 77 K, and the results were analyzed to qualify the soldering materials and evaluate the soldering process. It was concluded that although the selection of soldering materials affected the resistance of a solder joint, the resistivity of the stabilizer was the dominant factor.« less

  11. Asymmetry of the velocity-matching steps in YBCO long Josephson junctions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Revin, L. S.; Pankratov, A. L.; Chiginev, A. V.; Masterov, D. V.; Parafin, A. E.; Pavlov, S. A.

    2018-04-01

    We carry out experimental and theoretical investigations into the effect of the vortex chain propagation on the current-voltage characteristics of YBa2Cu3O7-δ (YBCO) long Josephson junctions. Samples of YBCO Josephson junctions, fabricated on 24° [001]-tilt bicrystal substrates, have been measured. The improved technology has allowed us to observe and study the asymmetry of the current-voltage characteristics with opposite magnetic fields (Revin et al 2012 J. Appl. Phys. 114 243903), which we believe occurs due to anisotropy of bicrystal substrates (Kupriyanov et al (2013 JETP Lett. 95 289)). Specifically, we examine the flux-flow resonant steps versus the external magnetic field, and study the differential resistance and its relation to oscillation power for opposite directions of vortex propagation.

  12. Interplay between current driven ferromagnetism in charge ordered antiferromagnetic Pr0.5Ca0.5MnO3 and superconducting YBa2Cu3O7-δ thin film multilayer

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Baisnab, Dipak Kumar; Sardar, Manas; Amaladass, E. P.; Vaidhyanathan, L. S.; Baskaran, R.

    2018-07-01

    Thin film multilayer heterostructure of alternate YBa2Cu3O7-δ (YBCO) and Pr0.5Ca0.5MnO3 (PCMO) with thickness of each layer ∼60 nm has been deposited on (100) oriented SrTiO3 substrate by Pulsed Laser Deposition technique. A half portion of the base YBCO layer was masked in situ using mechanical shadow mask and in the remaining half portion, five alternate layers of PCMO and YBCO thin films were deposited. Magnetoresistance measurements were carried out under externally applied magnetic field and injection current. A noticeable damped oscillation of the superconducting transition temperature (TC) of this multilayer with respect to magnetic field is seen. Curiously, the field at which the first minimum in TC occurs, decreases as an injection current is driven perpendicular/parallel to the multilayers. Both these phenomena indicate that ferromagnetic correlation can be induced in antiferromagnetic PCMO thin films by (1) external magnetic field, or (2) injection current. While (1) is well researched, our study indicates that ferromagnetism can be induced by small amount of current in PCMO thin films. This unusual behavior points towards the strongly correlated nature of electrons in PCMO.

  13. Analysis of YBCO high temperature superconductor doped with silver nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes using Williamson-Hall and size-strain plot

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dadras, Sedigheh; Davoudiniya, Masoumeh

    2018-05-01

    This paper sets out to investigate and compare the effects of Ag nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) doping on the mechanical properties of Y1Ba2Cu3O7-δ (YBCO) high temperature superconductor. For this purpose, the pure and doped YBCO samples were synthesized by sol-gel method. The microstructural analysis of the samples is performed using X-ray diffraction (XRD). The crystalline size, lattice strain and stress of the pure and doped YBCO samples were estimated by modified forms of Williamson-Hall analysis (W-H), namely, uniform deformation model (UDM), uniform deformation stress model (UDSM) and the size-strain plot method (SSP). These results show that the crystalline size, lattice strain and stress of the YBCO samples declined by Ag nanoparticles and CNTs doping.

  14. Antiferroic electronic structure in the nonmagnetic superconducting state of the iron-based superconductors

    PubMed Central

    Shimojima, Takahiro; Malaeb, Walid; Nakamura, Asuka; Kondo, Takeshi; Kihou, Kunihiro; Lee, Chul-Ho; Iyo, Akira; Eisaki, Hiroshi; Ishida, Shigeyuki; Nakajima, Masamichi; Uchida, Shin-ichi; Ohgushi, Kenya; Ishizaka, Kyoko; Shin, Shik

    2017-01-01

    A major problem in the field of high-transition temperature (Tc) superconductivity is the identification of the electronic instabilities near superconductivity. It is known that the iron-based superconductors exhibit antiferromagnetic order, which competes with the superconductivity. However, in the nonmagnetic state, there are many aspects of the electronic instabilities that remain unclarified, as represented by the orbital instability and several in-plane anisotropic physical properties. We report a new aspect of the electronic state of the optimally doped iron-based superconductors by using high–energy resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. We find spectral evidence for the folded electronic structure suggestive of an antiferroic electronic instability, coexisting with the superconductivity in the nonmagnetic state of Ba1−xKxFe2As2. We further establish a phase diagram showing that the antiferroic electronic structure persists in a large portion of the nonmagnetic phase covering the superconducting dome. These results motivate consideration of a key unknown electronic instability, which is necessary for the achievement of high-Tc superconductivity in the iron-based superconductors. PMID:28875162

  15. Antiferroic electronic structure in the nonmagnetic superconducting state of the iron-based superconductors.

    PubMed

    Shimojima, Takahiro; Malaeb, Walid; Nakamura, Asuka; Kondo, Takeshi; Kihou, Kunihiro; Lee, Chul-Ho; Iyo, Akira; Eisaki, Hiroshi; Ishida, Shigeyuki; Nakajima, Masamichi; Uchida, Shin-Ichi; Ohgushi, Kenya; Ishizaka, Kyoko; Shin, Shik

    2017-08-01

    A major problem in the field of high-transition temperature ( T c ) superconductivity is the identification of the electronic instabilities near superconductivity. It is known that the iron-based superconductors exhibit antiferromagnetic order, which competes with the superconductivity. However, in the nonmagnetic state, there are many aspects of the electronic instabilities that remain unclarified, as represented by the orbital instability and several in-plane anisotropic physical properties. We report a new aspect of the electronic state of the optimally doped iron-based superconductors by using high-energy resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. We find spectral evidence for the folded electronic structure suggestive of an antiferroic electronic instability, coexisting with the superconductivity in the nonmagnetic state of Ba 1- x K x Fe 2 As 2 . We further establish a phase diagram showing that the antiferroic electronic structure persists in a large portion of the nonmagnetic phase covering the superconducting dome. These results motivate consideration of a key unknown electronic instability, which is necessary for the achievement of high- T c superconductivity in the iron-based superconductors.

  16. Trapped Field Characteristics of Stacked YBCO Thin Plates for Compact NMR Magnets: Spatial Field Distribution and Temporal Stability

    PubMed Central

    Hahn, Seungyong; Kim, Seok Beom; Ahn, Min Cheol; Voccio, John; Bascuñán, Juan; Iwasa, Yukikazu

    2010-01-01

    This paper presents experimental and analytical results of trapped field characteristics of a stack of square YBCO thin film plates for compact NMR magnets. Each YBCO plate, 40 mm × 40 mm × 0.08 mm, has a 25-mm diameter hole at its center. A total of 500 stacked plates were used to build a 40-mm long magnet. Its trapped field, in a bath of liquid nitrogen, was measured for spatial field distribution and temporal stability. Comparison of measured and analytical results is presented: the effects on trapped field characteristics of the unsaturated nickel substrate and the non-uniform current distribution in the YBCO plate are discussed. PMID:20585463

  17. Relationship of the Levitation Force Between Single and Multiple YBCO Bulks Above a Permanent Magnet Guideway Operating Dive-Lift Movement with Different Angles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zeng, R.; Wang, S. Y.; Liao, X. L.; Deng, Z. G.; Wang, J. S.

    2013-04-01

    In practical applications, the acceleration and deceleration motions inevitably happen in the operation of high temperature superconducting (HTS) maglev trains. For further research of the maglev properties of YBaCuO bulk above a permanent magnet guideway (PMG), by moving a fixed vertical distance, this paper studies the relationship of the levitation force between single and multiple YBCO bulks above a PMG operating dive-lift movement with different angles. Experimental results show that the maximal levitation force increment of two bulks than one bulk is smaller than the maximal levitation force increment of three bulks than two bulks. With the degree decreasing, the maximal levitation force increment of three bulks is bigger than the maximal levitation force increment of two bulks and one bulk, and the hysteresis loop of the levitation force of the three-bulk arrangement is getting smaller.

  18. Tailoring Superconductivity with Quantum Dislocations.

    PubMed

    Li, Mingda; Song, Qichen; Liu, Te-Huan; Meroueh, Laureen; Mahan, Gerald D; Dresselhaus, Mildred S; Chen, Gang

    2017-08-09

    Despite the established knowledge that crystal dislocations can affect a material's superconducting properties, the exact mechanism of the electron-dislocation interaction in a dislocated superconductor has long been missing. Being a type of defect, dislocations are expected to decrease a material's superconducting transition temperature (T c ) by breaking the coherence. Yet experimentally, even in isotropic type I superconductors, dislocations can either decrease, increase, or have little influence on T c . These experimental findings have yet to be understood. Although the anisotropic pairing in dirty superconductors has explained impurity-induced T c reduction, no quantitative agreement has been reached in the case a dislocation given its complexity. In this study, by generalizing the one-dimensional quantized dislocation field to three dimensions, we reveal that there are indeed two distinct types of electron-dislocation interactions. Besides the usual electron-dislocation potential scattering, there is another interaction driving an effective attraction between electrons that is caused by dislons, which are quantized modes of a dislocation. The role of dislocations to superconductivity is thus clarified as the competition between the classical and quantum effects, showing excellent agreement with existing experimental data. In particular, the existence of both classical and quantum effects provides a plausible explanation for the illusive origin of dislocation-induced superconductivity in semiconducting PbS/PbTe superlattice nanostructures. A quantitative criterion has been derived, in which a dislocated superconductor with low elastic moduli and small electron effective mass and in a confined environment is inclined to enhance T c . This provides a new pathway for engineering a material's superconducting properties by using dislocations as an additional degree of freedom.

  19. Doping-dependent anisotropic superconducting gap in Na1-δ(Fe1-xCox)As from London penetration depth

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Cho, Kyuil; Tanatar, Makariy A.; Spyrison, Nicholas

    2012-07-30

    The London penetration depth was measured in single crystals of self-doped Na1-δFeAs (from under doping to optimal doping, Tc from 14 to 27 K) and electron-doped Na(Fe1-xCox)As with x ranging from undoped, x=0, to overdoped, x=0.1. In all samples, the low-temperature variation of the penetration depth exhibits a power-law dependence, Δλ(T)=ATn, with the exponent that varies in a domelike fashion from n˜1.1 in the underdoped, reaching a maximum of n˜1.9 in the optimally doped, and decreasing again to n˜1.3 on the overdoped side. While the anisotropy of the gap structure follows a universal domelike evolution, the exponent at optimal doping,more » n˜1.9, is lower than in other charge-doped Fe-based superconductors (FeSCs). The full-temperature range superfluid density, ρs(T)=λ(0)/λ(T)2, at optimal doping is also distinctly different from other charge-doped FeSCs but is similar to isovalently substituted BaFe2(As1-xPx)2, believed to be a nodal pnictide at optimal doping. These results suggest that the superconducting gap in Na(Fe1-xCox)As is highly anisotropic even at optimal doping.« less

  20. High speed production of YBCO precursor films by advanced TFA-MOD process

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ichikawa, H.; Nakaoka, K.; Miura, M.; Sutoh, Y.; Nakanishi, T.; Nakai, A.; Yoshizumi, M.; Izumi, T.; Shiohara, Y.

    2009-10-01

    YBa 2Cu 3O 7-y (YBCO) long tapes derived from the metal-organic deposition (MOD) method using the starting solution containing trifluoroacetate (TFA) have been developed with high critical currents ( I c) over 200 A/cm-width. However, high speed production of YBCO films is simultaneously necessary to satisfy the requirements of electric power device applications in terms of cost and the amounts of the tapes. In this work, we developed a new TFA-MOD starting solution using F-free salt of Y, TFA salt of Ba and Cu-Octylate for application to the coating/calcination process and discussed several issues by using the Multi-turn (MT) Reel-to-Reel (RTR) system calcination furnace for the purpose of high throughput without degradation of the properties. The coating system was improved for uniform deposition qualities in both longitudinal and transversal directions. YBCO films using the new starting solution at the traveling rate of 10 m/h in coating/calcination by the MT-RTR calcination furnace showed the values of the critical current density of 1.6 MA/cm 2 as thick as 1.5 μm at 77 K under the self fields after firing at the high heating rate in the crystallization.

  1. Anisotropic upper critical fields up to 63 T in CaKFe 4As 4 single crystals

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kong, T.; Balakirev, Fedor Fedorovich; Meier, W. R.

    2017-02-13

    The discovery of Fe-based superconductors (FBS) has intensified research on mechanisms of hightemperature superconductivity as well as searches for materials with higher superconducting transition temperatures, Tc. Among many different classes of FBS, the so called “122” family is one of the most well studied systems. However, superconductivity in “122” systems is often stabilized via chemical substitution, which inevitably invites chemical disorder. Recently, a new compound, CaKFe 4As 4, with a well ordered structure that is essentially composed of alternating “122” layers, was discovered with a T c of 35 K. We were able to perform the first single crystal studymore » and measured the anisotropic upper critical fields, H c2, up to 63 T.« less

  2. Doping dependence of low-energy quasiparticle excitations in superconducting Bi2212.

    PubMed

    Ino, Akihiro; Anzai, Hiroaki; Arita, Masashi; Namatame, Hirofumi; Taniguchi, Masaki; Ishikado, Motoyuki; Fujita, Kazuhiro; Ishida, Shigeyuki; Uchida, Shinichi

    2013-12-05

    : The doping-dependent evolution of the d-wave superconducting state is studied from the perspective of the angle-resolved photoemission spectra of a high-Tc cuprate, Bi2Sr2CaCu2 O8+δ (Bi2212). The anisotropic evolution of the energy gap for Bogoliubov quasiparticles is parametrized by critical temperature and superfluid density. The renormalization of nodal quasiparticles is evaluated in terms of mass enhancement spectra. These quantities shed light on the strong coupling nature of electron pairing and the impact of forward elastic or inelastic scatterings. We suggest that the quasiparticle excitations in the superconducting cuprates are profoundly affected by doping-dependent screening.

  3. Doping dependence of low-energy quasiparticle excitations in superconducting Bi2212

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    The doping-dependent evolution of the d-wave superconducting state is studied from the perspective of the angle-resolved photoemission spectra of a high-Tc cuprate, Bi2Sr2CaCu2 O8+δ (Bi2212). The anisotropic evolution of the energy gap for Bogoliubov quasiparticles is parametrized by critical temperature and superfluid density. The renormalization of nodal quasiparticles is evaluated in terms of mass enhancement spectra. These quantities shed light on the strong coupling nature of electron pairing and the impact of forward elastic or inelastic scatterings. We suggest that the quasiparticle excitations in the superconducting cuprates are profoundly affected by doping-dependent screening. PMID:24314035

  4. Anisotropic breakdown of Fermi liquid quasiparticle excitations in overdoped La₂-xSrxCuO₄.

    PubMed

    Chang, J; Månsson, M; Pailhès, S; Claesson, T; Lipscombe, O J; Hayden, S M; Patthey, L; Tjernberg, O; Mesot, J

    2013-01-01

    High-temperature superconductivity emerges from an un-conventional metallic state. This has stimulated strong efforts to understand exactly how Fermi liquids breakdown and evolve into an un-conventional metal. A fundamental question is how Fermi liquid quasiparticle excitations break down in momentum space. Here we show, using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, that the Fermi liquid quasiparticle excitations of the overdoped superconducting cuprate La1.77Sr0.23CuO4 is highly anisotropic in momentum space. The quasiparticle scattering and residue behave differently along the Fermi surface and hence the Kadowaki-Wood's relation is not obeyed. This kind of Fermi liquid breakdown may apply to a wide range of strongly correlated metal systems where spin fluctuations are present.

  5. Trimming the electrical properties on nanoscale YBa2Cu3O7-x constrictions by focus ion beam technique

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lam, Simon K. H.; Bendavid, Avi; Du, Jia

    2017-09-01

    High temperature superconducting (HTS) nanostructure has a great potential in photon sensing at high frequency due to its fast recovery time. For maximising the coupling efficiency, the normal resistance of the nanostructure needs to be better matched to that of the thin-film antenna, which is typically few tens of ohm. We report on the fabrication of nanoscale high temperature superconducting YBa2Cu3O7-x (YBCO) constrictions using Gallium ion focus ion beam (FIB) technique. The FIB has been used to both remove the YBCO in lateral dimension and also tune its critical current and normal resistance by a combination of surface etching and implantation on the YBCO top layer. High critical current density of 2.5 MA/cm2 at 77 K can be obtained on YBCO nanobridges down to 100 nm in width. Subsequent trimming of the naobridges can lead to a normal resistance value over 50 Ω. Simulation of the Ga ion trajectory has also been performed to compare the measurement results. This method provides a simple step of fabricating nanoscale superconducting detectors such as hot electron bolometer.

  6. Composite ceramic superconducting wires for electric motor applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Halloran, John W.

    1990-07-01

    Several types of HTSC wire have been produced and two types of HTSC motors are being built. Hundreds of meters of Ag- clad wire were fabricated from YBa2Cu3O(7-x) (Y-123) and Bi2Ca2Sr2Cu3O10 (BiSCCO). The dc homopolar motor coils are not yet completed, but multiple turns of wire have been wound on the coil bobbins to characterize the superconducting properties of coiled wire. Multifilamentary conductors were fabricated as cables and coils. The sintered polycrystalline wire has self-field critical current densities (Jc) as high as 2800 A/sq cm, but the Jc falls rapidly with magnetic field. To improve Jc, sintered YBCO wire is melt textured with a continuous process which has produced textures wire up to 0.5 meters long with 77K transport Jc above 11, 770 A/sq cm2 in self field and 2100 A/sq cm2 at 1 telsa. The Emerson Electric dc homopolar HTSC motor has been fabricated and run with conventional copper coils. A novel class of potential very powerful superconducting motors have been designed to use trapped flux in melt textures Y-123 as magnet replicas in an new type of permanent magnet motor. The stator element and part of the rotor of the first prototype machine exist, and the HTSC magnet replica segments are being fabricated.

  7. High T(sub c) superconductor/ferroelectric heterostructures

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ryder, Daniel F., Jr.

    1994-12-01

    Thin films of the ferroelectric perovskite, Ba(x) Sr(1-x) TiO3 (BST), were deposited on superconducting (100)YBa2Cu3O(x)(YBCO)/ (100)Yttria-stabilized zirconia(YSZ) substrates and (100)Si by ion-beam sputtering. Microstructural and compositional features of the ceramic bilayer were assessed by a combination of x-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy. The films were smooth and featureless, and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX) data indicated that film composition closely matched target composition. XRD analysis showed that films deposited on YBCO substrates were highly c-axis textured, while the films deposited on (100)Si did not exhibit any preferred growth morphology. The superconducting properties of the YBCO substrate layer were maintained throughout the processing stages and, as such, it was demonstrated that ion beam sputtering is a viable method for the deposition of Ferroelectric/YBCO heterostructures.

  8. Superconducting magnetic coil

    DOEpatents

    Aized, Dawood; Schwall, Robert E.

    1999-06-22

    A superconducting magnetic coil includes a plurality of sections positioned axially along the longitudinal axis of the coil, each section being formed of an anisotropic high temperature superconductor material wound about a longitudinal axis of the coil and having an associated critical current value that is dependent on the orientation of the magnetic field of the coil. The cross section of the superconductor, or the type of superconductor material, at sections along the axial and radial axes of the coil are changed to provide an increased critical current at those regions where the magnetic field is oriented more perpendicularly to the conductor plane, to thereby increase the critical current at these regions and to maintain an overall higher critical current of the coil.

  9. Superconducting magnetic coil

    DOEpatents

    Aized, Dawood; Schwall, Robert E.

    1996-06-11

    A superconducting magnetic coil includes a plurality of sections positioned axially along the longitudinal axis of the coil, each section being formed of an anisotropic high temperature superconductor material wound about a longitudinal axis of the coil and having an associated critical current value that is dependent on the orientation of the magnetic field of the coil. The cross section of the superconductor, or the type of superconductor material, at sections along the axial and radial axes of the coil are changed to provide an increased critical current at those regions where the magnetic field is oriented more perpendicularly to the conductor plane, to thereby increase the critical current at these regions and to maintain an overall higher critical current of the coil.

  10. Superconducting magnetic coil

    DOEpatents

    Aized, D.; Schwall, R.E.

    1999-06-22

    A superconducting magnetic coil includes a plurality of sections positioned axially along the longitudinal axis of the coil, each section being formed of an anisotropic high temperature superconductor material wound about a longitudinal axis of the coil and having an associated critical current value that is dependent on the orientation of the magnetic field of the coil. The cross section of the superconductor, or the type of superconductor material, at sections along the axial and radial axes of the coil are changed to provide an increased critical current at those regions where the magnetic field is oriented more perpendicularly to the conductor plane, to thereby increase the critical current at these regions and to maintain an overall higher critical current of the coil. 15 figs.

  11. Superconducting dome in doped quasi-two-dimensional organic Mott insulators: A paradigm for strongly correlated superconductivity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hébert, Charles-David; Sémon, Patrick; Tremblay, A.-M. S.

    2015-11-01

    Layered organic superconductors of the BEDT family are model systems for understanding the interplay of the Mott transition with superconductivity, magnetic order, and frustration, ingredients that are essential to understand superconductivity also in the cuprate high-temperature superconductors. Recent experimental studies on a hole-doped version of the organic compounds reveals an enhancement of superconductivity and a rapid crossover between two different conducting phases above the superconducting dome. One of these phases is a Fermi liquid, the other not. Using plaquette cellular dynamical mean field theory with state-of-the-art continuous-time quantum Monte Carlo calculations, we study this problem with the two-dimensional Hubbard model on the anisotropic triangular lattice. Phase diagrams as a function of temperature T and interaction strength U /t are obtained for anisotropy parameters t'=0.4 t ,t'=0.8 t and for various fillings. As in the case of the cuprates, we find, at finite doping, a first-order transition between two normal-state phases. One of theses phases has a pseudogap while the other does not. At temperatures above the critical point of the first-order transition, there is a Widom line where crossovers occur. The maximum (optimal) superconducting critical temperature Tcm at finite doping is enhanced by about 25% compared with its maximum at half filling and the range of U /t where superconductivity appears is greatly extended. These results are in broad agreement with experiment. Also, increasing frustration (larger t'/t ) significantly reduces magnetic ordering, as expected. This suggests that for compounds with intermediate to high frustration, very light doping should reveal the influence of the first-order transition and associated crossovers. These crossovers could possibly be even visible in the superconducting phase through subtle signatures. We also predict that destroying the superconducting phase by a magnetic field should reveal the

  12. Static Measurements on HTS Coils of Fully Superconducting AC Electric Machines for Aircraft Electric Propulsion System

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Choi, Benjamin B.; Hunker, Keith R.; Hartwig, Jason; Brown, Gerald V.

    2017-01-01

    The NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) has been developing the high efficiency and high-power density superconducting (SC) electric machines in full support of electrified aircraft propulsion (EAP) systems for a future electric aircraft. A SC coil test rig has been designed and built to perform static and AC measurements on BSCCO, (RE)BCO, and YBCO high temperature superconducting (HTS) wire and coils at liquid nitrogen (LN2) temperature. In this paper, DC measurements on five SC coil configurations of various geometry in zero external magnetic field are measured to develop good measurement technique and to determine the critical current (Ic) and the sharpness (n value) of the super-to-normal transition. Also, standard procedures for coil design, fabrication, coil mounting, micro-volt measurement, cryogenic testing, current control, and data acquisition technique were established. Experimentally measured critical currents are compared with theoretical predicted values based on an electric-field criterion (Ec). Data here are essential to quantify the SC electric machine operation limits where the SC begins to exhibit non-zero resistance. All test data will be utilized to assess the feasibility of using HTS coils for the fully superconducting AC electric machine development for an aircraft electric propulsion system.

  13. Fast infrared response of YBCO thin films

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ballentine, P. H.; Kadin, A. M.; Donaldson, W. R.; Scofield, J. H.; Bajuk, L.

    1990-01-01

    The response to short infrared pulses of some epitaxial YBCO films prepared by sputter deposition and by electron-beam evaporation is reported. The response is found to be essentially bolometric on the ns timescale, with some indirect hints of nonequilibrium electron transport on the ps scale. Fast switching could be obtained either by biasing the switch close to the critical current or by cooling the film below about 20 K. These results are encouraging for potential application to a high-current optically-triggered opening switch.

  14. Magnetometric mapping of superconducting RF cavities

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schmitz, B.; Köszegi, J.; Alomari, K.; Kugeler, O.; Knobloch, J.

    2018-05-01

    A scalable mapping system for superconducting RF (SRF) cavities is presented. Currently, it combines local temperature measurement with 3D magnetic field mapping along the outer surface of the resonator. This allows for the observation of dynamic effects that have an impact on the superconducting properties of a cavity, such as the normal to superconducting phase transition or a quench. The system was developed for a single cell 1.3 GHz TESLA-type cavity, but can be easily adopted to arbitrary other cavity types. A data acquisition rate of 500 Hz for all channels simultaneously (i.e., 2 ms acquisition time for a complete map) and a magnetic field resolution of currently up to 14 mA/m/μ0 = 17 nT have been implemented. While temperature mapping is a well known technique in SRF research, the integration of magnetic field mapping opens the possibility of detailed studies of trapped magnetic flux and its impact on the surface resistance. It is shown that magnetic field sensors based on the anisotropic magnetoresistance effect can be used in the cryogenic environment with improved sensitivity compared to room temperature. Furthermore, examples of first successful combined temperature and magnetic-field maps are presented.

  15. Artificial ice using superconducting vortices (Conference Presentation)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Trastoy Quintela, Juan; Malnou, Maxime; Ulysse, Christian; Bernard, Rozenn; Bergeal, Nicolas; Faini, Giancarlo; Lesueur, Jerome; Briatico, Javier; Villegas, Javier E.

    2016-10-01

    We use magnetic flux quanta (superconducting vortices) on artificial energy landscapes (pinning arrays) to create a new type of artificial ice. This vortex ice shows unusual temperature effects that offer new possibilities in the study of ice systems. We have investigated the matching of the flux lattice to pinning arrays that present geometrical frustration. The pinning arrays are fabricated on YBCO films using masked O+ ion irradiation. The details of the magneto-resistance imply that the flux lattice organizes into a vortex ice. The absence of history-dependent effects suggests that the vortex ice is highly ordered. Due to the technique used for the artificial energy landscape fabrication, we have the ability to change the pinning array geometry using temperature as a control knob. In particular we can switch the geometrical frustration on and off, which opens the door to performing a new type of annealing absent in other artificial ice systems. * Work supported by the French ANR "MASTHER", and the Fundación Barrié (Galicia, Spain)

  16. Influence of ZnO doping on the properties of single domain YBCO bulks fabricated by RE+011 TSIG process

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, W. M.; Yuan, X. C.; Guo, Y. X.

    2017-10-01

    Single domain YBCO bulk superconductors with different additions of ZnO have been successfully fabricated by RE+011 TSIG process with a new solid phase of [(100-x)(Y2O3 + 1.2BaCuO2)+xZnO] and a new liquid phase of (Y2O3+6CuO+10BaCuO2). The effects of ZnO additions on the growth morphology, microstructure, critical temperature (Tc), the levitation force and trapped field of the YBCO bulks have been investigated. It is found that within the range of ZnO additions x=0-1.0 wt.%, all the samples are of the typical characteristic of single-domain YBCO bulk; the Tc of the samples decreases from 92 K to 80 K when the ZnO addition x increases from x=0 wt.% to x=1.0 wt.%; the levitation force and trapped field of the samples firstly increase and then decrease with increase of ZnO additions after going through a maximum, which is closely related with the ZnO addition and the resulting flux pinning force caused by lattice distortion due to the substitution of Zn2+ for Cu2+ site in the YBCO crystal; the largest levitation force 36.8 N (77 K, 0.5 T) and trapped field 0.416 T (77 K, 0.5 T) of the samples are obtained when x=0.1 wt.%, respectively. This result is significantly important and helpful for us to improve the properties of YBCO bulk superconductors.

  17. Greatly enhanced flux pinning properties of fluorine-free metal-organic decomposition YBCO films by co-addition of halogens (Cl, Br) and metals (Zr, Sn, Hf)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Motoki, Takanori; Ikeda, Shuhei; Nakamura, Shin-ichi; Honda, Genki; Nagaishi, Tatsuoki; Doi, Toshiya; Shimoyama, Jun-ichi

    2018-04-01

    Additive-free YBCO films, as well as those with halogen (X) added, metal (M) added and (X, M) co-added, have been prepared by the fluorine-free metal-organic decomposition method on SrTiO3(100) single crystalline substrates, where X = Cl, Br and M = Zr, Sn, Hf. It was revealed that the addition of both Cl and Br to the starting solution resulted in the generation of oxyhalide, Ba2Cu3O4 X 2, in the YBCO films, and that the oxyhalide was found to promote the bi-axial orientation of the YBCO crystals. By adding a decent amount of Cl or Br, highly textured YBCO films with high J c were reproducibly obtained, even when an impurity metal, M, was co-added, while the addition of M without X did not greatly improve J c owing to the poor bi-axial orientation of the YBCO crystals. Our results suggest that the addition of Br more effectively enhances J c than the addition of Cl. The pinning force density at 40 K in 4.8 T reached ˜55 GN m-3 with the co-addition of (Br, M). This value is much larger than that of the pure YBCO film, reaching ˜17 GN m-3.

  18. Plasma etching of superconducting Niobium tips for scanning tunneling microscopy

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Roychowdhury, A.; Center for Nanophysics and Advanced Materials, Department of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742; Dana, R.

    We have developed a reproducible technique for the fabrication of sharp superconducting Nb tips for scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and scanning tunneling spectroscopy. Sections of Nb wire with 250 μm diameter are dry etched in an SF₆ plasma in a Reactive Ion Etcher. The gas pressure, etching time, and applied power are chosen to control the ratio of isotropic to anisotropic etch rates and produce the desired tip shape. The resulting tips are atomically sharp, with radii of less than 100 nm, mechanically stable, and superconducting. They generate good STM images and spectroscopy on single crystal samples of Au(111), Au(100),more » and Nb(100), as well as a doped topological insulator Bi₂Se₃ at temperatures ranging from 30 mK to 9 K.« less

  19. Peculiar phase diagram with isolated superconducting regions in ThFeAsN1‑x O x

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Bai-Zhuo; Wang, Zhi-Cheng; Wang, Jia-Lu; Zhang, Fu-Xiang; Wang, Dong-Ze; Zhang, Feng-Yuan; Sun, Yu-Ping; Jing, Qiang; Zhang, Hua-Fu; Tan, Shu-Gang; Li, Yu-Ke; Feng, Chun-Mu; Mei, Yu-Xue; Wang, Cao; Cao, Guang-Han

    2018-06-01

    ThFeAsN1‑x O x () system with heavy electron doping has been studied by the measurements of x-ray diffraction, electrical resistivity, magnetic susceptibility and specific heat. The non-doped compound exhibits superconductivity at K, which is possibly due to an internal uniaxial chemical pressure that is manifested by the extremely small value of As height with respect to the Fe plane. With the oxygen substitution, the T c value decreases rapidly to below 2 K for , and surprisingly, superconductivity re-appears in the range of with a maximum of 17.5 K at x  =  0.3. For the normal-state resistivity, while the samples in intermediate non-superconducting interval exhibit Fermi liquid behavior, those in other regions show a non-Fermi-liquid behavior. The specific heat jump for the superconducting sample of x  =  0.4 is , which is discussed in terms of anisotropic superconducting gap. The peculiar phase diagram in ThFeAsN1‑x O x presents additional ingredients for understanding the superconducting mechanism in iron-based superconductors.

  20. Anisotropy of the upper critical field and its thickness dependence in superconducting FeSe electric-double-layer transistors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shiogai, Junichi; Kimura, Shojiro; Awaji, Satoshi; Nojima, Tsutomu; Tsukazaki, Atsushi

    2018-05-01

    Anisotropy of superconductivity is one of the fundamental physical parameters for understanding layered iron-based superconductors (IBSs). Here we investigated the anisotropic response of resistive transition as a function of thickness (d ) in iron selenide (FeSe) based electric-double-layer transistors (EDLTs) on SrTi O3 , which exhibit superconducting transition temperatures Tc as high as 40 K below d =10 nm . According to the analyses of the in-plane (Hc2 //) and out-of-plane (Hc2 ⊥) upper critical fields (Hc 2) and the magnetic field angle dependence of the resistance (Rs-θ ) in ultrathin condition, we found that the anisotropy factor ɛ0=Hc2 ///Hc2 ⊥ is 7.4 in the thin limit of d ˜1 nm , which is larger than that of bulk IBSs. In addition, we observed the shorter out-of-plane coherence length ξc of 0.19 nm compared to the c -axis lattice constant, which implies the confinement of the order parameter in the one unit cell FeSe. These findings suggest that high-Tc superconductivity in the ultrathin FeSe-EDLT exhibits an anisotropic three-dimensional (3D) or quasi-two-dimensional (2D) nature rather than the pure 2D one, leading to the robust superconductivity. Moreover, we carried out the systematic evaluation of the anisotropic Hc 2 against thickness reduction in the FeSe channel. The in-plane Hc 2 as a function of normalized temperature T /Tc is almost independent of d until the thin limit condition. On the other hand, the out-of-plane Hc 2 near T /Tc˜1 decreases with increasing d , resulting in the increase of ɛ0 at around Tc to 32.0 at the thick condition of d =9.3 nm , which is also confirmed by Rs-θ measurements. The counterintuitive behavior can be attributed to the degree of coupling strength between two electron-rich layers possessing a high superconducting order parameter induced by electrostatic gating at the top interface and charge transfer from SrTi O3 substrates at the bottom interface. Besides a large Hc2 ⊥ for d =9.3 nm exceeding 20 T

  1. High- and Mid-temperature Superconducting Sensors for Far IR/Sub-mm Applications in Space

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lakew, Brook; Brasunas, J. C.

    2004-01-01

    In this review paper an overview of the potential applications of high Tc (approx. 90 K) superconductors (HTS) and mid-Tc (approx. 39 K) superconductors (MTS) thin films in far IR/Sub-mm thermal detectors is presented. HTSs (YBCO, GdBCO etc.) were discovered in the late 80s while superconductivity in MgB2, an MTS, was discovered in 2001. The sharp transition in transport properties of HTS has allowed the fabrication of composite infrared thermal detectors (bolometers) with better figures of merit than thermopile detectors - thermopiles are currently on board the CIRS instrument on the Cassini mission to Saturn. The potential for developing even more sensitive sensors for IR/Sub-mm applications using MgB2 thin films is assessed. Current MgB2 thin film deposition techniques and film quality are reviewed.

  2. Reversal of the Upper Critical Field Anisotropy and Spin-Locked Superconductivity in K 2Cr 3As 3

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Balakirev, Fedor Fedorovich; Kong, T.; Jaime, Marcelo

    2016-02-08

    Recently, superconductivity in K 2Cr 3As 3 (T c =6.1 K) was discovered. The crystalline lattice contains an array of weakly coupled, double well [(Cr 3As 3) 2-] ∞ linkages stretched along the c axis, suggesting the possibility of quasi-one-dimensional superconductivity. Moderately anisotropic upper critical field was revealed in single crystals, with very large initial slopes, dH ∥ c2 /dT=12 T/K along the Cr chains and dH perpendicular c2 /dT =7 T/K perpendicular to the chains. Given the ambiguity of conclusions based on the extrapolations of H c2(T) measured near T c to low temperatures, we performed high-field measurements ofmore » H c2(T) on K 2Cr 3As 3 single crystals in pulsed magnetic fields which enabled us to reveal the full anisotropic H c2(T) curves from T c down to 600 mK.« less

  3. Site selectivity on chalcogen atoms in superconducting La(O,F)BiSSe

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Tanaka, Masashi, E-mail: Tanaka.Masashi@nims.go.jp; Matsushita, Yoshitaka; Fujioka, Masaya

    2015-03-16

    Single crystals of La(O,F)BiSSe were grown by using a CsCl flux method. Single crystal X-ray structural analysis reveals that the crystal structure is isostructural to the BiS{sub 2}- or BiSe{sub 2}-based compounds crystallizing with space group P4/nmm (lattice parameters a = 4.1110(2) Å, c = 13.6010(7) Å). However, the S atoms are selectively occupied at the apical site of the Bi-SSe pyramids in the superconducting layer. The single crystals show a superconducting transition at around 4.2 K in the magnetic susceptibility and resistivity measurements. The superconducting anisotropic parameter is determined to be 34–35 from its upper critical magnetic field. The anisotropy is in the same range withmore » that of other members of the La(O,F)BiCh{sub 2} (Ch = S, Se) family under ambient pressure.« less

  4. Dimensionality of superconductivity in the layered organic material EtMe3P [Pd(dmit)2] 2 under pressure

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yamamoto, R.; Yanagita, Y.; Namaizawa, T.; Komuro, S.; Furukawa, T.; Itou, T.; Kato, R.

    2018-06-01

    We measured the ac magnetic susceptibility for the layered organic superconductor EtMe3P [Pd(dmit)2] 2 under pressure with a dc magnetic field applied perpendicular to the ac field. We investigated the dc field dependence of the ac susceptibility in detail and concluded that the superconductivity in EtMe3P [Pd(dmit)2] 2 is an anisotropic three-dimensional superconductivity even at low temperatures, which contrasts with the large majority of other correlated electron layered superconductors such as high-Tc cuprate and κ -(ET) 2X systems.

  5. Effects of densification of precursor pellets on microstructures and critical current properties of YBCO melt-textured bulks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Setoyama, Yui; Shimoyama, Jun-ichi; Motoki, Takanori; Kishio, Kohji; Awaji, Satoshi; Kon, Koichi; Ichikawa, Naoki; Inamori, Satoshi; Naito, Kyogo

    2016-12-01

    Effects of densification of precursor disks on the density of residual voids and critical current properties for YBCO melt-textured bulk superconductors were systematically investigated. Six YBCO bulks were prepared from precursor pellets with different initial particle sizes of YBa2Cu3Oy (Y123) powder and applied pressures for pelletization. It was revealed that use of finer Y123 powder and consolidation using cold-isostatic-pressing (CIP) with higher pressures result in reduction of residual voids at inner regions of bulks and enhance Jc especially under low fields below the second peak.

  6. Relativistic anisotropic hydrodynamics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Alqahtani, Mubarak; Nopoush, Mohammad; Strickland, Michael

    2018-07-01

    In this paper we review recent progress in relativistic anisotropic hydrodynamics. We begin with a pedagogical introduction to the topic which takes into account the advances in our understanding of this topic since its inception. We consider both conformal and non-conformal systems and demonstrate how one can implement a realistic equation of state using a quasiparticle approach. We then consider the inclusion of non-spheroidal (non-ellipsoidal) corrections to leading-order anisotropic hydrodynamics and present the findings of the resulting second-order viscous anisotropic hydrodynamics framework. We compare the results obtained in both the conformal and non-conformal cases with exact solutions to the Boltzmann equation and demonstrate that, in all known cases, anisotropic hydrodynamics best reproduces the exact solutions. Based on this success, we then discuss the phenomenological application of anisotropic hydrodynamics. Along these lines, we review techniques which can be used to convert a momentum-space anisotropic fluid into hadronic degrees of freedom by generalizing the original idea of Cooper-Frye freeze-out to momentum-space anisotropic systems. And, finally, we present phenomenological results of 3 + 1 d quasiparticle anisotropic hydrodynamic simulations and compare them to experimental data produced in 2.76 TeV Pb-Pb collisions at the LHC. Our results indicate that anisotropic hydrodynamics provides a promising framework for describing the dynamics of the momentum-space anisotropic QGP created in heavy-ion collisions.

  7. Preparation of SmBCO layer for the surface optimization of GdYBCO film by MOCVD process based on a simple self-heating technology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhao, Ruipeng; Zhang, Fei; Liu, Qing; Xia, Yudong; Lu, Yuming; Cai, Chuanbing; Tao, Bowan; Li, Yanrong

    2018-07-01

    The MOCVD process was adopted to grow the REBa2Cu3O7-δ ((REBCO), RE = rare earth elements) films on the LaMnO3 (LMO) templates. Meanwhile, the LMO-template tapes are heated by the joule effect after applying a heating current through the Hastelloy metal substrates. The surface of GdYBCO films prepared by MOCVD method is prone to form outgrowths. So the surface morphology of GdYBCO film is optimized by depositing the SmBCO layer, which is an important process method for the preparation of high-quality multilayer REBCO films. At last, the GdYBCO/SmBCO/GdYBCO multilayer films were successfully prepared on the LMO templates based on the simple self-heating method. It is demonstrated that the GdYBCO surface was well improved by the characterization analysis of scanning electron microscope. And the Δω of REBCO (005) and Δφ of REBCO (103), which were performed by an X-ray diffraction system, are respectively 1.3° and 3.3° What's more, the critical current density (Jc) has been more than 3 MA/cm2 (77 K, 0 T) and the critical current (Ic) basically shows a trend of good linear increase with the increase of the number of REBCO layers.

  8. Peculiar phase diagram with isolated superconducting regions in ThFeAsN1-x O x.

    PubMed

    Li, Bai-Zhuo; Wang, Zhi-Cheng; Wang, Jia-Lu; Zhang, Fu-Xiang; Wang, Dong-Ze; Zhang, Feng-Yuan; Sun, Yu-Ping; Jing, Qiang; Zhang, Hua-Fu; Tan, Shu-Gang; Li, Yu-Ke; Feng, Chun-Mu; Mei, Yu-Xue; Wang, Cao; Cao, Guang-Han

    2018-06-27

    ThFeAsN 1-x O x ([Formula: see text]) system with heavy electron doping has been studied by the measurements of x-ray diffraction, electrical resistivity, magnetic susceptibility and specific heat. The non-doped compound exhibits superconductivity at [Formula: see text] K, which is possibly due to an internal uniaxial chemical pressure that is manifested by the extremely small value of As height with respect to the Fe plane. With the oxygen substitution, the T c value decreases rapidly to below 2 K for [Formula: see text], and surprisingly, superconductivity re-appears in the range of [Formula: see text] with a maximum [Formula: see text] of 17.5 K at x  =  0.3. For the normal-state resistivity, while the samples in intermediate non-superconducting interval exhibit Fermi liquid behavior, those in other regions show a non-Fermi-liquid behavior. The specific heat jump for the superconducting sample of x  =  0.4 is [Formula: see text], which is discussed in terms of anisotropic superconducting gap. The peculiar phase diagram in ThFeAsN 1-x O x presents additional ingredients for understanding the superconducting mechanism in iron-based superconductors.

  9. Variation in superconducting transition temperature due to tetragonal domains in two-dimensionally doped SrTiO 3

    DOE PAGES

    Noad, Hilary; Spanton, Eric M.; Nowack, Katja C.; ...

    2016-11-28

    Strontium titanate is a low-temperature, non–Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer superconductor that superconducts to carrier concentrations lower than in any other system and exhibits avoided ferroelectricity at low temperatures. Neither the mechanism of superconductivity in strontium titanate nor the importance of the structure and dielectric properties for the superconductivity are well understood. We studied the effects of twin structure on superconductivity in a 5.5-nm-thick layer of niobium-doped SrTiO 3 embedded in undoped SrTiO 3. We used a scanning superconducting quantum interference device susceptometer to image the local diamagnetic response of the sample as a function of temperature. We observed regions that exhibited a superconductingmore » transition temperature T c ≳ 10% higher than the temperature at which the sample was fully superconducting. The pattern of these regions varied spatially in a manner characteristic of structural twin domains. Some regions are too wide to originate on twin boundaries; therefore, we propose that the orientation of the tetragonal unit cell with respect to the doped plane affects T c. Finally, our results suggest that the anisotropic dielectric properties of SrTiO 3 are important for its superconductivity and need to be considered in any theory of the mechanism of the superconductivity.« less

  10. Mathematical analysis of the multiband BCS gap equations in superconductivity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, Yisong

    2005-01-01

    In this paper, we present a mathematical analysis for the phonon-dominated multiband isotropic and anisotropic BCS gap equations at any finite temperature T. We establish the existence of a critical temperature T so that, when Tsuperconducting phase; when T>T, the only nonnegative gap solution is the zero solution, representing the normal phase. Furthermore, when T=T, we prove that the only gap solution is the zero solution and that the positive gap solution depend on the temperature Tanisotropic case, we may derive a similar T equation in the context of the Markowitz-Kadanoff model and we prove that the presence of anisotropic fluctuations enhances T as in the single-band case. A special consequence of these results is that the half-unity exponent isotope effect may rigorously be proved in the multiband BCS theory, isotropic or anisotropic.

  11. Large superconducting double-gap, a pronounced pseudogap and evidence for proximity-induced topological superconductivity in the Bi2Te3/Fe1+yTe interfacial superconductor

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shen, J. Y.; He, M. Q.; He, Q. L.; Law, K. T.; Sou, I. K.; Lortz, R.; Petrovic, A. P.

    We investigate directional point-contact spectroscopy on a Bi2Te3/ Fe1+yTe heterostructure, fabricated via van der Waals epitaxy, which is interfacial superconducting with an onset TC at 12K and zero resistance below 8K. A large superconducting twin-gap structure is seen down to 0.27K, together with a zero bias conductance peak. The anisotropic smaller gap (Δ1) is around 5 meV at 0.27K and closes at 8K, while the other one (Δ2), as large as 12 meV, is isotropic and eventually evolves into a pseudogap closing at 40K. Both, the two-gap BTK and Dynes models can well reproduce our data, demonstrating Δ1 should be associated with the proximity-induced superconductivity in the topological Bi2Te3 layer, while Δ2 may be attributed to an intrinsically-doped FeTe thin film at the interface. This work was supported by grants from the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (603010, SEGHKUST03).

  12. Alternating current loss characteristics in (bismuth,lead)SCCO and yttrium barium copper oxide superconducting tapes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nguyen, Doan Ngoc

    Alternating current (AC) loss and current carrying capacity are two of the most crucial considerations in large-scale power applications of high temperature superconducting (HTS) conductors. AC losses result in an increased thermal load for cooling machines, and thus increased operating costs. Furthermore, AC losses can stimulate quenching phenomena or at least decrease the stability margin for superconducting devices. Thus, understanding AC losses is essential for the development of HTS AC applications. The main focus of this dissertation is to make reliable total AC loss measurements and interpret the experimental results in a theoretical framework. With a specially designed magnet, advanced total AC loss measurement system in liquid nitrogen (77 K) has been successfully built. Both calorimetric and electromagnetic methods were employed to confirm the validity of the measured results and to have a more thorough understanding of AC loss in HTS conductors. The measurement is capable of measuring total AC loss in HTS tapes over a wide range of frequency and amplitude of transport current and magnetic field. An accurate phase control technique allows measurement of total AC loss with any phase difference between the transport current and magnetic field by calorimetric method. In addition, a novel total AC loss measurement system with variable temperatures from 30 K to 100 K was successfully built and tested. Understanding the dependence of AC losses on temperature will enable optimization of the operating temperature and design of HTS devices. As a part of the dissertation, numerical calculations using Brandt's model were developed to study electrodynamics and total AC loss in HTS conductors. In the calculations, the superconducting electrical behavior is assumed to follow a power-law model. In general, the practical properties of conductors, including field-dependence of critical current density Jc, n-value and non-uniform distribution of Jc, can be accounted for in

  13. Field Performance of an Optimized Stack of YBCO Square “Annuli” for a Compact NMR Magnet

    PubMed Central

    Hahn, Seungyong; Voccio, John; Bermond, Stéphane; Park, Dong-Keun; Bascuñán, Juan; Kim, Seok-Beom; Masaru, Tomita; Iwasa, Yukikazu

    2011-01-01

    The spatial field homogeneity and time stability of a trapped field generated by a stack of YBCO square plates with a center hole (square “annuli”) was investigated. By optimizing stacking of magnetized square annuli, we aim to construct a compact NMR magnet. The stacked magnet consists of 750 thin YBCO plates, each 40-mm square and 80- μm thick with a 25-mm bore, and has a Ø10 mm room-temperature access for NMR measurement. To improve spatial field homogeneity of the 750-plate stack (YP750) a three-step optimization was performed: 1) statistical selection of best plates from supply plates; 2) field homogeneity measurement of multi-plate modules; and 3) optimal assembly of the modules to maximize field homogeneity. In this paper, we present analytical and experimental results of field homogeneity and temporal stability at 77 K, performed on YP750 and those of a hybrid stack, YPB750, in which two YBCO bulk annuli, each Ø46 mm and 16-mm thick with a 25-mm bore, are added to YP750, one at the top and the other at the bottom. PMID:22081753

  14. A Cryogenic Magnetostrictive Actuator Using a Persistent High Temperature Superconducting Magnet. Part 1; Concept and Design

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Horner, Garnett; Bromberg, Leslie; Teter, J. P.

    2000-01-01

    Cryogenic magnetostrictive materials, such as rare earth zinc crystals, offer high strains and high forces with minimally applied magnetic fields, making the material ideally suited for deformable optics applications. For cryogenic temperature applications the use of superconducting magnets offer the possibility of a persistent mode of operation, i.e., the magnetostrictive material will maintain a strain field without power. High temperature superconductors (HTS) are attractive options if the temperature of operation is higher than 10 degrees Kelvin (K) and below 77 K. However, HTS wires have constraints that limit the minimum radius of winding, and even if good wires can be produced, the technology for joining superconducting wires does not exist. In this paper, the design and capabilities of a rare earth zinc magnetostrictive actuator using bulk HTS is described. Bulk superconductors can be fabricated in the sizes required with excellent superconducting properties. Equivalent permanent magnets, made with this inexpensive material, are persistent, do not require a persistent switch as in HTS wires, and can be made very small. These devices are charged using a technique which is similar to the one used for charging permanent magnets, e.g., by driving them into saturation. A small normal conducting coil can be used for charging or discharging. Because of the magnetic field capability of the superconductor material, a very small amount of superconducting magnet material is needed to actuate the rare earth zinc. In this paper, several designs of actuators using YBCO and BSCCO 2212 superconducting materials are presented. Designs that include magnetic shielding to prevent interaction between adjacent actuators will also be described. Preliminary experimental results and comparison with theory for BSCCO 2212 with a magnetostrictive element will be discussed.

  15. Positron Annihilation Measurements of High Temperature Superconductors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jung, Kang

    1995-01-01

    The temperature dependence of positron annihilation parameters has been measured for basic YBCO, Dy-doped, and Pr-doped superconducting compounds. The physical properties, such as crystal structure, electrical resistance, and critical temperature, have been studied for all samples. In the basic YBCO and Dy-doped samples, the defect -related lifetime component tau_{2 } was approximately constant from room temperature to above the critical temperature and then showed a step -like decrease in the temperature range 90K { ~} 40K. No significant temperature dependence was found in the short- and long-lifetime components, tau_{1} and tau_{3}. The x-ray diffraction data showed that the crystal structure of these two samples was almost the same. These results indicated that the electronic structure changed below the critical temperature. No transition was observed in the Pr-doped YBCO sample. The advanced computer program "PFPOSFIT" for positron lifetime analysis was modified to run on the UNIX system of the University of Utah. The destruction of superconductivity with Pr doping may be due to mechanisms such as hole filling or hole localization of the charge carriers and may be related to the valence state of the Pr ion. One-parameter analyses like the positron mean lifetime parameter and the Doppler line shape parameter S also have been studied. It was found that a transition in Doppler line shape parameter S was associated with the superconducting transition temperature in basic YBCO, Dy -doped, and 0.5 Pr-doped samples, whereas no transition was observed in the nonsuperconducting Pr-doped sample. The Doppler results indicate that the average electron momentum at the annihilation sites increases as temperature is lowered across the superconducting transition range and that electronic structure change plays an important role in high temperature superconductivity.

  16. Penetration Depth Study of Superconducting Gap Structure of 2H-NbSe2

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fletcher, J. D.; Carrington, A.; Diener, P.; Rodière, P.; Brison, J. P.; Prozorov, R.; Olheiser, T.; Giannetta, R. W.

    2007-02-01

    We report measurements of the temperature dependence of both in-plane and out-of-plane penetration depths (λa and λc, respectively) in 2H-NbSe2. Measurements were made with a radio-frequency tunnel diode oscillator circuit at temperatures down to 100 mK. Analysis of the anisotropic superfluid density shows that a reduced energy gap is located on one or more of the quasi-two-dimensional Nb Fermi surface sheets rather than on the Se sheet, in contrast with some previous reports. This result suggests that the gap structure is not simply related to the weak electron-phonon coupling on the Se sheet and is therefore important for microscopic models of anisotropic superconductivity in this compound.

  17. Effect of microwave-enhanced superconductivity in YBa2Cu3O7 Bi-crystalline grain bounda ry weak-links

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Fu, C. M.; Chen, C. M.; Lin, H. C.; Wu, K. H.; Juang, J. Y.; Uen, T. M.; Gou, Y. S.

    1995-01-01

    We have studied systematically the effect of microwave irradiation on the temperature dependent resistivity (R(I) and the current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of YBa2Gu3O(7 - x) (YBCO) bicrystalline grain boundary weak-links (GBWL's), with grain boundary of three different tilt angles. The superconducting transition temperature, T(sub c), has significant enhancement upon microwave irradiation. The microwave enhanced T(sub c) is increased as a function of incident microwave power, but limited to an optimum power level. The GBWL's of 45 deg tilt boundary has shown to be most sensitive to the microwave irradiation power, and the GBWL's of 36.8 deg tilt boundary has displayed a moderate response. In contrast, no enhancement of T(sub c) was observed in the GBWL's of 24 deg tilt boundary, as well as in the uniform films. Under the microwave irradiation, the R(T) dependent is hystertic as the transition taken from superconducting state to normal state and vice versa. Mechanisms associated with the redistribution of nonequilibrium quasiparticles under microwave irradiation are discussed.

  18. Spin quenching assisted by a strongly anisotropic compression behavior in MnP

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Han, Fei; Wang, Di; Wang, Yonggang; Li, Nana; Bao, Jin-Ke; Li, Bing; Botana, Antia S.; Xiao, Yuming; Chow, Paul; Chung, Duck Young; Chen, Jiuhua; Wan, Xiangang; Kanatzidis, Mercouri G.; Yang, Wenge; Mao, Ho-Kwang

    2018-02-01

    We studied the crystal structure and spin state of MnP under high pressure with synchrotron x-ray diffraction and x-ray emission spectroscopy (XES). MnP has an exceedingly strong anisotropy in compressibility, with the primary compressible direction along the b axis of the Pnma structure. XES reveals a pressure-driven quenching of the spin state in MnP. First-principles calculations suggest that the strongly anisotropic compression behavior significantly enhances the dispersion of the Mn d-orbitals and the splitting of the d-orbital levels compared to the hypothetical isotropic compression behavior. Thus, we propose spin quenching results mainly from the significant enhancement of the itinerancy of d electrons and partly from spin rearrangement occurring in the split d-orbital levels near the Fermi level. This explains the fast suppression of magnetic ordering in MnP under high pressure. The spin quenching lags behind the occurrence of superconductivity at ˜8 GPa implying that spin fluctuations govern the electron pairing for superconductivity.

  19. Effect of grain-alignment on the levitation force of melt-processed YBCO bulk superconductors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, Wan-min; Zhou, Lian; Feng, Yong; Zhang, Ping-xiang; Wu, Min-zhi; Wu, Xiao-zu; Gawalek, W.

    1999-07-01

    Single-domain YBCO bulk superconductors have been fabricated by Top Seeded Melt Slow Cooling Growth(TSSCG) process. Two typical YBCO cylinder samples with differential grain-alignment were selected for the investigation of the relationship between the grain-alignment and the levitation force under the same testing condition at liquid nitrogen temperature. It is found that the levitation force values is much different for the two samples, the levitation force of the sample with H par c-axis is more than two times higher than that of the samples with H ⊥ c-axis. So it is necessary to take account of this anisotropy in practical applications. The relationship between a magnet and a superconductor can be well described with a double exponential function. All the results are discussed in details.

  20. Fully gapped superconductivity with no sign change in the prototypical heavy-fermion CeCu2Si2.

    PubMed

    Yamashita, Takuya; Takenaka, Takaaki; Tokiwa, Yoshifumi; Wilcox, Joseph A; Mizukami, Yuta; Terazawa, Daiki; Kasahara, Yuichi; Kittaka, Shunichiro; Sakakibara, Toshiro; Konczykowski, Marcin; Seiro, Silvia; Jeevan, Hirale S; Geibel, Christoph; Putzke, Carsten; Onishi, Takafumi; Ikeda, Hiroaki; Carrington, Antony; Shibauchi, Takasada; Matsuda, Yuji

    2017-06-01

    In exotic superconductors, including high- T c copper oxides, the interactions mediating electron Cooper pairing are widely considered to have a magnetic rather than a conventional electron-phonon origin. Interest in this exotic pairing was initiated by the 1979 discovery of heavy-fermion superconductivity in CeCu 2 Si 2 , which exhibits strong antiferromagnetic fluctuations. A hallmark of unconventional pairing by anisotropic repulsive interactions is that the superconducting energy gap changes sign as a function of the electron momentum, often leading to nodes where the gap goes to zero. We report low-temperature specific heat, thermal conductivity, and magnetic penetration depth measurements in CeCu 2 Si 2 , demonstrating the absence of gap nodes at any point on the Fermi surface. Moreover, electron irradiation experiments reveal that the superconductivity survives even when the electron mean free path becomes substantially shorter than the superconducting coherence length. This indicates that superconductivity is robust against impurities, implying that there is no sign change in the gap function. These results show that, contrary to long-standing belief, heavy electrons with extremely strong Coulomb repulsions can condense into a fully gapped s-wave superconducting state, which has an on-site attractive pairing interaction.

  1. Fully gapped superconductivity with no sign change in the prototypical heavy-fermion CeCu2Si2

    PubMed Central

    Yamashita, Takuya; Takenaka, Takaaki; Tokiwa, Yoshifumi; Wilcox, Joseph A.; Mizukami, Yuta; Terazawa, Daiki; Kasahara, Yuichi; Kittaka, Shunichiro; Sakakibara, Toshiro; Konczykowski, Marcin; Seiro, Silvia; Jeevan, Hirale S.; Geibel, Christoph; Putzke, Carsten; Onishi, Takafumi; Ikeda, Hiroaki; Carrington, Antony; Shibauchi, Takasada; Matsuda, Yuji

    2017-01-01

    In exotic superconductors, including high-Tc copper oxides, the interactions mediating electron Cooper pairing are widely considered to have a magnetic rather than a conventional electron-phonon origin. Interest in this exotic pairing was initiated by the 1979 discovery of heavy-fermion superconductivity in CeCu2Si2, which exhibits strong antiferromagnetic fluctuations. A hallmark of unconventional pairing by anisotropic repulsive interactions is that the superconducting energy gap changes sign as a function of the electron momentum, often leading to nodes where the gap goes to zero. We report low-temperature specific heat, thermal conductivity, and magnetic penetration depth measurements in CeCu2Si2, demonstrating the absence of gap nodes at any point on the Fermi surface. Moreover, electron irradiation experiments reveal that the superconductivity survives even when the electron mean free path becomes substantially shorter than the superconducting coherence length. This indicates that superconductivity is robust against impurities, implying that there is no sign change in the gap function. These results show that, contrary to long-standing belief, heavy electrons with extremely strong Coulomb repulsions can condense into a fully gapped s-wave superconducting state, which has an on-site attractive pairing interaction. PMID:28691082

  2. Anisotropic ray trace

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lam, Wai Sze Tiffany

    Optical components made of anisotropic materials, such as crystal polarizers and crystal waveplates, are widely used in many complex optical system, such as display systems, microlithography, biomedical imaging and many other optical systems, and induce more complex aberrations than optical components made of isotropic materials. The goal of this dissertation is to accurately simulate the performance of optical systems with anisotropic materials using polarization ray trace. This work extends the polarization ray tracing calculus to incorporate ray tracing through anisotropic materials, including uniaxial, biaxial and optically active materials. The 3D polarization ray tracing calculus is an invaluable tool for analyzing polarization properties of an optical system. The 3x3 polarization ray tracing P matrix developed for anisotropic ray trace assists tracking the 3D polarization transformations along a ray path with series of surfaces in an optical system. To better represent the anisotropic light-matter interactions, the definition of the P matrix is generalized to incorporate not only the polarization change at a refraction/reflection interface, but also the induced optical phase accumulation as light propagates through the anisotropic medium. This enables realistic modeling of crystalline polarization elements, such as crystal waveplates and crystal polarizers. The wavefront and polarization aberrations of these anisotropic components are more complex than those of isotropic optical components and can be evaluated from the resultant P matrix for each eigen-wavefront as well as for the overall image. One incident ray refracting or reflecting into an anisotropic medium produces two eigenpolarizations or eigenmodes propagating in different directions. The associated ray parameters of these modes necessary for the anisotropic ray trace are described in Chapter 2. The algorithms to calculate the P matrix from these ray parameters are described in Chapter 3 for

  3. Experimental Investigation of a Broadband High-Temperature Superconducting Terahertz Mixer Operating at Temperatures Between 40 and 77 K

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gao, Xiang; Du, Jia; Zhang, Ting; Jay Guo, Y.; Foley, Cathy P.

    2017-11-01

    This paper presents a systematic investigation of a broadband thin-film antenna-coupled high-temperature superconducting (HTS) terahertz (THz) harmonic mixer at relatively high operating temperature from 40 to 77 K. The mixer device chip was fabricated using the CSIRO established step-edge YBa2Cu3O7-x (YBCO) Josephson junction technology, packaged in a well-designed module and cooled in a temperature adjustable cryocooler. Detailed experimental characterizations were carried out for the broadband HTS mixer at both the 200 and 600 GHz bands in harmonic mixing mode. The DC current-voltage characteristics (IVCs), bias current condition, local oscillator (LO) power requirement, frequency response, as well as conversion efficiency under different bath temperatures were thoroughly investigated for demonstrating the frequency down-conversion performance.

  4. The 20 GHz circularly polarized, high temperature superconducting microstrip antenna array

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Morrow, Jarrett D.; Williams, Jeffery T.; Long, Stuart A.; Wolfe, John C.

    1994-01-01

    The primary goal was to design and characterize a four-element, 20 GHz, circularly polarized microstrip patch antenna fabricated from YBa2Cu3O(x) superconductor. The purpose is to support a high temperature superconductivity flight communications experiment between the space shuttle orbiter and the ACTS satellite. This study is intended to provide information into the design, construction, and feasibility of a circularly polarized superconducting 20 GHz downlink or cross-link antenna. We have demonstrated that significant gain improvements can be realized by using superconducting materials for large corporate fed array antennas. In addition, we have shown that when constructed from superconducting materials, the efficiency, and therefore the gain, of microstrip patches increases if the substrate is not so thick that the dominant loss mechanism for the patch is radiation into the surface waves of the conductor-backed substrate. We have considered two design configurations for a superconducting 20 GHz four-element circularly polarized microstrip antenna array. The first is the Huang array that uses properly oriented and phased linearly polarized microstrip patch elements to realize a circularly polarized pattern. The second is a gap-coupled array of circularly polarized elements. In this study we determined that although the Huang array operates well on low dielectric constant substrates, its performance becomes extremely sensitive to mismatches, interelement coupling, and design imperfections for substrates with high dielectric constants. For the gap-coupled microstrip array, we were able to fabricate and test circularly polarized elements and four-element arrays on LaAlO3 using sputtered copper films. These antennas were found to perform well, with relatively good circular polarization. In addition, we realized a four-element YBa2Cu3O(x) array of the same design and measured its pattern and gain relative to a room temperature copper array. The patterns were

  5. Unconventional superconductivity in Y5Rh6Sn18 probed by muon spin relaxation

    PubMed Central

    Bhattacharyya, Amitava; Adroja, Devashibhai; Kase, Naoki; Hillier, Adrian; Akimitsu, Jun; Strydom, Andre

    2015-01-01

    Conventional superconductors are robust diamagnets that expel magnetic fields through the Meissner effect. It would therefore be unexpected if a superconducting ground state would support spontaneous magnetics fields. Such broken time-reversal symmetry states have been suggested for the high—temperature superconductors, but their identification remains experimentally controversial. We present magnetization, heat capacity, zero field and transverse field muon spin relaxation experiments on the recently discovered caged type superconductor Y5Rh6Sn18 ( TC= 3.0 K). The electronic heat capacity of Y5Rh6Sn18 shows a T3 dependence below Tc indicating an anisotropic superconducting gap with a point node. This result is in sharp contrast to that observed in the isostructural Lu5Rh6Sn18 which is a strong coupling s—wave superconductor. The temperature dependence of the deduced superfluid in density Y5Rh6Sn18 is consistent with a BCS s—wave gap function, while the zero-field muon spin relaxation measurements strongly evidences unconventional superconductivity through a spontaneous appearance of an internal magnetic field below the superconducting transition temperature, signifying that the superconducting state is categorized by the broken time-reversal symmetry. PMID:26286229

  6. Design of the superconducting magnet for 9.4 Tesla whole-body magnetic resonance imaging

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Y.; Wang, Q.; Dai, Y.; Ni, Z.; Zhu, X.; Li, L.; Zhao, B.; Chen, S.

    2017-02-01

    A superconducting magnet for 9.4 Tesla whole-body magnetic resonance imaging is designed and fabricated in Institute of Electrical Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences. In this paper, the electromagnetic design methods of the main coils and compensating coils are presented. Sensitivity analysis is performed for all superconducting coils. The design of the superconducting shimming coils is also presented and the design of electromagnetic decoupling of the Z2 coils from the main coils is introduced. Stress and strain analysis with both averaged and detailed models is performed with finite element method. A quench simulation code with anisotropic continuum model and control volume method is developed by us and is verified by experimental study. By means of the quench simulation code, the quench protection system for the 9.4 T magnet is designed for the main coils, the compensating coils and the shimming coils. The magnet cryostat design with zero helium boiling-off technology is also introduced.

  7. Anisotropic thermodynamic and transport properties of single-crystalline CaKFe 4 As 4

    DOE PAGES

    Meier, W. R.; Kong, T.; Kaluarachchi, U. S.; ...

    2016-08-01

    We grew single-crystalline, single-phase CaKFe 4As 4 out of a high-temperature, quaternary melt. Temperature-dependent measurements of x-ray diffraction, anisotropic electrical resistivity, elastoresistivity, thermoelectric power, Hall effect, magnetization, and specific heat, combined with field-dependent measurements of electrical resistivity and field and pressure-dependent measurements of magnetization indicate that CaKFe 4As 4 is an ordered, stoichiometric, Fe-based superconductor with a superconducting critical temperature, T c=35.0±0.2 K. Other than superconductivity, there is no indication of any other phase transition for 1.8K≤T≤300 K. All of these thermodynamic and transport data reveal striking similarities to those found for optimally or slightly overdoped (Ba 1-xKx)Fe 2As 2, suggesting that stoichiometric CaKFe 4As 4 is intrinsically close to what is referred to as “optimal-doped” on a generalized, Fe-based superconductor, phase diagram. Furthermore, the anisotropic superconducting upper critical field, H c2(T), of CaKFe 4As 4 was determined up to 630 kOe. The anisotropy parameter γ(T)=Hmore » $$⊥\\atop{c2}$$/H$$∥\\atop{c2}$$, for H applied perpendicular and parallel to the c axis, decreases from ≃2.5 at T c to ≃1.5 at 25 K, which can be explained by interplay of paramagnetic pair breaking and orbital effects. The slopes of dH$$∥\\atop{c2}$$/dT≃-44 kOe/K and dH$$⊥\\atop{c2}$$/dT≃-109 kOe/K at T c yield an electron mass anisotropy of m ⊥/m ∥≃1/6 and short Ginzburg-Landau coherence lengths ξ ∥(0)≃5.8Å and ξ ⊥(0)≃14.3Å. Finally, the value of H$$⊥\\atop{c2}$$(0) can be extrapolated to ≃920 kOe, well above the BCS paramagnetic limit.« less

  8. Effect of microwave-enhanced superconductivity in YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7} bi-crystalline grain boundary weak-links

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Fu, C.M.; Chen, C.M.; Lin, H.C.

    1994-12-31

    We have studied systematically the effect of microwave irradiation on the temperature dependent resistivity R(T) and the current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7-x} (YBCO) bicrystalline grain boundary weak-links (GBWLs), with grain boundary of three different tilt angles. The superconducting transition temperature, T{sub c}, has significant enhancement upon microwave irradiation. The microwave enhanced T{sub c} is increased as a function of incidence microwave power, but limited to an optimum power level. The GBWLs of 45{degrees} tilt boundary has shown to be most sensitive to the microwave irradiation power, and the GBWLs of 36.8{degrees} tilt boundary has displayed a moderatemore » response. In contrast, no enhancement of T{sub c} was observed in the GBWLs of 24{degrees} tilt boundary, as well as in the uniform films. Under the microwave irradiation, the R(T) dependence is hysteretic as the transition taken from superconducting state to normal state and vice versa. Mechanisms associated with the redistribution of nonequilibrium quasiparticles under microwave irradiation are discussed.« less

  9. Influence of magnetic materials on the transport properties of superconducting composite conductors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Glowacki, B. A.; Majoros, M.; Campbell, A. M.; Hopkins, S. C.; Rutter, N. A.; Kozlowski, G.; Peterson, T. L.

    2009-03-01

    Magnetic materials can help to improve the performance of practical superconductors on the macro/microscale as magnetic diverters and also on the nanoscale as effective pinning centres. It has been established by numerical modelling that magnetic shielding of the filaments reduces ac losses in self-field conditions due to decoupling of the filaments and, at the same time, it increases the critical current of the composite. This effect is especially beneficial for coated conductors, in which the anisotropic properties of the superconductor are amplified by the conductor architecture. However, ferromagnetic coatings are often chemically incompatible with YBa2Cu3O7 and (Pb,Bi)2Sr2Ca2Cu3O9 conductors, and buffer layers have to be used. In contrast, in MgB2 conductors an iron matrix may remain in direct contact with the superconducting core. The application of superconducting-magnetic heterostructures requires consideration of the thermal and electromagnetic stability of the superconducting materials used. On the one hand, magnetic components reduce the critical current gradient across the individual filaments but, on the other hand, they often reduce the thermal conductivity between the superconducting core and the cryogen, which may cause the destruction of the conductor in the event of thermal instability. A possible nanoscale method of improving the critical current density of superconducting conductors is the introduction of sub-micron magnetic pinning centres. However, the volumetric density and chemical compatibility of magnetic inclusions has to be controlled to avoid suppression of the superconducting properties.

  10. Free surfaces recast superconductivity in few-monolayer MgB2: Combined first-principles and ARPES demonstration.

    PubMed

    Bekaert, J; Bignardi, L; Aperis, A; van Abswoude, P; Mattevi, C; Gorovikov, S; Petaccia, L; Goldoni, A; Partoens, B; Oppeneer, P M; Peeters, F M; Milošević, M V; Rudolf, P; Cepek, C

    2017-10-31

    Two-dimensional materials are known to harbour properties very different from those of their bulk counterparts. Recent years have seen the rise of atomically thin superconductors, with a caveat that superconductivity is strongly depleted unless enhanced by specific substrates, intercalants or adatoms. Surprisingly, the role in superconductivity of electronic states originating from simple free surfaces of two-dimensional materials has remained elusive to date. Here, based on first-principles calculations, anisotropic Eliashberg theory, and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), we show that surface states in few-monolayer MgB 2 make a major contribution to the superconducting gap spectrum and density of states, clearly distinct from the widely known, bulk-like σ- and π-gaps. As a proof of principle, we predict and measure the gap opening on the magnesium-based surface band up to a critical temperature as high as ~30 K for merely six monolayers thick MgB 2 . These findings establish free surfaces as an unavoidable ingredient in understanding and further tailoring of superconductivity in atomically thin materials.

  11. Unconventional Superconductivity in the BiS_{2}-Based Layered Superconductor NdO_{0.71}F_{0.29}BiS_{2}.

    PubMed

    Ota, Yuichi; Okazaki, Kozo; Yamamoto, Haruyoshi Q; Yamamoto, Takashi; Watanabe, Shuntaro; Chen, Chuangtian; Nagao, Masanori; Watauchi, Satoshi; Tanaka, Isao; Takano, Yoshihiko; Shin, Shik

    2017-04-21

    We investigate the superconducting-gap anisotropy in one of the recently discovered BiS_{2}-based superconductors, NdO_{0.71}F_{0.29}BiS_{2} (T_{c}∼5  K), using laser-based angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. Whereas the previously discovered high-T_{c} superconductors such as copper oxides and iron-based superconductors, which are believed to have unconventional superconducting mechanisms, have 3d electrons in their conduction bands, the conduction band of BiS_{2}-based superconductors mainly consists of Bi 6p electrons, and, hence, the conventional superconducting mechanism might be expected. Contrary to this expectation, we observe a strongly anisotropic superconducting gap. This result strongly suggests that the pairing mechanism for NdO_{0.71}F_{0.29}BiS_{2} is an unconventional one and we attribute the observed anisotropy to competitive or cooperative multiple paring interactions.

  12. The Effects of Grain Boundaries on the Current Transport Properties in YBCO-Coated Conductors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, Chao; Xia, Yudong; Xue, Yan; Zhang, Fei; Tao, Bowan; Xiong, Jie

    2015-10-01

    We report a detailed study of the grain orientations and grain boundary (GB) networks in Y2O3 films grown on Ni-5 at.%W substrates. Electron back scatter diffraction (EBSD) exhibited different GB misorientation angle distributions, strongly decided by Y2O3 films with different textures. The subsequent yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) barrier and CeO2 cap layer were deposited on Y2O3 layers by radio frequency sputtering, and YBa2Cu3O7-δ (YBCO) films were deposited by pulsed laser deposition. For explicating the effects of the grain boundaries on the current carry capacity of YBCO films, a percolation model was proposed to calculate the critical current density ( J c) which depended on different GB misorientation angle distributions. The significantly higher J c for the sample with sharper texture is believed to be attributed to improved GB misorientation angle distributions.

  13. Measurement of AC Losses in a Racetrack Superconducting Coil Made from YBCO Coated Conductor

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Seiler, Eugen; Abrahamsen, Asger B.; Kováč, Ján; Wichmann, Mike; Træholt, Chresten

    We present the results of transport measurements of AC losses in a racetrack shaped superconducting coil made from coated conductor tape. The outer dimensions of the coil are approximately 24 cm × 12 cm and it has 57 turns. The coil is impregnated with epoxy resin and fiberglass tape is used to insulate the individual turns and to improve the mechanical properties of the epoxy when exposed to thermal cycling. The coil is manufactured as a part of the field winding of a small synchronous generator; therefore stainless steel frames are installed on the inner and outer side of the winding to reinforce it. The AC loss is measured versus the transport current Ia with the coil immersed in liquid nitrogen. Measurements at frequencies 21 Hz, 36 Hz and 72 Hz are compared. The AC losses follow Ia2 dependence at low current amplitudes and Ia3 at high amplitudes. After cutting the inner steel frame the low amplitude losses are decreased, their frequency dependence is reduced but their dependence on the current remains unchanged.

  14. Study on possible correlation of superconductivity with defects and superparamagnetism in undoped AFe2As2 with A =Ca, Sr and Ba

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhao, Kui; Lv, Bing; Deng, Liangzi; Xue, Yuyi; Chu, Paul; High pressure low temperature lab Team

    2014-03-01

    Extensive studies have been carried out on the induction of bulk superconductivity in the Fe-pnictide 122 system with a Tc up to 38 K through doping and/or pressure. However, non-bulk superconductivity has also been detected unexpectedly in undoped AFe2As2 where A = Ca, Sr, and Ba with Tc = ~12K, ~22K and ~23K, respectively. The reason for the observation remains unknown. Recently, systematic investigation shows that highly anisotropic superconductivity with a Tc up to 49 K and superparamagnetism occur in rare-earth doped Ca122. Further examination reveals slight deviation from the 1:2:2 stoichiometry which correlates closely with the occurrence of non-bulk superconductivity and superparamagnetism in these samples. We have therefore decided to investigate systematically the stoichiometry, defects, magnetism and superconductivity in undoped AFe2As2 single crystals under different synthesis conditions where A = Ca, Sr, and Ba. Results will be presented and discussed.

  15. Electronic State Distributions of YBa2Cu3O7-x Laser Ablated Plumes

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2008-09-01

    deposited on buffered metal substrates using gas phase techniques such as pulsed laser deposition (PLD) or metal -oxide chem- ical vapor deposition...along the desired current direction. This grain orientation has been successfully achieved by depositing YBCO on a metal tape substrate coated with a...Reeves, K. Lenseth, and V. Selvamanickam. “Texture Development and Superconducting Properties of YBCO Thick Films Deposited on Buffered Metal Substrates

  16. Spin quenching assisted by a strongly anisotropic compression behavior in MnP

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Han, Fei; Wang, Di; Wang, Yonggang

    We studied the crystal structure and spin state of MnP under high pressure with synchrotron X-ray diffraction and X-ray emission spectroscopy. MnP has an exceedingly strong anisotropy in compressibility, with the primary compressible direction along the b axis of the Pnma structure. X-ray emission spectroscopy reveals a pressure-driven quenching of the spin state in MnP. First-principles calculations suggest that the strongly anisotropic compression behavior significantly enhances the dispersion of the Mn d-orbitals and the splitting of the d-orbital levels compared to the hypothetical isotropic compression behavior. Thus, we propose spin quenching results mainly from the significant enhancement of the itinerancymore » of d electrons and partly from spin rearrangement occurring in the split d-orbital levels near the Fermi level. This explains the fast suppression of magnetic ordering in MnP under high pressure. The spin quenching lags behind the occurrence of superconductivity at ~8 GPa implying that spin fluctuations govern the electron pairing for superconductivity.« less

  17. Dynamic nesting and the incommensurate magnetic response in superconducting YBa 2Cu 3O 6+ y

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Brinckmann, Jan; Lee, Patrick A.

    1999-05-01

    The dynamic magnetic susceptibility χ″( q, ω) of the t- t‧- J-model for YBCO compounds is studied in slave-boson mean-field theory. Within a renormalized random-phase approximation χ″ is compared for different fixed energies ω in the superconducting state. At the energy ω= ω0, where χ″(( π, π), ω) shows a sharp peak (the `41 meV resonance'), the response is commensurate in wave vector space. At lower energies around ωi=0.7 ω0, however, we find four peaks at q=( π± δ, π) and ( π, π± δ). The results are in agreement with inelastic neutron scattering experiments, in particular with the incommensurate response recently observed in YBa 2Cu 3O 6.6 by Mook et al. We argue that dynamic nesting in the dispersion of quasi particles causes this effect.

  18. Anisotropic scattering rate in Fe-substituted Bi 2Sr 2Ca(Cu 1-xFex) 2O 8+δ

    DOE PAGES

    Naamneh, M.; Lubashevsky, Y.; Lahoud, E.; ...

    2015-05-27

    We measured the electronic structure of Fe substituted Bi2212 using Angle Resolved Photoemission Spectroscopy (ARPES). We find that the substitution does not change the momentum dependence of the superconducting gap but induces a very anisotropic enhancement of the scattering rate. A comparison of the effect of Fe substitution to that of Zn substitution suggests that the Fe reduces T c so effectively because it supresses very strongly the coherence weight around the anti-nodes.

  19. On the use of copper-based substrates for YBCO coated conductors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vannozzi, A.; Fabbri, F.; Augieri, A.; Angrisani Armenio, A.; Galluzzi, V.; Mancini, A.; Rizzo, F.; Rufoloni, A.; Padilla, J. A.; Xuriguera, E.; De Felicis, D.; Bemporad, E.; Celentano, G.

    2014-05-01

    It is well known that the recrystallization texture of heavily cold-rolled pure copper is almost completely cubic. However, one of the main drawbacks concerning the use of pure copper cube-textured substrates for YBCO coated conductor is the reduced secondary recrystallization temperature. The onset of secondary recrystallization (i.e., the occurrence of abnormal grains with unpredictable orientation) in pure copper substrate was observed within the typical temperature range required for buffer layer and YBCO processing (600-850 °C). To avoid the formation of abnormal grains the effect of both grain size adjustment (GSA) and recrystallization annealing was analyzed. The combined use of a small initial grain size and a recrystallization two-step annealing (TSA) drastically reduced the presence of abnormal grains in pure copper tapes. Another way to overcome the limitation imposed by the formation of abnormal grains is to deposit a buffer layer at temperatures where secondary recrystallization does not occur. For example, La2Zr2O7 (LZO) film with a high degree of epitaxy was grown by metal-organic decomposition (MOD) at 1000 °C on pure copper substrate. In several samples the substrate underwent secondary recrystallization. Our experiments indicate that the motion of grain boundaries occurring during secondary recrystallization process does not affect the quality of LZO film.

  20. Ultralow Friction in a Superconducting Magnetic Bearing

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bornemann, Hans J.; Siegel, Michael; Zaitsev, Oleg; Bareiss, Martin; Laschuetza, Helmut

    1996-01-01

    Passive levitation by superconducting magnetic bearings can be utilized in flywheels for energy storage. Basic design criteria of such a bearing are high levitation force, sufficient vertical and horizontal stability and low friction. A test facility was built for the measurement and evaluation of friction in a superconducting magnetic bearing as a function of operating temperature and pressure in the vacuum vessel. The bearing consists of a commercial disk shaped magnet levitated above single grain, melt-textured YBCO high-temperature superconductor material. The superconductor was conduction cooled by an integrated AEG tactical cryocooler. The temperature could be varied from 50 K to 80 K. The pressure in the vacuum chamber was varied from 1 bar to 10(exp -5) mbar. At the lowest pressure setting, the drag torque shows a linear frequency dependence over the entire range investigated (0 less than f less than 40 Hz). Magnetic friction, the frequency independent contribution, is very low. The frequency dependent drag torque is generated by molecular friction from molecule-surface collisions and by eddy currents. Given the specific geometry of the set-up and gas pressure, the molecular drag torque can be estimated. At a speed of 40 Hz, the coefficient of friction (drag-to-lift ratio) was measured to be mu = 1.6 x 10(exp -7) at 10(exp -5) mbar and T = 60 K. This is equivalent to a drag torque of 7.6 x 10(exp -10) Nm. Magnetic friction causes approx. 1% of the total losses. Molecular friction accounts for about 13% of the frequency dependent drag torque, the remaining 87% being due to eddy currents and losses from rotor unbalance. The specific energy loss is only 0.3% per hour.

  1. Evidence for Itinerant Carriers in an Anisotropic Narrow-Gap Semiconductor by Angle-Resolved Photoemission Spectroscopy.

    PubMed

    Ju, Sailong; Bai, Wei; Wu, Liming; Lin, Hua; Xiao, Chong; Cui, Shengtao; Li, Zhou; Kong, Shuai; Liu, Yi; Liu, Dayong; Zhang, Guobin; Sun, Zhe; Xie, Yi

    2018-01-01

    The ability to accurately determine the electronic structure of solids has become a key prerequisite for modern functional materials. For example, the precise determination of the electronic structure helps to balance the three thermoelectric parameters, which is the biggest challenge to design high-performance thermoelectric materials. Herein, by high-resolution, angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), the itinerant carriers in CsBi 4 Te 6 (CBT) are revealed for the first time. CBT is a typical anisotropic, narrow-gap semiconductor used as a practical candidate for low-temperature thermoelectric applications, and p-doped CBT series show superconductivity at relatively low carrier concentrations. The ARPES results show a significantly larger bandwidth near the Fermi surface than calculations, which means the carriers transport anisotropically and itinerantly in CBT. It is reasonable to believe that these newly discovered features of carriers in narrow-gap semiconductors are promising for designing optimal thermoelectric materials and superconductors. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  2. The effect of temperature cycling typical of low earth orbit satellites on thin films of YBa2Cu3O(7-x)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Mogro-Campero, A.; Turner, L. G.; Bogorad, A.; Herschitz, R.

    1991-01-01

    Thin films of YBa2Cu3O(7-x) (YBCO) were temperature cycled to simulate conditions of a low earth orbit satellite. In one series of tests, epitaxial and polycrystalline YBCO films were cycled between temperatures of +/- 80 C in vacuum and in nitrogen for hundreds of cycles. The room temperature resistance of an epitaxial YBCO film increased by about 10 percent, but the superconducting transition temperature was unchanged. The largest changes were for a polycrystalline YBCO film on oxidized silicon with a zirconia buffer layer, for which the transition temperature decreased by 3 K. An extended test was carried out for epitaxial films. After 3200 cycles (corresponding to about 230 days in space), transition temperatures and critical current densities remained unchanged.

  3. Orbital superconductivity, defects, and pinned nematic fluctuations in the doped iron chalcogenide FeSe 0.45 Te 0.55

    DOE PAGES

    Sarkar, Saheli; Van Dyke, John; Sprau, Peter O.; ...

    2017-08-09

    We demonstrate that the differential conductance, dI/dV , measured via spectroscopic imaging scanning tunneling microscopy in the doped iron chalcogenide FeSe0.45Te0.55, possesses a series of characteristic features that allow one to extract the orbital structure of the superconducting gaps. This yields nearly isotropic superconducting gaps on the two hole-like Fermi surfaces, and a strongly anisotropic gap on the electron-like Fermi surface. Moreover, we show that the pinning of nematic fluctuations by defects can give rise to a dumbbell-like spatial structure of the induced impurity bound states, and explains the related C 2-symmetry in the Fourier transformed differential conductance.

  4. Orbital superconductivity, defects, and pinned nematic fluctuations in the doped iron chalcogenide FeSe 0.45 Te 0.55

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Sarkar, Saheli; Van Dyke, John; Sprau, Peter O.

    We demonstrate that the differential conductance, dI/dV , measured via spectroscopic imaging scanning tunneling microscopy in the doped iron chalcogenide FeSe0.45Te0.55, possesses a series of characteristic features that allow one to extract the orbital structure of the superconducting gaps. This yields nearly isotropic superconducting gaps on the two hole-like Fermi surfaces, and a strongly anisotropic gap on the electron-like Fermi surface. Moreover, we show that the pinning of nematic fluctuations by defects can give rise to a dumbbell-like spatial structure of the induced impurity bound states, and explains the related C 2-symmetry in the Fourier transformed differential conductance.

  5. Orbital superconductivity, defects, and pinned nematic fluctuations in the doped iron chalcogenide FeSe 0.45 Te 0.55

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Sarkar, Saheli; Van Dyke, John; Sprau, Peter O.

    We demonstrate that the differential conductance, dI/dV, measured via spectroscopic imaging scanning tunneling microscopy in the doped iron chalcogenide FeSe0.45Te0.55, possesses a series of characteristic features that allow one to extract the orbital structure of the superconducting gaps. This yields nearly isotropic superconducting gaps on the two holelike Fermi surfaces, and a strongly anisotropic gap on the electronlike Fermi surface. Moreover, we show that the pinning of nematic fluctuations by defects can give rise to a dumbbell-like spatial structure of the induced impurity bound states, and explains the related C-2 symmetry in the Fourier transformed differential conductance.

  6. A 5.9 tesla conduction-cooled coil composed of a stack of four single pancakes wound with YBCO wide tapes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Iwai, Sadanori; Miyazaki, Hiroshi; Tosaka, Taizo; Tasaki, Kenji; Urata, Masami; Ioka, Shigeru; Ishii, Yusuke

    2013-11-01

    We have been developing a conduction-cooled coil wound with YBCO-coated conductors for HTS applications. Previously, we have fabricated a coil composed of a stack of 12 single pancakes wound with 4 mm-wide YBCO tapes. This coil had a central magnetic field as high as 5.1 T at 10 K under conduction-cooled conditions. In the present study, we fabricated and tested a coil composed of a stack of four single pancakes wound with 12 mm-wide YBCO tapes. The total size of the coil and the Jc value of the tapes were almost the same as those of the former coil. At 77 K, the voltage-current characteristics showed a high n-value of 24, confirming that the coil had no degradation. Furthermore, in a conduction-cooled configuration at 20 K to 60 K, the coil showed a high n-value of over 20. At 20 K, the central magnetic field reached 5.9 T at 903 A, which is 1.3-times higher than that of the former coil.

  7. Protecting Superconducting HTS-Antennas by Meta-Material Cloaks

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2014-04-30

    radiation efficiency for this antenna is 22.3\\%. However, if the normal conducting part is replaced with a superconductor , e.g. YBCO with RS=500µΩ, [8] the...loss resistance can be brought down due to the much lower surface resistance of the superconductor relative to the normal conductor. Chalupka et al...range [12]. In 1987, Wu et al. [13] discovered the HTS compound YBCO that has a TC of ≈ 92K, which was the first superconductor to have a TC greater

  8. Visualizing heavy fermion confinement and Pauli-limited superconductivity in layered CeCoIn 5

    DOE PAGES

    Gyenis, András; Feldman, Benjamin E.; Randeria, Mallika T.; ...

    2018-02-07

    Layered material structures play a key role in enhancing electron–electron interactions to create correlated metallic phases that can transform into unconventional superconducting states. The quasi-two-dimensional electronic properties of such compounds are often inferred indirectly through examination of bulk properties. Here we use scanning tunneling microscopy to directly probe in cross-section the quasi-two-dimensional electronic states of the heavy fermion superconductor CeCoIn 5. Our measurements reveal the strong confined nature of quasiparticles, anisotropy of tunneling characteristics, and layer-by-layer modulated behavior of the precursor pseudogap gap phase. In the interlayer coupled superconducting state, the orientation of line defects relative to the d-wave ordermore » parameter determines whether in-gap states form due to scattering. Spectroscopic imaging of the anisotropic magnetic vortex cores directly characterizes the short interlayer superconducting coherence length and shows an electronic phase separation near the upper critical in-plane magnetic field, consistent with a Pauli-limited first-order phase transition into a pseudogap phase.« less

  9. Specific heat of FeSe: Two gaps with different anisotropy in superconducting state

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Muratov, A. V.; Sadakov, A. V.; Gavrilkin, S. Yu.; Prishchepa, A. R.; Epifanova, G. S.; Chareev, D. A.; Pudalov, V. M.

    2018-05-01

    We present detailed study of specific heat of FeSe single crystals with critical temperature Tc = 8.45 K at 0.4 - 200 K in magnetic fields 0 - 9 T. Analysis of the electronic specific heat at low temperatures shows the coexistence of isotropic s-wave gap and strongly anisotropic extended s-wave gap without nodes. It was found two possibilities of superconducting gap parameters which give equally description of experimental data: (i) two gaps with approximately equal amplitudes and weight contribution to specific heat: isotropic Δ1 = 1.7 meV (2Δ1 /kBTc =4.7) and anisotropic gap with the amplitude Δ2max = 1.8 meV (2 Δ2max /kBTc =4.9 and anisotropy parameter m = 0.85); (ii) two gaps with substantially different values: isotropic large gap Δ1 = 1.65 meV (2Δ1 /kBTc = 4.52) and anisotropic small gap Δ2max = 0.75 meV (2Δ2max /kBTc = 2) with anisotropy parameter m = 0.71 . These results are confirmed by the field behavior of the residual electronic specific heat γr.

  10. The effect of growth temperature on the irreversibility line of MPMG YBCO bulk with Y2O3 layer

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kurnaz, Sedat; Çakır, Bakiye; Aydıner, Alev

    2017-07-01

    In this study, three kinds of YBCO samples which are named Y1040, Y1050 and Y1060 were fabricated by Melt-Powder-Melt-Growth (MPMG) method without a seed crystal. Samples seem to be single crystal. The compacted powders were located on a crucible with a buffer layer of Y2O3 to avoid liquid to spread on the furnace plate and also to support crystal growth. YBCO samples were investigated by magnetoresistivity (ρ-T) and magnetization (M-T) measurements in dc magnetic fields (parallel to c-axis) up to 5 T. Irreversibility fields (Hirr) and upper critical fields (Hc2) were obtained using 10% and 90% criteria of the normal state resistivity value from ρ-T curves. M-T measurements were carried out using the zero field cooling (ZFC) and field cooling (FC) processes to get irreversible temperature (Tirr). Fitting of the irreversibility line results to giant flux creep and vortex glass models were discussed. The results were found to be consistent with the results of the samples fabricated using a seed crystal. At the fabrication of MPMG YBCO, optimized temperature for crystal growth was determined to be around 1050-1060 °C.

  11. Magnetically coupled gear based drive mechanism for contactless continuous rotation using superconducting magnetic bearing below 10 K

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Matsumura, T.; Sakurai, Y.; Kataza, H.; Utsunomiya, S.; Yamamoto, R.

    2016-11-01

    We present the design and mechanical performances of a magnetically coupled gear mechanism to drive a levitating rotor magnet of a superconducting magnetic bearing (SMB). The SMB consists of a ring-shaped high-temperature superconducting array (YBCO) and a ring-shaped permanent magnet. This rotational system is designed to operate below 10 K, and thus the design philosophy is to minimize any potential source of heat dissipation. While an SMB provides only a functionality of namely a bearing, it requires a mechanism to drive a rotational motion. We introduce a simple implementation of a magnetically coupled gears between a stator and a rotor. This enables to achieve enough torque to drive a levitating rotor without slip at the rotation frequency of about 1 Hz below 10 K. The rotational variation between the rotor and the drive gear is synchronised within σ = 0.019 Hz. The development of this mechanism is a part of the program to develop a testbed in order to evaluate a prototype half-wave plate based polarization modulator for future space missions. The successful development allows this modulator to be a candidate for an instrument to probe the cosmic inflation by measuring the cosmic microwave background polarization.

  12. Anisotropic Weyl symmetry and cosmology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Moon, Taeyoon; Oh, Phillial; Sohn, Jongsu

    2010-11-01

    We construct an anisotropic Weyl invariant theory in the ADM formalism and discuss its cosmological consequences. It extends the original anisotropic Weyl invariance of Hořava-Lifshitz gravity using an extra scalar field. The action is invariant under the anisotropic transformations of the space and time metric components with an arbitrary value of the critical exponent z. One of the interesting features is that the cosmological constant term maintains the anisotropic symmetry for z = -3. We also include the cosmological fluid and show that it can preserve the anisotropic Weyl invariance if the equation of state satisfies P = zρ/3. Then, we study cosmology of the Einstein-Hilbert-anisotropic Weyl (EHaW) action including the cosmological fluid, both with or without anisotropic Weyl invariance. The correlation of the critical exponent z and the equation of state parameter bar omega provides a new perspective of the cosmology. It is also shown that the EHaW action admits a late time accelerating universe for an arbitrary value of z when the anisotropic conformal invariance is broken, and the anisotropic conformal scalar field is interpreted as a possible source of dark energy.

  13. Elliptical vortex and oblique vortex lattice in the FeSe superconductor based on the nematicity and mixed superconducting orders

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lu, Da-Chuan; Lv, Yang-Yang; Li, Jun; Zhu, Bei-Yi; Wang, Qiang-Hua; Wang, Hua-Bing; Wu, Pei-Heng

    2018-03-01

    The electronic nematic phase is characterized as an ordered state of matter with rotational symmetry breaking, and has been well studied in the quantum Hall system and the high-Tc superconductors, regardless of cuprate or pnictide family. The nematic state in high-Tc systems often relates to the structural transition or electronic instability in the normal phase. Nevertheless, the electronic states below the superconducting transition temperature is still an open question. With high-resolution scanning tunneling microscope measurements, direct observation of vortex core in FeSe thin films revealed the nematic superconducting state by Song et al. Here, motivated by the experiment, we construct the extended Ginzburg-Landau free energy to describe the elliptical vortex, where a mixed s-wave and d-wave superconducting order is coupled to the nematic order. The nematic order induces the mixture of two superconducting orders and enhances the anisotropic interaction between the two superconducting orders, resulting in a symmetry breaking from C4 to C2. Consequently, the vortex cores are stretched into an elliptical shape. In the equilibrium state, the elliptical vortices assemble a lozenge-like vortex lattice, being well consistent with experimental results.

  14. A Cryogenic Magnetostrictive Actuator using a Persistent High Temperature Superconducting Magnet, Part 1: Concept and Design. Part 1; Concept and Design

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Horner, Garnett C.; Bromberg, Leslie; Teter, J. P.

    2001-01-01

    Cryogenic magnetostrictive materials, such as rare earth zinc crystals, offer high strains and high forces with minimally applied magnetic fields, making the material ideally suited for deformable optics applications. For cryogenic temperature applications, such as Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST), the use of superconducting magnets offer the possibility of a persistent mode of operation, i.e., the magnetostrictive material will maintain a strain field without power. High temperature superconductors (HTS) are attractive options if the temperature of operation is higher than 10 degrees Kelvin (K) and below 77 K. However, HTS wires have constraints that limit the minimum radius of winding, and even if good wires can be produced, the technology for joining superconducting wires does not exist. In this paper, the design and capabilities of a rare earth zinc magnetostrictive actuator using bulk HTS is described. Bulk superconductors can be fabricated in the sizes required with excellent superconducting properties. Equivalent permanent magnets, made with this inexpensive material, are persistent, do not require a persistent switch as in HTS wires, and can be made very small. These devices are charged using a technique which is similar to the one used for charging permanent magnets, e.g., by driving them into saturation. A small normal conducting coil can be used for charging or discharging. Very fast charging and discharging of HTS tubes, as short as 100 microseconds, has been demonstrated. Because of the magnetic field capability of the superconductor material, a very small amount of superconducting magnet material is needed to actuate the rare earth zinc. In this paper, several designs of actuators using YBCO and BSCCO 2212 superconducting materials are presented. Designs that include magnetic shielding to prevent interaction between adjacent actuators will also be described. Preliminary experimental results and comparison with theory for BSSCO 2212 with a

  15. Observation of a three-dimensional quasi-long-range electronic supermodulation in YBa 2Cu 3O 7-x/La 0.7Ca 0.3MnO 3 heterostructures

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    He, Junfeng; Shafer, Padraic; Mion, Thomas R.

    Recent developments in high-temperature superconductivity highlight a generic tendency of the cuprates to develop competing electronic (charge) supermodulations. While coupled with the lattice and showing different characteristics in different materials, these supermodulations themselves are generally conceived to be quasi-two-dimensional, residing mainly in individual CuO 2 planes, and poorly correlated along the c axis. Here we observed with resonant elastic X-ray scattering a distinct type of electronic supermodulation in YBa 2Cu 3O 7–x (YBCO) thin films grown epitaxially on La 0.7Ca 0.3MnO 3 (LCMO). This supermodulation has a periodicity nearly commensurate with four lattice constants in-plane, eight out of plane, withmore » long correlation lengths in three dimensions. It sets in far above the superconducting transition temperature and competes with superconductivity below this temperature for electronic states predominantly in the CuO 2 plane. Our finding sheds light on the nature of charge ordering in cuprates as well as a reported long-range proximity effect between superconductivity and ferromagnetism in YBCO/LCMO heterostructures.« less

  16. Observation of a three-dimensional quasi-long-range electronic supermodulation in YBa 2Cu 3O 7-x/La 0.7Ca 0.3MnO 3 heterostructures

    DOE PAGES

    He, Junfeng; Shafer, Padraic; Mion, Thomas R.; ...

    2016-03-01

    Recent developments in high-temperature superconductivity highlight a generic tendency of the cuprates to develop competing electronic (charge) supermodulations. While coupled with the lattice and showing different characteristics in different materials, these supermodulations themselves are generally conceived to be quasi-two-dimensional, residing mainly in individual CuO 2 planes, and poorly correlated along the c axis. Here we observed with resonant elastic X-ray scattering a distinct type of electronic supermodulation in YBa 2Cu 3O 7–x (YBCO) thin films grown epitaxially on La 0.7Ca 0.3MnO 3 (LCMO). This supermodulation has a periodicity nearly commensurate with four lattice constants in-plane, eight out of plane, withmore » long correlation lengths in three dimensions. It sets in far above the superconducting transition temperature and competes with superconductivity below this temperature for electronic states predominantly in the CuO 2 plane. Our finding sheds light on the nature of charge ordering in cuprates as well as a reported long-range proximity effect between superconductivity and ferromagnetism in YBCO/LCMO heterostructures.« less

  17. Superconducting properties of nano-sized SiO2 added YBCO thick film on Ag substrate

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Almessiere, Munirah Abdullah; Al-Otaibi, Amal lafy; Azzouz, Faten Ben

    2017-10-01

    The microstructure and the flux pinning capability of SiO2-added YBa2Cu3Oy thick films on Ag substrates were investigated. A series of YBa2Cu3Oy thick films with small amounts (0-0.5 wt%) of nano-sized SiO2 particles (12 nm) was prepared. The thicknesses of the prepared thick films was approximately 100 µm. Phase analysis by x-ray diffraction and microstructure examination by scanning electron microscopy were performed and the critical current density dependence on the applied magnetic field Jc(H) and electrical resistivity ρ(T) were investigated. The magnetic field and temperature dependence of the critical current density (Jc) was calculated from magnetization measurements using Bean's critical state model. The results showed that the addition of a small amount (≤0.02 wt%) of SiO2 was effective in enhancing the critical current densities in the applied magnetic field. The sample with 0.01 wt% of added SiO2 exhibited a superconducting characteristics under an applied magnetic field for a temperature ranging from 10 to 77 K.

  18. Electronic structure in high temperature superconducting oxides

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Howell, R. H.; Sterne, P.; Solal, F.; Fluss, M. J.; Tobin, J.; Obrien, J.; Radousky, H. B.; Haghighi, H.; Kaiser, J. H.; Rayner, S. L.

    1991-08-01

    We have performed measurements on entwined single crystals of YBCO using both photoemission and positron angular correlation of annihilation radiation and on single crystals of LSCO using only angular correlation. Fermi surface features in good agreement with band theory were found and identified in all of the measurements. In photoemission, the Fermi momentum was fixed for several points and the band dispersion below the Fermi energy was mapped. In positron angular correlation measurements, the shape of the Fermi surface was mapped for the CuO chains (YBCO) and the CuO planes (LSCO). Demonstration of the existence of Fermi surfaces in the HTSC materials points a direction for future theoretical considerations.

  19. Superconductivity with extremely large upper critical fields in Nb2Pd0.81S5

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Q.; Li, G.; Rhodes, D.; Kiswandhi, A.; Besara, T.; Zeng, B.; Sun, J.; Siegrist, T.; Johannes, M. D.; Balicas, L.

    2013-01-01

    Here, we report the discovery of superconductivity in a new transition metal-chalcogenide compound, i.e. Nb2Pd0.81S5, with a transition temperature Tc ≅ 6.6 K. Despite its relatively low Tc, it displays remarkably high and anisotropic superconducting upper critical fields, e.g. μ0Hc2 (T → 0 K) > 37 T for fields applied along the crystallographic b-axis. For a field applied perpendicularly to the b-axis, μ0Hc2 shows a linear dependence in temperature which coupled to a temperature-dependent anisotropy of the upper critical fields, suggests that Nb2Pd0.81S5 is a multi-band superconductor. This is consistent with band structure calculations which reveal nearly cylindrical and quasi-one-dimensional Fermi surface sheets having hole and electron character, respectively. The static spin susceptibility as calculated through the random phase approximation, reveals strong peaks suggesting proximity to a magnetic state and therefore the possibility of unconventional superconductivity. PMID:23486091

  20. Structure and conductivity of nanostructured YBCO ceramics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Palchayev, D. K.; Gadzhimagomedov, S. Kh; Murlieva, Zh Kh; Rabadanov, M. Kh; Emirov, R. M.

    2017-12-01

    Superconducting nanostructured ceramics based on YBa2Cu3O7-δ were made of nanopowder obtained by burning nitrate-organic precursors. The structure, morphology, electrical resistivity, and density of ceramics were studied. Various porosity values of the ceramics were achieved by preliminary heat treatment of the nanopowder. The features of conductivity and the reason for increase of the of the superconducting transition temperature in these materials are discussed.

  1. Reentrant Phase Coherence in Superconducting Nanowire Composites.

    PubMed

    Ansermet, Diane; Petrović, Alexander P; He, Shikun; Chernyshov, Dmitri; Hoesch, Moritz; Salloum, Diala; Gougeon, Patrick; Potel, Michel; Boeri, Lilia; Andersen, Ole Krogh; Panagopoulos, Christos

    2016-01-26

    The short coherence lengths characteristic of low-dimensional superconductors are associated with usefully high critical fields or temperatures. Unfortunately, such materials are often sensitive to disorder and suffer from phase fluctuations in the superconducting order parameter which diverge with temperature T, magnetic field H, or current I. We propose an approach to overcome synthesis and fluctuation problems: building superconductors from inhomogeneous composites of nanofilaments. Macroscopic crystals of quasi-one-dimensional Na2-δMo6Se6 featuring Na vacancy disorder (δ ≈ 0.2) are shown to behave as percolative networks of superconducting nanowires. Long-range order is established via transverse coupling between individual one-dimensional filaments, yet phase coherence remains unstable to fluctuations and localization in the zero (T,H,I) limit. However, a region of reentrant phase coherence develops upon raising (T,H,I). We attribute this phenomenon to an enhancement of the transverse coupling due to electron delocalization. Our observations of reentrant phase coherence coincide with a peak in the Josephson energy EJ at nonzero (T,H,I), which we estimate using a simple analytical model for a disordered anisotropic superconductor. Na2-δMo6Se6 is therefore a blueprint for a future generation of nanofilamentary superconductors with inbuilt resilience to phase fluctuations at elevated (T,H,I).

  2. Evidence for magnetic-field-induced decoupling of superconducting bilayers in La 2-xCa 1+xCu 2O 6

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Zhong, Ruidan; Schneeloch, J. A.; Chi, Hang

    We report a study of magnetic susceptibility and electrical resistivity as a function of temperature and magnetic field in superconducting crystals of La 2-xCa 1+xCu 2O 6 with x = 0.10 and 0.15 and transition temperature Tmore » $$m\\atop{c}$$ = 54 K (determined from the susceptibility). When an external magnetic field is applied perpendicular to the CuO 2 bilayers, the resistive superconducting transition measured with currents flowing perpendicular to the bilayers is substantially lower than that found with currents flowing parallel to the bilayers. Intriguingly, this anisotropic behavior is quite similar to that observed for the magnetic irreversibility points with the field applied either perpendicular or parallel to the bilayers. We discuss the results in the context of other studies that have found evidence for the decoupling of superconducting layers induced by a perpendicular magnetic field.« less

  3. Evidence for magnetic-field-induced decoupling of superconducting bilayers in La 2-xCa 1+xCu 2O 6

    DOE PAGES

    Zhong, Ruidan; Schneeloch, J. A.; Chi, Hang; ...

    2018-04-24

    We report a study of magnetic susceptibility and electrical resistivity as a function of temperature and magnetic field in superconducting crystals of La 2-xCa 1+xCu 2O 6 with x = 0.10 and 0.15 and transition temperature Tmore » $$m\\atop{c}$$ = 54 K (determined from the susceptibility). When an external magnetic field is applied perpendicular to the CuO 2 bilayers, the resistive superconducting transition measured with currents flowing perpendicular to the bilayers is substantially lower than that found with currents flowing parallel to the bilayers. Intriguingly, this anisotropic behavior is quite similar to that observed for the magnetic irreversibility points with the field applied either perpendicular or parallel to the bilayers. We discuss the results in the context of other studies that have found evidence for the decoupling of superconducting layers induced by a perpendicular magnetic field.« less

  4. Dynamics of correlation-frozen antinodal quasiparticles in superconducting cuprates

    PubMed Central

    Cilento, Federico; Manzoni, Giulia; Sterzi, Andrea; Peli, Simone; Ronchi, Andrea; Crepaldi, Alberto; Boschini, Fabio; Cacho, Cephise; Chapman, Richard; Springate, Emma; Eisaki, Hiroshi; Greven, Martin; Berciu, Mona; Kemper, Alexander F.; Damascelli, Andrea; Capone, Massimo; Giannetti, Claudio; Parmigiani, Fulvio

    2018-01-01

    Many puzzling properties of high–critical temperature (Tc) superconducting (HTSC) copper oxides have deep roots in the nature of the antinodal quasiparticles, the elementary excitations with wave vector parallel to the Cu–O bonds. These electronic states are most affected by the onset of antiferromagnetic correlations and charge instabilities, and they host the maximum of the anisotropic superconducting gap and pseudogap. We use time-resolved extreme-ultraviolet photoemission with proper photon energy (18 eV) and time resolution (50 fs) to disclose the ultrafast dynamics of the antinodal states in a prototypical HTSC cuprate. After photoinducing a nonthermal charge redistribution within the Cu and O orbitals, we reveal a dramatic momentum-space differentiation of the transient electron dynamics. Whereas the nodal quasiparticle distribution is heated up as in a conventional metal, new quasiparticle states transiently emerge at the antinodes, similarly to what is expected for a photoexcited Mott insulator, where the frozen charges can be released by an impulsive excitation. This transient antinodal metallicity is mapped into the dynamics of the O-2p bands, thus directly demonstrating the intertwining between the low- and high-energy scales that is typical of correlated materials. Our results suggest that the correlation-driven freezing of the electrons moving along the Cu–O bonds, analogous to the Mott localization mechanism, constitutes the starting point for any model of high-Tc superconductivity and other exotic phases of HTSC cuprates. PMID:29507885

  5. Development of YBCO Superconductor for Electric Systems: Cooperative Research and Development Final Report, CRADA Number CRD-04-150

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Bhattacharya, R.

    2013-03-01

    The proposed project will be collaborative in exploration of high temperature superconductor oxide films between SuperPower, Inc. and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. This CRADA will attempt to develop YBCO based high temperature oxide technology.

  6. Magnetized anisotropic stars

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stelea, Cristian; Dariescu, Marina-Aura; Dariescu, Ciprian

    2018-05-01

    We extend a known solution-generating technique for isotropic fluids in order to construct more general models of anisotropic stars with poloidal magnetic fields. In particular, we discuss the magnetized versions of some well-known exact solutions describing anisotropic stars and dark energy stars, and we describe some of their properties.

  7. Improved Epitaxy and Surface Morphology in YBa2Cu3Oy Thin Films Grown on Double Buffered Si Wafers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gao, J.; Kang, L.; Wong, H. Y.; Cheung, Y. L.; Yang, J.

    Highly epitaxial thin films of YBCO have been obtained on silicon wafers using a Eu2CuO4/YSZ (yttrium-stabilized ZrO2) double buffer. Our results showed that application of such a double buffer can significantly enhance the epitaxy of grown YBCO. It also leads to an excellent surface morphology. The average surface roughness was found less than 5 nm in a large range. The results of X-ray small angle reflection and positron spectroscpy demonstrate a very clear and flat interface between YBCO and buffer layers. The Eu2CuO4/YSZ double buffer could be promising for coating high-TC superconducting films on various reactive substrates.

  8. Solid-Cryogen Cooling Technique for Superconducting Magnets of NMR and MRI

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Iwasa, Yukikazu; Bascuñán, Juan; Hahn, Seungyong; Park, Dong Keun

    This paper describes a solid-cryogen cooling technique currently being developed at the M.I.T. Francis Bitter Magnet Laboratory for application to superconducting magnets of NMR and MRI. The technique is particularly appropriate for "dry" magnets that do not rely on liquid cryogen, e.g., liquid helium (LHe), as their primary cooling sources. In addition, the advantages of a cryocirculator (a combination of a cryocooler and a working fluid circulator) over a cryocooler as the primary cooling source for dry magnets are described. The four magnets described here, all incorporating this cooling technique described and currently being developed at the FBML, are: 1) a solid-nitrogen (SN2)-cooled Nb3Sn 500-MHz/200-mm MRI magnet with an operating temperature range between 4.2 K (nominal) and 6.0 K (maximum with its primary cooling source off); 2) an SN2-cooled MgB2 0.5-T/800-mm MRI magnet, 1015 K; 3) an SN2-cooled compact YBCO "annulus" 100-MHz/9-mm NMR magnet, 10-15 K; 4) an SN2-cooled 1.5T/75-mm NbTi magnet for slow magic-angle-spinning NMR/MRI, 4.5-5.5 K.

  9. High Temperature Superconducting Thick Films

    DOEpatents

    Arendt, Paul N.; Foltyn, Stephen R.; Groves, James R.; Holesinger, Terry G.; Jia, Quanxi

    2005-08-23

    An article including a substrate, a layer of an inert oxide material upon the surface of the substrate, (generally the inert oxide material layer has a smooth surface, i.e., a RMS roughness of less than about 2 nm), a layer of an amorphous oxide or oxynitride material upon the inert oxide material layer, a layer of an oriented cubic oxide material having a rock-salt-like structure upon the amorphous oxide material layer is provided together with additional layers such as at least one layer of a buffer material upon the oriented cubic oxide material layer or a HTS top-layer of YBCO directly upon the oriented cubic oxide material layer. With a HTS top-layer of YBCO upon at least one layer of a buffer material in such an article, Jc's of 1.4×106 A/cm2 have been demonstrated with projected Ic's of 210 Amperes across a sample 1 cm wide.

  10. Preparation and transport properties of superconducting layers in the Ca-Sr-Bi-Cu-O system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Klee, M.; Stollman, G. M.; Stotz, S.; de Vries, J. W. C.

    1988-08-01

    Superconducting layers in the CaSrBiCuO system are prepared by thermal decomposition of metal carboxylates using a spin-coating and a dip-coating method onto ceramic MgO substrates. The samples consist of a tetragonal calcium-strontium-bismuth-cuprate and two bismuth-free calcium-strontium-cuprates. A step in the resistance versus temperature curve is observed which, together with the influence of magnetic fields, is interpreted as typical for a granular superconductor. The analysis shows that the critical current density is determined by domains of the order of some unit cells. The strong dependence of the superconducting transition on the orientation of an applied magnetic field is probably caused by the anisotropic layer structure. The coherence length perpendicular to the c-axis of the material is estimated to be ξab(0) = 4.0 nm and parallel to the c-axis ξc(0) = 0.6 nm.

  11. Micromechanical Modeling of Anisotropic Damage-Induced Permeability Variation in Crystalline Rocks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Yifeng; Hu, Shaohua; Zhou, Chuangbing; Jing, Lanru

    2014-09-01

    This paper presents a study on the initiation and progress of anisotropic damage and its impact on the permeability variation of crystalline rocks of low porosity. This work was based on an existing micromechanical model considering the frictional sliding and dilatancy behaviors of microcracks and the recovery of degraded stiffness when the microcracks are closed. By virtue of an analytical ellipsoidal inclusion solution, lower bound estimates were formulated through a rigorous homogenization procedure for the damage-induced effective permeability of the microcracks-matrix system, and their predictive limitations were discussed with superconducting penny-shaped microcracks, in which the greatest lower bounds were obtained for each homogenization scheme. On this basis, an empirical upper bound estimation model was suggested to account for the influences of anisotropic damage growth, connectivity, frictional sliding, dilatancy, and normal stiffness recovery of closed microcracks, as well as tensile stress-induced microcrack opening on the permeability variation, with a small number of material parameters. The developed model was calibrated and validated by a series of existing laboratory triaxial compression tests with permeability measurements on crystalline rocks, and applied for characterizing the excavation-induced damage zone and permeability variation in the surrounding granitic rock of the TSX tunnel at the Atomic Energy of Canada Limited's (AECL) Underground Research Laboratory (URL) in Canada, with an acceptable agreement between the predicted and measured data.

  12. Superconducting-magnetic heterostructures: a method of decreasing AC losses and improving critical current density in multifilamentary conductors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Glowacki, B. A.; Majoros, M.

    2009-06-01

    Magnetic materials can help to improve the performance of practical superconductors on the macroscale/microscale as magnetic diverters and also on the nanoscale as effective pinning centres. It has been established by numerical modelling that magnetic shielding of the filaments reduces AC losses in self-field conditions due to decoupling of the filaments and, at the same time, it increases the critical current of the composite. This effect is especially beneficial for coated conductors, in which the anisotropic properties of the superconductor are amplified by the conductor architecture. However, ferromagnetic coatings are often chemically incompatible with YBa2Cu3O7 and (Pb,Bi)2Sr2Ca2Cu3O9 conductors, and buffer layers have to be used. In contrast, in MgB2 conductors an iron matrix may remain in direct contact with the superconducting core. The application of superconducting-magnetic heterostructures requires consideration of the thermal and electromagnetic stability of the superconducting materials used. On one hand, magnetic materials reduce the critical current gradient across the individual filaments but, on the other hand, they often reduce the thermal conductivity between the superconducting core and the cryogen, which may cause destruction of the conductor in the event of thermal instability. A possible nanoscale method of improving the critical current density of superconducting conductors is the introduction of sub-micron magnetic pinning centres. However, the volumetric density and chemical compatibility of magnetic inclusions has to be controlled to avoid suppression of the superconducting properties.

  13. Indigenously developed bending strain setup for I-V characterization of superconducting tapes and wires

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Panchal, Arun; Bano, Anees; Ghate, Mahesh; Raj, Piyush; Pradhan, Subrata

    2017-04-01

    An indigenously developed bending strain setup to examine the effect of pure bending on critical current of superconducting tapes and strands has been presented in this paper. This set up is capable of applying various bending radius in situ at cryogenic temperature with rack and pinion gear mechanism. The bending strain applied on samples can be controlled externally by rotational input which is transferred in the form of bending radius during experiments. The working principle, design and optimization of this set up have been discussed. The performance and validation of this setup has been done on various HTS tapes and copper strands at 77 K in actual experimental facility. Effect of bending radius (15.5 mm - 48 mm) i.e. strains and ramp rate (2 A/s - 8 A/s) is observed on current capability of various HTS Tapes. It is observed that in uniform bending condition, degradation in current carrying capacity BSCCO and Di-BSCCO (˜ 30 %) is more as compare to YBCO (˜ 2.75 %) at 77 K. The effect of pure mechanical strain has been experimentally observed and presented.

  14. Superconductive wire

    DOEpatents

    Korzekwa, David A.; Bingert, John F.; Peterson, Dean E.; Sheinberg, Haskell

    1995-01-01

    A superconductive article is made by inserting a rigid mandrel into an internal cavity of a first metallic tube, said tube having an interior surface and an exterior surface, said interior surface defining the interior cavity, forming a layer of a superconductive material or superconductive precursor upon the exterior surface of said first metallic tube, machining the layer of superconductive material or superconductive precursor to a predetermined diameter to form an intermediate article configured for insertion into a second metallic tube having an interior diameter corresponding to the predetermined diameter, inserting the machined intermediate article into a second metallic tube having an internal diameter corresponding to the predetermined diameter of the intermediate article to form a composite intermediate article, reducing or ironing the composite intermediate article to a predetermined cross-sectional diameter, and sintering the reduced or ironed composite intermediate article at temperatures and for time sufficient for the superconductive material or superconductive precursor to exhibit superconductivity.

  15. Superconductive wire

    DOEpatents

    Korzekwa, D.A.; Bingert, J.F.; Peterson, D.E.; Sheinberg, H.

    1995-07-18

    A superconductive article is made by inserting a rigid mandrel into an internal cavity of a first metallic tube, said tube having an interior surface and an exterior surface, said interior surface defining the interior cavity, forming a layer of a superconductive material or superconductive precursor upon the exterior surface of said first metallic tube, machining the layer of superconductive material or superconductive precursor to a predetermined diameter to form an intermediate article configured for insertion into a second metallic tube having an interior diameter corresponding to the predetermined diameter, inserting the machined intermediate article into a second metallic tube having an internal diameter corresponding to the predetermined diameter of the intermediate article to form a composite intermediate article, reducing or ironing the composite intermediate article to a predetermined cross-sectional diameter, and sintering the reduced or ironed composite intermediate article at temperatures and for time sufficient for the superconductive material or superconductive precursor to exhibit superconductivity. 2 figs.

  16. Analytical solutions by squeezing to the anisotropic Rabi model in the nonperturbative deep-strong-coupling regime

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Yu-Yu; Chen, Xiang-You

    2017-12-01

    An unexplored nonperturbative deep strong coupling (npDSC) achieved in superconducting circuits has been studied in the anisotropic Rabi model by the generalized squeezing rotating-wave approximation. Energy levels are evaluated analytically from the reformulated Hamiltonian and agree well with numerical ones in a wide range of coupling strength. Such improvement ascribes to deformation effects in the displaced-squeezed state presented by the squeezed momentum variance, which are omitted in previous displaced states. The atom population dynamics confirms the validity of our approach for the npDSC strength. Our approach offers the possibility to explore interesting phenomena analytically in the npDSC regime in qubit-oscillator experiments.

  17. Buffer layer for thin film structures

    DOEpatents

    Foltyn, Stephen R.; Jia, Quanxi; Arendt, Paul N.; Wang, Haiyan

    2006-10-31

    A composite structure including a base substrate and a layer of a mixture of strontium titanate and strontium ruthenate is provided. A superconducting article can include a composite structure including an outermost layer of magnesium oxide, a buffer layer of strontium titanate or a mixture of strontium titanate and strontium ruthenate and a top-layer of a superconducting material such as YBCO upon the buffer layer.

  18. Buffer layer for thin film structures

    DOEpatents

    Foltyn, Stephen R.; Jia, Quanxi; Arendt, Paul N.; Wang, Haiyan

    2010-06-15

    A composite structure including a base substrate and a layer of a mixture of strontium titanate and strontium ruthenate is provided. A superconducting article can include a composite structure including an outermost layer of magnesium oxide, a buffer layer of strontium titanate or a mixture of strontium titanate and strontium ruthenate and a top-layer of a superconducting material such as YBCO upon the buffer layer.

  19. Quasiparticle Excitations in the Superconducting State of FeSe Probed by Thermal Hall Conductivity in the Vicinity of the BCS-BEC Crossover

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Watashige, Tatsuya; Arsenijević, Stevan; Yamashita, Takuya; Terazawa, Daiki; Onishi, Takafumi; Opherden, Lars; Kasahara, Shigeru; Tokiwa, Yoshifumi; Kasahara, Yuichi; Shibauchi, Takasada; von Löhneysen, Hilbert; Wosnitza, Jochen; Matsuda, Yuji

    2017-01-01

    There is growing evidence that the superconducting semimetal FeSe (Tc ˜ 8 K) is in the crossover regime between weak-coupling Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) and strong-coupling Bose-Einstein-condensate (BEC) limits. We report on longitudinal and transverse thermal conductivities, κxx and κxy, respectively, in magnetic fields up to 20 T. The field dependences of κxx and κxy imply that a highly anisotropic small superconducting gap forms at the electron Fermi-surface pocket whereas a more isotropic and larger gap forms at the hole pocket. Below ˜1.0 K, both κxx and κxy exhibit distinct anomalies (kinks) at the upper critical field Hc2 and at a field H* slightly below Hc2. The analysis of the thermal Hall angle (κxy/κxx) indicates a change of the quasiparticle scattering rate at H*. These results provide strong support to the previous suggestion that above H* a distinct field-induced superconducting phase emerges with an unprecedented large spin imbalance.

  20. Superconducting gap symmetry in the superconductor BaFe1.9Ni0.1As2

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kuzmicheva, T. E.; Kuzmichev, S. A.; Sadakov, A. V.; Gavrilkin, S. Yu.; Tsvetkov, A. Yu.; Lu, X.; Luo, H.; Vasiliev, A. N.; Pudalov, V. M.; Chen, Xiao-Jia; Abdel-Hafiez, Mahmoud

    2018-06-01

    We report on the Andreev spectroscopy and specific heat of high-quality single crystals of BaFe1.9Ni0.1As2 . The intrinsic multiple Andreev reflection spectroscopy reveals two anisotropic superconducting gaps ΔL≈3.2 -4.5 meV , ΔS≈1.2 -1.6 meV (the ranges correspond to the minimum and maximum value of the coupling energy in the kxky plane). The 25 %-30 % anisotropy shows the absence of nodes in the superconducting gaps. Using a two-band model with s -wave-like gaps ΔL≈3.2 meV and ΔS≈1.6 meV , the temperature dependence of the electronic specific heat can be well described. A linear magnetic field dependence of the low-temperature specific heat offers further support of s -wave type of the order parameter. We find that a d -wave or single-gap BCS theory under the weak-coupling approach cannot describe our experiments.

  1. Superconducting coil and method of stress management in a superconducting coil

    DOEpatents

    McIntyre, Peter M.; Shen, Weijun; Diaczenko, Nick; Gross, Dan A.

    1999-01-01

    A superconducting coil (12) having a plurality of superconducting layers (18) is provided. Each superconducting layer (18) may have at least one superconducting element (20) which produces an operational load. An outer support structure (24) may be disposed outwardly from the plurality of layers (18). A load transfer system (22) may be coupled between at least one of the superconducting elements (20) and the outer support structure (24). The load transfer system (22) may include a support matrix structure (30) operable to transfer the operational load from the superconducting element (20) directly to the outer support structure (24). A shear release layer (40) may be disposed, in part, between the superconducting element (20) and the support matrix structure (30) for relieving a shear stress between the superconducting element (20) and the support matrix structure (30). A compliant layer (42) may also be disposed, in part, between the superconducting element (20) and the support matrix structure (30) for relieving a compressive stress on the superconducting element (20).

  2. Superconducting Cable

    DOEpatents

    Hughey, Raburn L.; Sinha, Uday K.; Reece, David S.; Muller, Albert C.

    2005-03-08

    In order to provide a flexible oxide superconducting cable which is reduced in AC loss, tape-shaped superconducting wires covered with a stabilizing metal are wound on a flexible former. The superconducting wires are preferably laid on the former at a bending strain of not more than 0.2%. In laying on the former, a number of tape-shaped superconducting wires are laid on a core member in a side-by-side manner, to form a first layer. A prescribed number of tape-shaped superconducting wires are laid on top of the first layer in a side-by-side manner, to form a second layer. The former may be made of a metal, plastic, reinforced plastic, polymer, or a composite and provides flexibility to the superconducting wires and the cable formed therewith.

  3. Superconducting Cable

    DOEpatents

    Hughey, Raburn L.; Sinha, Uday K.; Reece, David S.; Muller, Albert C.

    2005-07-22

    In order to provide a flexible oxide superconducting cable which is reduced in AC loss, tape-shaped superconducting wires covered with a stabilizing metal are wound on a flexible former. The superconducting wires are preferably laid on the former at a bending strain of not more than 0.2%. In laying on the former, a number of tape-shaped superconducting wires are laid on a core member in a side-by-side manner, to form a first layer. A prescribed number of tape-shaped superconducting wires are laid on top of the first layer in a side-by-side manner, to form a second layer. The former may be made of a metal, plastic, reinforced plastic, polymer, or a composite and provides flexibility to the superconducting wires and the cable formed therewith.

  4. Solid State Research

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1997-08-15

    superconducting resonators that have been demonstrated use microstrip circuits of YBCO at 77 K and niobium at 4 K coupled to polycrystalline magnetic garnet... demagnetizing factor in plane along the direction of propagation, and Ny is the effective demagnetizing factor of the rf magnetization component normal to...Geiger-Mode Avalanche Photodiode Arrays for Imaging Laser Radar 31 6. ANALOG DEVICE TECHNOLOGY 35 6.1 Tunable Superconducting Resonators Using Ferrite

  5. I-Love-Q Anisotropically

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yagi, Kent; Yunes, Nicolas

    2015-04-01

    Recent work shows that rotating incompressible stars with anisotropic matter in the weak-field limit become prolate, which is rather counter-intuitive. We construct slowly-rotating, incompressible and anisotropic stellar solutions in full General Relativity valid to quadratic order in spin and show that the stellar shape shifts from prolate to oblate as one increases the relativistic effect. Anisotropic stars are also interesting because they can be more compact than isotropic stars, and can even be as compact as black holes. We present how stellar multipole moments approach the black hole limit as one increases the compactness, suggesting that they reach the black hole limit continuously.

  6. Orbital Selective Spin Excitations and their Impact on Superconductivity of LiFe 1 - x Co x As

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Li, Yu; Yin, Zhiping; Wang, Xiancheng

    We use neutron scattering to study spin excitations in single crystals of LiFe 0.88Co 0.12As, which is located near the boundary of the superconducting phase of LiFe 1-xCo xAs and exhibits non- Fermi-liquid behavior indicative of a quantum critical point. By comparing spin excitations of LiFe 0.88Co 0.12As with a combined density functional theory (DFT) and dynamical mean field theory (DMFT) calculation, we conclude that wave-vector correlated low energy spin excitations are mostly from the dxy orbitals, while high-energy spin excitations arise from the dyz and dxz orbitals. Unlike most iron pnictides, the strong orbital selective spin excitations in LiFeAsmore » family cannot be described by anisotropic Heisenberg Hamiltonian. While the evolution of low-energy spin excitations of LiFe 1-xCo xAs are consistent with electron-hole Fermi surface nesting condition for the dxy orbital, the reduced superconductivity in LiFe 0.88Co 0.12As suggests that Fermi surface nesting conditions for the dyz and dxz orbitals are also important for superconductivity in iron pnictides.« less

  7. Orbital Selective Spin Excitations and their Impact on Superconductivity of LiFe 1 - x Co x As

    DOE PAGES

    Li, Yu; Yin, Zhiping; Wang, Xiancheng; ...

    2016-06-17

    We use neutron scattering to study spin excitations in single crystals of LiFe 0.88Co 0.12As, which is located near the boundary of the superconducting phase of LiFe 1-xCo xAs and exhibits non- Fermi-liquid behavior indicative of a quantum critical point. By comparing spin excitations of LiFe 0.88Co 0.12As with a combined density functional theory (DFT) and dynamical mean field theory (DMFT) calculation, we conclude that wave-vector correlated low energy spin excitations are mostly from the dxy orbitals, while high-energy spin excitations arise from the dyz and dxz orbitals. Unlike most iron pnictides, the strong orbital selective spin excitations in LiFeAsmore » family cannot be described by anisotropic Heisenberg Hamiltonian. While the evolution of low-energy spin excitations of LiFe 1-xCo xAs are consistent with electron-hole Fermi surface nesting condition for the dxy orbital, the reduced superconductivity in LiFe 0.88Co 0.12As suggests that Fermi surface nesting conditions for the dyz and dxz orbitals are also important for superconductivity in iron pnictides.« less

  8. Orbital Selective Spin Excitations and their Impact on Superconductivity of LiFe_{1-x}Co_{x}As.

    PubMed

    Li, Yu; Yin, Zhiping; Wang, Xiancheng; Tam, David W; Abernathy, D L; Podlesnyak, A; Zhang, Chenglin; Wang, Meng; Xing, Lingyi; Jin, Changqing; Haule, Kristjan; Kotliar, Gabriel; Maier, Thomas A; Dai, Pengcheng

    2016-06-17

    We use neutron scattering to study spin excitations in single crystals of LiFe_{0.88}Co_{0.12}As, which is located near the boundary of the superconducting phase of LiFe_{1-x}Co_{x}As and exhibits non-Fermi-liquid behavior indicative of a quantum critical point. By comparing spin excitations of LiFe_{0.88}Co_{0.12}As with a combined density functional theory and dynamical mean field theory calculation, we conclude that wave-vector correlated low energy spin excitations are mostly from the d_{xy} orbitals, while high-energy spin excitations arise from the d_{yz} and d_{xz} orbitals. Unlike most iron pnictides, the strong orbital selective spin excitations in the LiFeAs family cannot be described by an anisotropic Heisenberg Hamiltonian. While the evolution of low-energy spin excitations of LiFe_{1-x}Co_{x}As is consistent with the electron-hole Fermi surface nesting conditions for the d_{xy} orbital, the reduced superconductivity in LiFe_{0.88}Co_{0.12}As suggests that Fermi surface nesting conditions for the d_{yz} and d_{xz} orbitals are also important for superconductivity in iron pnictides.

  9. Superconducting structure

    DOEpatents

    Kwon, Chuhee; Jia, Quanxi; Foltyn, Stephen R.

    2003-04-01

    A superconductive structure including a dielectric oxide substrate, a thin buffer layer of a superconducting material thereon; and, a layer of a rare earth-barium-copper oxide superconducting film thereon the thin layer of yttrium-barium-copper oxide, the rare earth selected from the group consisting of samarium, gadolinium, ytterbium, erbium, neodymium, dysprosium, holmium, lutetium, a combination of more than one element from the rare earth group and a combination of one or more elements from the rare earth group with yttrium, the buffer layer of superconducting material characterized as having chemical and structural compatibility with the dielectric oxide substrate and the rare earth-barium-copper oxide superconducting film is provided.

  10. Superconducting Structure

    DOEpatents

    Kwon, Chuhee; Jia, Quanxi; Foltyn, Stephen R.

    2005-09-13

    A superconductive structure including a dielectric oxide substrate, a thin buffer layer of a superconducting material thereon; and, a layer of a rare earth-barium-copper oxide superconducting film thereon the thin layer of yttrium-barium-copper oxide, the rare earth selected from the group consisting of samarium, gadolinium, ytterbium, erbium, neodymium, dysprosium, holmium, lutetium, a combination of more than one element from the rare earth group and a combination of one or more elements from the rare earth group with yttrium, the buffer layer of superconducting material characterized as having chemical and structural compatibility with the dielectric oxide substrate and the rare earth-barium-copper oxide superconducting film is provided.

  11. Huge critical current density and tailored superconducting anisotropy in SmFeAsO₀.₈F₀.₁₅ by low-density columnar-defect incorporation.

    PubMed

    Fang, L; Jia, Y; Mishra, V; Chaparro, C; Vlasko-Vlasov, V K; Koshelev, A E; Welp, U; Crabtree, G W; Zhu, S; Zhigadlo, N D; Katrych, S; Karpinski, J; Kwok, W K

    2013-01-01

    Iron-based superconductors could be useful for electricity distribution and superconducting magnet applications because of their relatively high critical current densities and upper critical fields. SmFeAsO₀.₈F₀.₁₅ is of particular interest as it has the highest transition temperature among these materials. Here we show that by introducing a low density of correlated nano-scale defects into this material by heavy-ion irradiation, we can increase its critical current density to up to 2 × 10⁷ A cm⁻² at 5 K--the highest ever reported for an iron-based superconductor--without reducing its critical temperature of 50 K. We also observe a notable reduction in the thermodynamic superconducting anisotropy, from 8 to 4 upon irradiation. We develop a model based on anisotropic electron scattering that predicts that the superconducting anisotropy can be tailored via correlated defects in semimetallic, fully gapped type II superconductors.

  12. Enhanced critical currents of commercial 2G superconducting coated conductors through proton irradiation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Welp, Ulrich; Leroux, M.; Kihlstrom, K. J.; Kwok, W.-K.; Koshelev, A. E.; Miller, D. J.; Rupich, M. W.; Fleshler, S.; Malozemoff, A. P.; Kayani, A.

    2015-03-01

    We report on magnetization and transport measurements of the critical current density, Jc, of commercial 2G YBCO coated conductors before and after proton irradiation. The samples were irradiated along the c-axis with 4 MeV protons. Proton irradiation produces a mixed pinning landscape composed of pre-existing rare earth particles and a uniform distribution of irradiation induced nm-sized defects. This pinning landscape strongly reduces the suppression of Jc in magnetic fields resulting in a doubling of Jc in a field of ~ 4T. The irradiation dose-dependence of Jc is characterized by a temperature and field dependent sweat spot that at 5 K and 6 T occurs around 20x1016 p/cm2. Large-scale time dependent Ginzburg-Landau simulations yield a good description of our results. This work supported by the Center for Emergent Superconductivity, an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the U.S. D.O.E., Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences (KK, ML, AEK) and by the D.O.E, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, under Contract No. DE-AC02-06CH11357 (UW, WKK).

  13. On approximating guided waves in plates with thin anisotropic coatings by means of effective boundary conditions

    PubMed

    Niklasson; Datta; Dunn

    2000-09-01

    In this paper, effective boundary conditions for elastic wave propagation in plates with thin coatings are derived. These effective boundary conditions are used to obtain an approximate dispersion relation for guided waves in an isotropic plate with thin anisotropic coating layers. The accuracy of the effective boundary conditions is investigated numerically by comparison with exact solutions for two different material systems. The systems considered consist of a metallic core with thin superconducting coatings. It is shown that for wavelengths long compared to the coating thickness there is excellent agreement between the approximate and exact solutions for both systems. Furthermore, numerical results presented might be used to characterize coating properties by ultrasonic techniques.

  14. Anisotropic Grid Generation

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-03-24

    AFRL-AFOSR-VA-TR-2016-0129 ANISOTROPIC GRID GENERATION | Deliverables Daniel Sievenpiper UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN DIEGO Final Report 03/24/2016...ORGANIZATION. 1. REPORT DATE (DD-MM-YYYY) 12-03-2016 2 . REPORT TYPE Final report 3. DATES COVERED (From - To) 15-12-2012 - 14-12-2015 4. TITLE AND...SUBTITLE Anisotropic Grid Generation 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER FA9550-13-1-0014 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) Daniel

  15. FOREWORD: Focus on Superconductivity in Semiconductors Focus on Superconductivity in Semiconductors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Takano, Yoshihiko

    2008-12-01

    Since the discovery of superconductivity in diamond, much attention has been given to the issue of superconductivity in semiconductors. Because diamond has a large band gap of 5.5 eV, it is called a wide-gap semiconductor. Upon heavy boron doping over 3×1020 cm-3, diamond becomes metallic and demonstrates superconductivity at temperatures below 11.4 K. This discovery implies that a semiconductor can become a superconductor upon carrier doping. Recently, superconductivity was also discovered in boron-doped silicon and SiC semiconductors. The number of superconducting semiconductors has increased. In 2008 an Fe-based superconductor was discovered in a research project on carrier doping in a LaCuSeO wide-gap semiconductor. This discovery enhanced research activities in the field of superconductivity, where many scientists place particular importance on superconductivity in semiconductors. This focus issue features a variety of topics on superconductivity in semiconductors selected from the 2nd International Workshop on Superconductivity in Diamond and Related Materials (IWSDRM2008), which was held at the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), Tsukuba, Japan in July 2008. The 1st workshop was held in 2005 and was published as a special issue in Science and Technology of Advanced Materials (STAM) in 2006 (Takano 2006 Sci. Technol. Adv. Mater. 7 S1). The selection of papers describe many important experimental and theoretical studies on superconductivity in semiconductors. Topics on boron-doped diamond include isotope effects (Ekimov et al) and the detailed structure of boron sites, and the relation between superconductivity and disorder induced by boron doping. Regarding other semiconductors, the superconducting properties of silicon and SiC (Kriener et al, Muranaka et al and Yanase et al) are discussed, and In2O3 (Makise et al) is presented as a new superconducting semiconductor. Iron-based superconductors are presented as a new series of high

  16. Conductor-backed coplanar waveguide resonators of Y-Ba-Cu-O and Tl-Ba-Ca-Cu-O on LaAlO3

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Miranda, F. A.; Bhasin, K. B.; Stan, M. A.; Kong, K. S.; Itoh, T.

    1992-01-01

    Conductor-backed coplanar waveguide (CBCPW) resonators operating at 10.8 GHz have been fabricated from Tl-Ba-Ca-O (TBCCO) and Y-Ba-Cu-O (YBCO) thin films on LaAlO3. The resonators consist of a coplanar waveguide (CPW) patterned on the superconducting film side of the LaAlO3 substrate with a gold ground plane coated on the opposite side. These resonators were tested in the temperature range from 14 to 106 K. At 77 K, the best of our TBCCO and YBCO resonators have an unloaded quality factor (Qo) 7 and 4 times, respectively, larger than that of a similar all-gold resonator. In this study, the Qo's of the TBCCO resonators were larger than those of their YBCO counterparts throughout the aforementioned temperature range.

  17. La0.7Sr0.3MnO3: A single, conductive-oxide buffer layer for the development of YBa2Cu3O7-δ coated conductors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Aytug, T.; Paranthaman, M.; Kang, B. W.; Sathyamurthy, S.; Goyal, A.; Christen, D. K.

    2001-10-01

    Coated conductor applications in power technologies require stabilization of the high-temperature superconducting (HTS) layers against thermal runaway. Conductive La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 (LSMO) has been epitaxially grown on biaxially textured Ni substrates as a single buffer layer. The subsequent epitaxial growth of YBa2Cu3O7-δ (YBCO) coatings by pulsed laser deposition yielded self-field critical current densities (Jc) of 0.5×106A/cm2 at 77 K, and provided good electrical connectivity over the entire structure (HTS+conductive-buffer+metal substrate). Property characterizations of YBCO/LSMO/Ni architecture revealed excellent crystallographic and morphological properties. These results have demonstrated that LSMO, used as a single, conductive buffer layer, may offer potential for use in fully stabilized YBCO coated conductors.

  18. Quantum oscillations in a bilayer with broken mirror symmetry: A minimal model for YBa 2 Cu 3 O 6 + δ

    DOE PAGES

    Maharaj, Akash V.; Zhang, Yi; Ramshaw, B. J.; ...

    2016-03-01

    Using an exact numerical solution and semiclassical analysis, we investigate quantum oscillations (QOs) in a model of a bilayer system with an anisotropic (elliptical) electron pocket in each plane. Key features of QO experiments in the high temperature superconducting cuprate YBCO can be reproduced by such a model, in particular the pattern of oscillation frequencies (which reflect “magnetic breakdown” between the two pockets) and the polar and azimuthal angular dependence of the oscillation amplitudes. However, the requisite magnetic breakdown is possible only under the assumption that the horizontal mirror plane symmetry is spontaneously broken and that the bilayer tunneling t ⊥ is substantially renormalized from its ‘bare’ value. Lastly, under the assumption that t ⊥ =more » $$\\sim\\atop{Z}_t$$ $$(0)\\atop{⊥}$$, where $$\\sim\\atop{Z}$$ is a measure of the quasiparticle weight, this suggests that $$\\sim\\atop{Z}$$ ≲ 1/20. Detailed comparisons with new YBa 2Cu 3O 6.58 QO data, taken over a very broad range of magnetic field, confirm specific predictions made by the breakdown scenario.« less

  19. Flux pinning in yttrium barium copper oxide coated conductors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Zhijun

    High quality high-temperature-superconducting YBa2Cu 3O7-x (YBCO) films for industrial applications demand very high critical current densities Jc, which can only be achieved by strong three-dimensional (3D) pinning with deliberately introduced nano-precipitates. The purpose of this thesis is to provide an in-depth understanding of the 3D pinning in such YBCO films. In pulsed laser deposition (PLD) prepared YBCO films, a high density of anti-phase boundaries and stacking faults were found to be effective pinning defects for improving Jc in small fields. However, their failure to improve Jc at high fields shows that such naturally generated defects are not strong 3D pinning centers. A demonstration of strong 3D pinning was found in a metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) grown YBCO coated conductor (CC) with a high density of (Y,Sm)2O3 nano-precipitates. We observed a significantly enhanced irreversibility field Hirr which, like other superconducting properties was independent of thickness, due to strong vortex-pin interactions. The advantage of 3D pinning was further illustrated by a bi-layer metalorganic deposition (MOD) grown YBCO CC with different 3D pinning structures in each layer. The Jc anisotropy of the bilayer was found to be the thickness-weighted sum of the anisotropy of the two individual layers, demonstrating an applicable way to tune the Jcanisotropy. Moreover, extensive low temperature and high magnetic field evaluations performed on an MOCVD CC with dense 3D (Y,Sm) 2O3 nano-precipitate pinning centers showed that its strong vortex pinning at 77 K correlated well to strong performance at 4.2 K too. YBCO films with quantitatively controlled artificial Y2O 3 nano-precipitates were also grown by PLD, and characterized over wide temperature and field ranges. Their Jc was found to be determined by the vortex pinning mediated by thermal fluctuation effects. In weak thermal-fluctuation situations Jc increased with decreasing effective precipitate

  20. Hot accretion flow with anisotropic viscosity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wu, Mao-Chun; Bu, De-Fu; Gan, Zhao-Ming; Yuan, Ye-Fei

    2017-12-01

    In extremely low accretion rate systems, the ion mean-free path can be much larger than the gyroradius. Therefore, gas pressure is anisotropic with respect to magnetic field lines. The effects of pressure anisotropy can be modeled by an anisotropic viscosity with respect to magnetic field lines. Angular momentum can be transferred by anisotropic viscosity. In this paper, we investigate hot accretion flow with anisotropic viscosity. We consider the case that anisotropic viscous stress is much larger than Maxwell stress. We find that the flow is convectively unstable. We also find that the mass inflow rate decreases towards a black hole. Wind is very weak; its mass flux is 10-15% of the mass inflow rate. The inward decrease of inflow rate is mainly due to convective motions. This result may be useful to understand the accretion flow in the Galactic Center Sgr A* and M 87 galaxy.

  1. Growth and micro structural studies on Yittria Stabilized Zirconia (YSZ) and Strontium Titanate (STO) buffer layers

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Srinivas, S.; Pinto, R.; Pai, S. P.; Dsousa, D. P.; Apte, P. R.; Kumar, D.; Purandare, S. C.; Bhatnagar, A. K.

    1995-01-01

    Microstructure of Yittria Stabilized Zirconia (YSZ) and Strontium Titanate (STO) of radio frequency magnetron sputtered buffer layers was studied at various sputtering conditions on Si (100), Sapphire and LaAlO3 (100) substrates. The effect of substrate temperatures up to 800 C and sputtering gas pressures in the range of 50 mTorr. of growth conditions was studied. The buffer layers of YSZ and STO showed a strong tendency for columnar growth was observed above 15 mTorr sputtering gas pressure and at high substrate temperatures. Post annealing of these films in oxygen atmosphere reduced the oxygen deficiency and strain generated during growth of the films. Strong c-axis oriented superconducting YBa2Cu3O7-x (YBCO) thin films were obtained on these buffer layers using pulsed laser ablation technique. YBCO films deposited on multilayers of YSZ and STO were shown to have better superconducting properties.

  2. Magnetic properties of type-I and type-II Weyl semimetals in the superconducting state

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rosenstein, Baruch; Shapiro, B. Ya.; Li, Dingping; Shapiro, I.

    2018-04-01

    Superconductivity was observed in certain range of pressure and chemical composition in Weyl semimetals of both type I and type II (when the Dirac cone tilt parameter κ >1 ). Magnetic properties of these superconductors are studied on the basis of microscopic phonon-mediated pairing model. The Ginzburg-Landau effective theory for the order parameter is derived using the Gorkov approach and used to determine anisotropic coherence length, the penetration depth determining the Abrikosov parameter for a layered material and applied to recent extensive experiments on MoTe2. It is found that superconductivity is of second kind near the topological transition at κ =1 . For a larger tilt parameter, superconductivity becomes first kind. For κ <1 , the Abrikosov parameter also tends to be reduced, often crossing over to the first kind. For the superconductors of the second kind, the dependence of critical fields Hc 2 and Hc 1 on the tilt parameter κ (governed by pressure) is compared with the experiments. Strength of thermal fluctuations is estimated and it is found that they are strong enough to cause Abrikosov vortex lattice melting near Hc 2. The melting line is calculated and is consistent with experiments provided the fluctuations are three dimensional in the type-I phase (large pressure) and two dimensional in the type-II phase (small pressure).

  3. High field superconducting magnets

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hait, Thomas P. (Inventor); Shirron, Peter J. (Inventor)

    2011-01-01

    A superconducting magnet includes an insulating layer disposed about the surface of a mandrel; a superconducting wire wound in adjacent turns about the mandrel to form the superconducting magnet, wherein the superconducting wire is in thermal communication with the mandrel, and the superconducting magnet has a field-to-current ratio equal to or greater than 1.1 Tesla per Ampere; a thermally conductive potting material configured to fill interstices between the adjacent turns, wherein the thermally conductive potting material and the superconducting wire provide a path for dissipation of heat; and a voltage limiting device disposed across each end of the superconducting wire, wherein the voltage limiting device is configured to prevent a voltage excursion across the superconducting wire during quench of the superconducting magnet.

  4. Multispectral Superconducting Quantum Detectors

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1995-08-01

    Noise 30 2.2.6.3 YBCO QSKIP Noise Equivalent Power 31 2.2.7 Competing LWIR Semiconductor Based Quantum Detectors 33 2.2.8 Conclusions on Operation...spectrum. Of particular interest are photodetectors operating in the midwave 3-5um (MWIR) and longwave 8-12um ( LWIR ) infrared spectra. Interest in...body photon radiation in the MWIR and LWIR spectral bands. With a significant black body photon radiation, passive night imaging and target

  5. Magnetic field dependence of Sommerfeld coefficient and penetration depth in NdFeAsO1-XFX single crystal

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Purohit, Geetanjali; Pattanaik, Anup; Nayak, Pratibindhya

    2018-05-01

    Anisotropic properties of Sommerfeld coefficient and penetration depth for single crystal NdFeAsO1-xFx has been studied by using modified phenomenological Ginzburg-Landau (GL) theory. In the above two-band superconducting system, the calculated value of Sommerfeld coefficient shows very close proximity with the experimental result as reported by Welp. Further, anisotropic ratio of penetration depth also calculated and reported for this system. The results of anisotropic properties of the above superconducting system implied that modified GL-theory in the form presented here can be applicable to the above superconducting system.

  6. Zn-site Substitution Effect in YbCo2Zn20

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kobayashi, Riki; Takamura, Haruki; Higa, Yasuyuki; Ikeda, Yoichi; Matsubayashi, Kazuyuki; Uwatoko, Yoshiya; Yoshizawa, Hideki; Aso, Naofumi

    2017-04-01

    We have investigated the substitution effect of YbCo2(Zn1-xTx)20 (T = Cu, Ga, and Cd) systems by using the experiments of X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), specific heat, magnetic susceptibility, magnetization, and electrical resistivity in order to find out a material that approaches a quantum critical point by chemical pressure. The XRPD and electrical resistivity measurements clarify that the Cu-substitution makes the lattice constants shrink and keeps the magnetic electrical resistivity high, while the Ga- and the Cd-substitution show opposite relation of the Cu-substitution. However, we could not detect clear substitution effect in the specific heat, magnetic susceptibility, and magnetization measurements of Cu-substitution system within our experiments. It is necessary that to study the Cu-substitution samples that have higher x value at lower temperature.

  7. Superconducting levitating bearing

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Moon, Francis C. (Inventor)

    1996-01-01

    A superconducting bearing assembly includes a coil field source that may be superconducting and a superconducting structure. The coil field source assembly and superconducting structure are positioned so as to enable relative rotary movement therebetween. The structure and coil field source are brought to a supercooled temperature before a power supply induces a current in the coil field source. A Meissner-like effect is thereby obtained and little or no penetration of the field lines is seen in the superconducting structure. Also, the field that can be obtained from the superconducting coil is 2-8 times higher than that of permanent magnets. Since the magnetic pressure is proportioned to the square of the field, magnetic pressures from 4 to 64 times higher are achieved.

  8. Anisotropic evaluation of synthetic surgical meshes.

    PubMed

    Saberski, E R; Orenstein, S B; Novitsky, Y W

    2011-02-01

    The material properties of meshes used in hernia repair contribute to the overall mechanical behavior of the repair. The anisotropic potential of synthetic meshes, representing a difference in material properties (e.g., elasticity) in different material axes, is not well defined to date. Haphazard orientation of anisotropic mesh material can contribute to inconsistent surgical outcomes. We aimed to characterize and compare anisotropic properties of commonly used synthetic meshes. Six different polypropylene (Trelex(®), ProLite™, Ultrapro™), polyester (Parietex™), and PTFE-based (Dualmesh(®), Infinit) synthetic meshes were selected. Longitudinal and transverse axes were defined for each mesh, and samples were cut in each axis orientation. Samples underwent uniaxial tensile testing, from which the elastic modulus (E) in each axis was determined. The degree of anisotropy (λ) was calculated as a logarithmic expression of the ratio between the elastic modulus in each axis. Five of six meshes displayed significant anisotropic behavior. Ultrapro™ and Infinit exhibited approximately 12- and 20-fold differences between perpendicular axes, respectively. Trelex(®), ProLite™, and Parietex™ were 2.3-2.4 times. Dualmesh(®) was the least anisotropic mesh, without marked difference between the axes. Anisotropy of synthetic meshes has been underappreciated. In this study, we found striking differences between elastic properties of perpendicular axes for most commonly used synthetic meshes. Indiscriminate orientation of anisotropic mesh may adversely affect hernia repairs. Proper labeling of all implants by manufacturers should be mandatory. Understanding the specific anisotropic behavior of synthetic meshes should allow surgeons to employ rational implant orientation to maximize outcomes of hernia repair.

  9. Cracking on anisotropic neutron stars

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Setiawan, A. M.; Sulaksono, A.

    2017-07-01

    We study the effect of cracking of a local anisotropic neutron star (NS) due to small density fluctuations. It is assumed that the neutron star core consists of leptons, nucleons and hyperons. The relativistic mean field model is used to describe the core of equation of state (EOS). For the crust, we use the EOS introduced by Miyatsu et al. [1]. Furthermore, two models are used to describe pressure anisotropic in neutron star matter. One is proposed by Doneva-Yazadjiev (DY) [2] and the other is proposed by Herrera-Barreto (HB) [3]. The anisotropic parameter of DY and HB models are adjusted in order the predicted maximum mass compatible to the mass of PSR J1614-2230 [4] and PSR J0348+0432 [5]. We have found that cracking can potentially present in the region close to the neutron star surface. The instability due cracking is quite sensitive to the NS mass and anisotropic parameter used.

  10. More superconductivity questions than answers.

    PubMed

    Robinson, A L

    1987-07-17

    Although making liquid nitrogen-temperature superconductors is easy enough that high school science projects already feature them, researchers still have little idea how the new ceramic oxides work and therefore little guidance for improving them. At the International Workshop on Novel Mechanisms of Superconductivity, held from 22 to 26 June in Berkeley, California, theorists reviewed a host of competing explanations of how these materials come by their remarkable properties, but they could not, get far in sifting through the candidates for the best one. One cause of the unsettled situation is that theorists have not yet pushed their models far enough to make many specific predictions about physical properties and therefore to provide a reason to choose one theory over another. But experimental data for comparison with theory are lacking, too. For example, experimentalists are just now succeeding in being able to grow single crystals and thin films of the ceramic oxide superconductors, whose properties were shown at the workshop to be highly anisotropic. Measurements already made on the polycrystalline sintered material available up to now are difficult to interpret and therefore need to be repeated on good-quality crystals and films, where the variation of properties with crystallographic orientation can be mapped out. Given the high level of Japanese activity in the field, it was surprising that no researchers from industrial laboratories in Japan presented their findings at the workshop. In the light of a budding international competition in commercializing superconductors, some American scientists interpreted the absence as an attempt to protect proprietary advances. A more pleasant surprise was the attendance of a delegation of six Soviet scientists, although one of the fathers of superconductivity theory, Vitaly Ginzburg of the P.N.Lebedev Institute of Physics in Moscow, who was expected, did not come.

  11. Coaxial line configuration for microwave power transmission study of YBa2Cu3O(7-delta) thin films

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Chorey, C. M.; Miranda, F. A.; Bhasin, K. B.

    1991-01-01

    Microwave transmission measurements through YBa2Cu3O(7-delta) (YBCO) high-transition-temperature superconducting thin films on lanthanum aluminate (LaAlO3) have been performed in a coaxial line at 10 GHz. LaAlO3 substrates were ultrasonically machined into washer-shaped discs, polished, and coated with laser-ablated YBCO. These samples were mounted in a 50-ohm coaxial air line to form a short circuit. The power transmitted through the films as a function of temperature was used to calculate the normal state conductivity and the magnetic penetration depth for the films.

  12. A 10 GHz Y-Ba-Cu-O/GaAs hybrid oscillator proximity coupled to a circular microstrip patch antenna

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rohrer, Norman J.; Richard, M. A.; Valco, George J.; Bhasin, Kul B.

    1993-01-01

    A 10 GHz hybrid YBCO/GaAs microwave oscillator proximity coupled to a circular microstrip antenna has been designed, fabricated, and characterized. The oscillator was a reflection mode type using a GaAs MESFET as the active element. The feedline, transmission lines, RF chokes, and bias lines were all fabricated from YBCO superconducting thin films on a 1 cm x 1 cm lanthanum aluminate substrate. The output feedline of the oscillator was wire bonded to a superconducting feedline on a second 1 cm x 1 cm lanthanum aluminate substrate, which was in turn proximity coupled to a circular microstrip patch antenna. Antenna patterns from this active patch antenna and the performance of the oscillator measured at 77 K are reported. The oscillator had a maximum output power of 11.5 dBm at 77 K, which corresponded to an efficiency of 10 percent. In addition, the efficiency of the microstrip patch antenna together with its high temperature superconducting feedline was measured from 85 K to 30 K and was found to be 71 percent at 77 K, increasing to a maximum of 87.4 percent at 30 K.

  13. Performance prediction of high Tc superconducting small antennas using a two-fluid-moment method model

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cook, G. G.; Khamas, S. K.; Kingsley, S. P.; Woods, R. C.

    1992-01-01

    The radar cross section and Q factors of electrically small dipole and loop antennas made with a YBCO high Tc superconductor are predicted using a two-fluid-moment method model, in order to determine the effects of finite conductivity on the performances of such antennas. The results compare the useful operating bandwidths of YBCO antennas exhibiting varying degrees of impurity with their copper counterparts at 77 K, showing a linear relationship between bandwidth and impurity level.

  14. Superconducting nanowire networks formed on nanoporous membrane substrates

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Luo, Qiong

    Introducing a regular array of holes into superconducting thin films has been actively pursued to stabilize and pin the vortex lattice against external driving forces, enabling higher current capabilities. If the width of the sections between neighboring holes is comparable to the superconducting coherence length, the circulation of the Cooper pairs in around the holes in the presence of a magnetic field can also produce the Little-Parks effect, i.e. periodic oscillation of the critical temperature. These two mechanisms, commensurate vortex pinning enhancement by the hole-array and the critical temperature oscillations of a wire network due to Little-Parks effect can induce similar experimental observations such as magnetoresistance oscillation and enhancement of the critical current at specific magnetic fields. This dissertation work investigates the effect of a hole-array on the properties of superconducting films deposited onto nanoporous substrates. Experiments on anisotropies of the critical temperature for niobium films on anodic aluminum oxide membrane substrates containing a regular hole-array reveal that the critical temperature exhibits two strong anisotropic effects: Little-Parks oscillations whose period varies with field direction superimposed on a smooth background arising from one dimensional confinement by the finite lateral space between neighboring holes. The two components of the anisotropy are intrinsically linked and appear in concert. That is, the hole-array changes the dimensionality of a two-dimensional (2D) film to a network of 1D nanowire network. Network of superconducting nanowires with transverse dimensions as small as few nanometers were achieved by coating molybdenum germanium (MoGe) layer onto commercially available filtration membranes which have extremely dense nanopores. The magnetoresistance, magnetic field dependence of the critical temperature and the anisotropies of the synthesized MoGe nanowire networks can be consistently

  15. Improved interface growth and enhanced flux pinning in YBCO films deposited on an advanced IBAD-MgO based template

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Khan, M. Z.; Zhao, Y.; Wu, X.; Malmivirta, M.; Huhtinen, H.; Paturi, P.

    2018-02-01

    The growth mechanism is studied from the flux pinning point of view in small-scale YBa2Cu3O6+x (YBCO) thin films deposited on a polycrystalline hastelloy with advanced IBAD-MgO based buffer layer architecture. When compared the situation with YBCO films grown on single crystal substrates, the most critical issues that affect the suitable defect formation and thus the optimal vortex pinning landscape, have been studied as a function of the growth temperature and the film thickness evolution. We can conclude that the best critical current property in a wide applied magnetic field range is observed in films grown at relatively low temperature and having intermediate thickness. These phenomena are linked to the combination of the improved interface growth, to the film thickness related crystalline relaxation and to the formation of linear array of edge dislocations that forms the low-angle grain boundaries through the entire film thickness and thus improve the vortex pinning properties. Hence, the optimized buffer layer structure proved to be particularly suitable for new coated conductor solutions.

  16. Protective link for superconducting coil

    DOEpatents

    Umans, Stephen D [Belmont, MA

    2009-12-08

    A superconducting coil system includes a superconducting coil and a protective link of superconducting material coupled to the superconducting coil. A rotating machine includes first and second coils and a protective link of superconducting material. The second coil is operable to rotate with respect to the first coil. One of the first and second coils is a superconducting coil. The protective link is coupled to the superconducting coil.

  17. Vibrational characteristics of a superconducting magnetic bearing employed for a prototype polarization modulator

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sakurai, Yuki; Matsumura, Tomotake; Sugai, Hajime; Katayama, Nobuhiko; Ohsaki, Hiroyuki; Terao, Yutaka; Terachi, Yusuke; Kataza, Hirokazu; Utsunomiya, Shin; Yamamoto, Ryo

    2017-07-01

    We present the vibrational characteristics of a levitating rotor in a superconducting magnetic bearing (SMB) system operating at below 10 K. We develop a polarization modulator that requires a continuously rotating optical element, called half-wave plate (HWP), for a cosmic microwave background polarization experiment. The HWP has to operate at the temperature below 10 K, and thus an SMB provides a smooth rotation of the HWP at the cryogenic temperature of about 10 K with minimal heat dissipation. In order to understand the potential interference to the cosmological observations due to the vibration of the HWP, it is essential to characterize the vibrational properties of the levitating rotor of the SMB. We constructed a prototype model that consists of an SMB with an array of high temperature superconductors, YBCO, and a permanent magnet ring, NdFeB. The rotor position is monitored by a laser displacement gauge, and a cryogenic Hall sensor via the magnetic field. In this presentation, we present the measurement results of the vibration characteristics using our prototype SMB system. We characterize the vibrational properties as the spring constant and the damping, and discuss the projected performance of this technology toward the use in future space missions.

  18. Fully gapped superconductivity in In-doped topological crystalline insulator Pb 0.5Sn 0.5Te

    DOE PAGES

    Du, Guan; Gu, G. D.; Du, Zengyi; ...

    2015-07-27

    In this study, superconductors derived from topological insulators and topological crystalline insulators by chemical doping have long been considered to be candidates as topological superconductors. Pb 0.5Sn 0.5Te is a topological crystalline insulator with mirror symmetry protected surface states on (001)-, (011)-, and (111)-oriented surfaces. The superconductor (Pb 0.5Sn 0.5) 0.7In 0.3Te is produced by In doping in Pb 0.5Sn 0.5Te, and is thought to be a topological superconductor. Here we report scanning tunneling spectroscopy measurements of the superconducting state as well as the superconducting energy gap in (Pb 0.5Sn 0.5) 0.7In 0.3Te on a (001)-oriented surface. The spectrum canmore » be well fitted by an anisotropic s-wave gap function of Δ = 0.72 + 0.18cos4θ meV using Dynes model. The results show that the superconductor seems to be a fully gapped one without any in-gap states, in contradiction with the expectation of a topological superconductor.« less

  19. Characterization of Anisotropic Behavior for High Grade Pipes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, Kun; Huo, Chunyong; Ji, Lingkang; Li, Yang; Zhang, Jiming; Ma, Qiurong

    With the developing requirement of nature gas, the property needs of steel for pipe line are higher and higher, especially in strength and toughness. It is necessary to improve the steel grade in order to ensure economic demand and safety. However, with the rise of steel grade, the differences on properties in different orientations (anisotropic behaviors) become more and more obvious after the process of hot rolling, which may affect the prediction of fracture for the pipes seriously (Thinking of isotropic mechanical properties for material in traditional predict way). In order to get the reason for anisotropic mechanics, a series of tests are carried out for high grade steel pipes, including not only mechanical properties but also microstructures. Result indicates that there are obviously anisotropic behaviors for high grade steel pipes in two orientations (rolling orientation and transverse orientation). Strength is better in T orientation because Rm is higher and Rt 0.5 rises more in T orientation, and toughness is better in L orientation because of the higher Akv and SA in L orientation under a same temperature. Banded structures are formed in T orientation, and the spatial distribution of inclusion and precipitated phases are different in T, L and S orientation. The anisotropic arrangement for the matrix in space (banded structures), which is formed after the process of hot rolling, may affect the mechanical properties in different orientation. Moreover, the elasticity modulus of particles is different from the elasticity modulus of matrix, deformation between particles and matrix may cause stress concentration, and damage forms in this place. Because of the different distribution of particles in space, the level of damage is anisotropic in different orientations, and the anisotropic mechanical properties occur finally. Therefore, the anisotropic mechanical properties are determined by the anisotropic microstructures, both the anisotropic of matrix and the

  20. Critical current densities in superconducting Y-Ba-Cu-O prepared by chelating method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fujisawa, Tadashi; Okuyama, Katsuro; Ohshima, Shigetoshi; Takagi, Akira

    1990-10-01

    The IDA, NTA, HEDTA, EDTA, TTHA, and DTPA chelating agents have been used to prepare the Y-Ba-Cu-O compounds whose critical current is presently investigated. It is noted that the precursor YBCO prepared from large stability-constant metal complexes (HEDTA, EDTA, DTPA, and TTHA) exhibited very fine and homogeneous particles. The critical current density of a 1 x 4 x 15 mm block of YBCO sintered at 880-910 C for 24 h and subsequently annealed at 500 C in an O2 flow was approximately 500 A/sq cm at 77 K, in zero magnetic field.

  1. Low-noise and wideband hot-electron superconductive mixer for terahertz frequencies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Karasik, Boris S.; Skalare, Anders; McGrath, William R.; Bumble, Bruce; Leduc, Henry G.; Barner, J. B.; Kleinsasser, Alan W.; Burke, P. J.; Schoelkopf, Robert J.; Prober, Daniel E.

    1998-11-01

    Superconductive hot-electron bolometer (HEB) mixers have been built and tested in the frequency range from 1.1 THz to 2.5 THz. The mixer device is a 0.15 - 0.3 micrometer microbridge made from a 10 nm thick Nb film. This device employs diffusion as a cooling mechanism for hot electrons. The double sideband noise temperature was measured to be less than or equal to 3000 K at 2.5 THz and the mixer IF bandwidth is expected to be at least 10 GHz for a 0.1 micrometer long device. The local oscillator (LO) power dissipated in the HEB microbridge was 20 - 100 nW. Further improvement of the mixer characteristics can be potentially achieved by using Al microbridges. The advantages and parameters of such devices are evaluated. The HEB mixer is a primary candidate for ground based, airborne and spaceborne heterodyne instruments at THz frequencies. HEB receivers are planned for use on the NASA Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) and the ESA Far Infrared and Submillimeter Space Telescope (FIRST). The prospects of a submicron-size YBa2Cu3O7-(delta ) (YBCO) HEB are discussed. The expected LO power of 1 - 10 (mu) W and SSB noise temperature of approximately equals 2000 K may make this mixer attractive for various remote sensing applications.

  2. Finite-volume scheme for anisotropic diffusion

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Es, Bram van, E-mail: bramiozo@gmail.com; FOM Institute DIFFER, Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research, The Netherlands"1; Koren, Barry

    In this paper, we apply a special finite-volume scheme, limited to smooth temperature distributions and Cartesian grids, to test the importance of connectivity of the finite volumes. The area of application is nuclear fusion plasma with field line aligned temperature gradients and extreme anisotropy. We apply the scheme to the anisotropic heat-conduction equation, and compare its results with those of existing finite-volume schemes for anisotropic diffusion. Also, we introduce a general model adaptation of the steady diffusion equation for extremely anisotropic diffusion problems with closed field lines.

  3. Ultrasonic studies of high-temperature superconductors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Feller, Jeffrey Robert

    1997-09-01

    This dissertation consists roughly of two parts. The first part deals with YBa2Cu3O7-δ (YBCO) films deposited on piezoelectric (LiNbO3) substrates. Interdigital surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices (delay lines operating at center frequencies of 50 and 100 MHz) fabricated from YBCO films are examined; insertion loss measurements are presented, and electrode resistance effects are analyzed using equivalent circuit models. Sheet resistance and 168 MHz SAW attenuation measurements of a granular YBCO film on LiNbO3 are also presented. The experimental data are discussed in terms of a percolation theory that models the film as an array of identical YBCO grains connected by resistive junctions which, in the superconducting state behave as Josephson junctions. The normal state resistances of the junctions are assumed to be randomly distributed. In the second part of the dissertation, a number of novel techniques (SAW 'bridges,' the high frequency interdigital proximity probe, and weak acoustic coupling sampled continuous wave spectrometry), used in the study of the vortex state and structural transitions in the normal state of YBCO films and single crystals, are described. Evidence of the existence of a first order structural transition in the vicinity of 220 K is provided.

  4. Influence of disorder on the signature of the pseudogap and multigap superconducting behavior in FeSe

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rößler, Sahana; Huang, Chien-Lung; Jiao, Lin; Koz, Cevriye; Schwarz, Ulrich; Wirth, Steffen

    2018-03-01

    We investigated several FeSe single crystals grown by two different methods by utilizing experimental techniques, namely, resistivity, magnetoresistance, specific heat, scanning tunneling microscopy, and spectroscopy. The residual resistivity ratio (RRR) shows systematic differences between samples grown by chemical vapor transport and flux vapor transport, indicating variance in the amount of scattering centers. Although the superconducting transition temperature Tc is not directly related to RRR, our study evidences subtle differences in the features of an incipient ordering mode related to a depletion of density of states at the Fermi level. For instance, the onset temperature of anisotropic spin fluctuations at T*≈75 K, and the temperature of the opening up of a partial gap in the density of states at T**≈30 K, are not discernible in the samples with lower RRR. Further, we show that the functional dependence of the electronic specific heat below 2 K, which allows us to determine the nodal features as well as the small superconducting gap, differs significantly in crystals grown by these two different methods. Our investigation suggests that some of the controversies about the driving mechanism for the superconducting gap or its structure and symmetry are related to minute differences in the crystals arising due to the growth techniques used and the total amount of scattering centers present in the sample.

  5. Application of the anisotropic phase-field crystal model to investigate the lattice systems of different anisotropic parameters and orientations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kundin, Julia; Ajmal Choudhary, Muhammad

    2017-07-01

    In this article, we present the recent advances in the development of the anisotropic phase-field crystal (APFC) model. These advances are important in basic researches for multiferroic and thermoelectric materials with anisotropic crystal lattices and in thin-film applications. We start by providing a general description of the model derived in our previous studies based on the crystal symmetry and the microscopic dynamical density functional theory for anisotropic interactions and show that there exist only two possible degrees of freedom for the anisotropic lattices which are described by two independent parameters. New findings concerning the applications of the APFC model for the estimation of the elastic modules of anisotropic systems including sheared and stretched lattices as well as for the investigation of the heterogeneous thin film growth are described. The simulation results demonstrate the strong dependency of the misfit dislocation formation during the film growth on the anisotropy and reveal the asymmetric behavior in the cases of positive and negative misfits. We also present the development of the amplitude representation for the full APFC model of two orientation variants and show the relationship between the wave vectors and the base angles of the anisotropic lattices.

  6. Effect of the microscopic correlated-pinning landscape on the macroscopic critical current density in YBCO films

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ghigo, G.; Chiodoni, A.; Gerbaldo, R.; Gozzelino, L.; Laviano, F.; Mezzetti, E.; Minetti, B.; Camerlingo, C.

    This paper deals with the mechanisms controlling the critical current density vs. field behavior in YBCO films. We base our analysis on a suitable model concerning the existence of a network of intergrain Josephson junctions whose length is modulated by defects. Irradiation with 0.25 GeV Au ions provide a useful tool to check the texture of the sample, in particular to give a gauge length reference to separate “weak” links and high- J c links.

  7. Superconducting transmission line particle detector

    DOEpatents

    Gray, K.E.

    1988-07-28

    A microvertex particle detector for use in a high energy physic collider including a plurality of parallel superconducting thin film strips separated from a superconducting ground plane by an insulating layer to form a plurality of superconducting waveguides. The microvertex particle detector indicates passage of a charged subatomic particle by measuring a voltage pulse measured across a superconducting waveguide caused by the transition of the superconducting thin film strip from a superconducting to a non- superconducting state in response to the passage of a charged particle. A plurality of superconducting thin film strips in two orthogonal planes plus the slow electromagnetic wave propagating in a superconducting transmission line are used to resolve N/sup 2/ ambiguity of charged particle events. 6 figs.

  8. Superconducting transmission line particle detector

    DOEpatents

    Gray, Kenneth E.

    1989-01-01

    A microvertex particle detector for use in a high energy physic collider including a plurality of parallel superconducting thin film strips separated from a superconducting ground plane by an insulating layer to form a plurality of superconducting waveguides. The microvertex particle detector indicates passage of a charged subatomic particle by measuring a voltage pulse measured across a superconducting waveguide caused by the transition of the superconducting thin film strip from a superconducting to a non-superconducting state in response to the passage of a charged particle. A plurality of superconducting thin film strips in two orthogonal planes plus the slow electromagnetic wave propogating in a superconducting transmission line are used to resolve N.sup.2 ambiguity of charged particle events.

  9. Superconducting transmission line particle detector

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Gray, K.E.

    A microvertex particle detector for use in a high energy physic collider including a plurality of parallel superconducting thin film strips separated from a superconducting ground plane by an insulating layer to form a plurality of superconducting waveguides. The microvertex particle detector indicates passage of a charged subatomic particle by measuring a voltage pulse measured across a superconducting waveguide caused by the transition of the superconducting thin film strip from a superconducting to a non- superconducting state in response to the passage of a charged particle. A plurality of superconducting thin film strips in two orthogonal planes plus the slowmore » electromagnetic wave propagating in a superconducting transmission line are used to resolve N/sup 2/ ambiguity of charged particle events. 6 figs.« less

  10. Analysis of electromagnetic scattering by uniaxial anisotropic bispheres.

    PubMed

    Li, Zheng-Jun; Wu, Zhen-Sen; Li, Hai-Ying

    2011-02-01

    Based on the generalized multiparticle Mie theory and the Fourier transformation approach, electromagnetic (EM) scattering of two interacting homogeneous uniaxial anisotropic spheres with parallel primary optical axes is investigated. By introducing the Fourier transformation, the EM fields in the uniaxial anisotropic spheres are expanded in terms of the spherical vector wave functions. The interactive scattering coefficients and the expansion coefficients of the internal fields are derived through the continuous boundary conditions on which the interaction of the bispheres is considered. Some selected calculations on the effects of the size parameter, the uniaxial anisotropic absorbing dielectric, and the sphere separation distance are described. The backward radar cross section of two uniaxial anisotropic spheres with a complex permittivity tensor changing with the sphere separation distance is numerically studied. The authors are hopeful that the work in this paper will help provide an effective calibration for further research on the scattering characteristic of an aggregate of anisotropic spheres or other shaped anisotropic particles.

  11. Superconducting transmission line particle detector

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Gray, K.E.

    This paper describes a microvertex particle detector for use in a high energy physic collider including a plurality of parallel superconducting thin film strips separated from a superconducting ground plane by an insulating layer to form a plurality of superconducting waveguides. The microvertex particle detector indicates passage of a charged subatomic particle by measuring a voltage pulse measured across a superconducting waveguide caused by the transition of the superconducting thin film strip from a superconducting to a non-superconducting state in response to the passage of a charged particle. A plurality of superconducting thin film strips in two orthogonal planes plusmore » the slow electromagnetic wave propogating in a superconducting transmission line are used to resolve N{sup 2} ambiguity of charged particle events.« less

  12. Theory of the vortex matter transformations in high-Tc superconductor YBCO.

    PubMed

    Li, Dingping; Rosenstein, Baruch

    2003-04-25

    Flux line lattice in type II superconductors undergoes a transition into a "disordered" phase such as vortex liquid or vortex glass, due to thermal fluctuations and random quenched disorder. We quantitatively describe the competition between the thermal fluctuations and the disorder using the Ginzburg-Landau approach. The following T-H phase diagram of YBCO emerges. There are just two distinct thermodynamical phases, the homogeneous and the crystalline one, separated by a single first order transition line. The line, however, makes a wiggle near the experimentally claimed critical point at 12 T. The "critical point" is reinterpreted as a (noncritical) Kauzmann point in which the latent heat vanishes and the line is parallel to the T axis. The magnetization, the entropy, and the specific heat discontinuities at melting compare well with experiments.

  13. Advanced YBCO-Coated Conductors for Use on Air Platforms (Postprint)

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2007-06-01

    for example, the Navy has programs on both homopolar and synchronous superconducting motors to drive the future all-electric ship.6 Westinghouse has...syn- chronous, homopolar , inductor-type alternator with a stationary HTS coil, solid rotor forging, and conven- tional stator; refer to Fig. 1. This is...Denial,’’ III-Vs Rev., 17 [5] 10 (2004). 6. D. U. Gubser, ‘‘Superconducting Motors and Generators for Naval Appli- cations,’’ Physica C, 392–396 1192

  14. Tunneling anisotropic magnetoresistance driven by magnetic phase transition.

    PubMed

    Chen, X Z; Feng, J F; Wang, Z C; Zhang, J; Zhong, X Y; Song, C; Jin, L; Zhang, B; Li, F; Jiang, M; Tan, Y Z; Zhou, X J; Shi, G Y; Zhou, X F; Han, X D; Mao, S C; Chen, Y H; Han, X F; Pan, F

    2017-09-06

    The independent control of two magnetic electrodes and spin-coherent transport in magnetic tunnel junctions are strictly required for tunneling magnetoresistance, while junctions with only one ferromagnetic electrode exhibit tunneling anisotropic magnetoresistance dependent on the anisotropic density of states with no room temperature performance so far. Here, we report an alternative approach to obtaining tunneling anisotropic magnetoresistance in α'-FeRh-based junctions driven by the magnetic phase transition of α'-FeRh and resultantly large variation of the density of states in the vicinity of MgO tunneling barrier, referred to as phase transition tunneling anisotropic magnetoresistance. The junctions with only one α'-FeRh magnetic electrode show a magnetoresistance ratio up to 20% at room temperature. Both the polarity and magnitude of the phase transition tunneling anisotropic magnetoresistance can be modulated by interfacial engineering at the α'-FeRh/MgO interface. Besides the fundamental significance, our finding might add a different dimension to magnetic random access memory and antiferromagnet spintronics.Tunneling anisotropic magnetoresistance is promising for next generation memory devices but limited by the low efficiency and functioning temperature. Here the authors achieved 20% tunneling anisotropic magnetoresistance at room temperature in magnetic tunnel junctions with one α'-FeRh magnetic electrode.

  15. PP/PS anisotropic stereotomography

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nag, Steinar; Alerini, Mathias; Ursin, Bjørn

    2010-04-01

    Stereotomography is a slope tomographic method which gives good results for background velocity model estimation in 2-D isotropic media. We develop here the extension of the method to 3-D general anisotropic media for PP and PS events. We do not take into account the issue of shear wave degeneracy. As in isotropic media, the sensitivity matrix of the inversion can be computed by paraxial ray tracing. We introduce a `constant Z stereotomography' approach, which can reduce the size of the sensitivity matrix. Based on ray perturbation theory, we give all the derivatives of stereotomography data parameters with respect to model parameters in a 3-D general anisotropic medium. These general formulas for the derivatives can also be used in other applications that rely on anisotropic ray perturbation theory. In particular, we obtain derivatives of the phase velocity with respect to position, phase angle and elastic medium parameters, all for general anisotropic media. The derivatives are expressed using the Voigt notation for the elastic medium parameters. We include a Jacobian that allows to change the model parametrization from Voigt to Thomsen parameters. Explicit expressions for the derivatives of the data are given for the case of 2-D tilted transversely isotropic (TTI) media. We validate the method by single-parameter estimation of each Thomsen parameter field of a 2-D TTI synthetic model, where data are modelled by ray tracing. For each Thomsen parameter, the estimated velocity field fits well with the true velocity field.

  16. High utilization ratio of metal organic sources for MOCVD-derived GdYBCO films based on a narrow channel reaction chamber

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhao, Ruipeng; Liu, Qing; Xia, Yudong; Tang, Hao; Lu, Yuming; Cai, Chuanbing; Tao, Bowan; Li, Yanrong

    2018-01-01

    A narrow channel reaction chamber is designed in our home-made MOCVD system and applied to deposit GdYBCO films on the template of LaMnO3/epitaxial MgO/IBAD-MgO/solution deposition planarization-Y2O3-buffered Hastelloy tapes. In the reaction chamber, metal organic sources are transferred from the inlet to the outlet along the direction of the tape movement. Thus, compared to the vertical injection way of metal organic sources, the residence time of metal organic sources on the surface of substrates would be extended through adopting the novel reaction chamber. Therefore, the utilization of metal organic sources, which is calculated according to the measured results of experiments, can reach 31%. Additionally, the utilization ratio of metal organic sources based on the novel reaction chamber is basically two times as much as that of the commonly used vertical injection slit shower. What is more, through adjusting the process, the critical current density of 300 nm thick GdYBCO film prepared the reel-to-reel way has reached 3.2 MA cm-2 (77 K, 0 T).

  17. Buffer layers on metal alloy substrates for superconducting tapes

    DOEpatents

    Jia, Quanxi; Foltyn, Stephen R.; Arendt, Paul N.; Groves, James R.

    2004-10-05

    An article including a substrate, at least one intermediate layer upon the surface of the substrate, a layer of an oriented cubic oxide material having a rock-salt-like structure upon the at least one intermediate layer, and a layer of a SrRuO.sub.3 buffer material upon the oriented cubic oxide material layer is provided together with additional layers such as a HTS top-layer of YBCO directly upon the layer of a SrRuO.sub.3 buffer material layer. With a HTS top-layer of YBCO upon at least one layer of the SrRuO.sub.3 buffer material in such an article, J.sub.c 's of up to 1.3.times.10.sup.6 A/cm.sup.2 have been demonstrated with projected I.sub.c 's of over 200 Amperes across a sample 1 cm wide.

  18. The successful incorporation of Ag into single grain, Y-Ba-Cu-O bulk superconductors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Congreve, Jasmin V. J.; Shi, Yunhua; Dennis, Anthony R.; Durrell, John H.; Cardwell, David A.

    2018-07-01

    The use of RE-Ba-Cu-O [(RE)BCO] bulk superconductors, where RE = Y, Gd, Sm, in practical applications is, at least in part, limited by their mechanical properties and brittle nature, in particular. Alloying these materials with silver, however, produces a significant improvement in strength without any detrimental impact on their superconducting properties. Unfortunately, the top seeded melt growth technique, used routinely to process bulk (RE)BCO superconductors in the form of large, single grains required for practical applications, is complex and has a large number of inter-related variables, so the addition of silver increases the complexity of the growth process even further. This can make successful growth of this system extremely challenging. Here we report measurements of the growth rate of YBCO-Ag fabricated using a new growth technique consisting of continuous cooling and isothermal hold process. The resulting data form the basis of a model that has been used to derive suitable heating profiles for the successful single grain growth of YBCO-Ag bulk superconductors of up to 26 mm in diameter. The microstructure and distribution of silver within these samples have been studied in detail. The maximum trapped field at the top surface of the bulk YBCO-Ag samples has been found to be comparable to that of standard YBCO processed without Ag. The YBCO-Ag samples also exhibit a much more uniform trapped field profile compared to that of YBCO.

  19. Pulsed laser deposition of thick BaHfO3-doped YBa2Cu307-δ films on highly alloyed textured Ni-W tapes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sieger, M.; Hänisch, J.; Iida, K.; Gaitzsch, U.; Rodig, C.; Schultz, L.; Holzapfel, B.; Hühne, R.

    2014-05-01

    YBa2Cu3O7-δ (YBCO) films with a thickness of up to 3 μm containing nano-sized BaHfO3 (BHO) have been grown on Y2O3/Y-stabilized ZrO2/CeO2 buffered Ni-9at% W tapes by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). Structural characterization by means of X-ray diffraction confirmed that the YBCO layer grew epitaxial. A superconducting transition temperature Tc of about 89 K with a transition width of 1 K was determined, decreasing with increasing BHO content. Critical current density in self-field and at 0.3 T increased with increasing dopant level.

  20. Superconductivity in transition metals.

    PubMed

    Slocombe, Daniel R; Kuznetsov, Vladimir L; Grochala, Wojciech; Williams, Robert J P; Edwards, Peter P

    2015-03-13

    A qualitative account of the occurrence and magnitude of superconductivity in the transition metals is presented, with a primary emphasis on elements of the first row. Correlations of the important parameters of the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer theory of superconductivity are highlighted with respect to the number of d-shell electrons per atom of the transition elements. The relation between the systematics of superconductivity in the transition metals and the periodic table high-lights the importance of short-range or chemical bonding on the remarkable natural phenomenon of superconductivity in the chemical elements. A relationship between superconductivity and lattice instability appears naturally as a balance and competition between localized covalent bonding and so-called broken covalency, which favours d-electron delocalization and superconductivity. In this manner, the systematics of superconductivity and various other physical properties of the transition elements are related and unified. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

  1. Spin-orbit-coupled superconductivity

    PubMed Central

    Lo, Shun-Tsung; Lin, Shih-Wei; Wang, Yi-Ting; Lin, Sheng-Di; Liang, C.-T.

    2014-01-01

    Superconductivity and spin-orbit (SO) interaction have been two separate emerging fields until very recently that the correlation between them seemed to be observed. However, previous experiments concerning SO coupling are performed far beyond the superconducting state and thus a direct demonstration of how SO coupling affects superconductivity remains elusive. Here we investigate the SO coupling in the critical region of superconducting transition on Al nanofilms, in which the strength of disorder and spin relaxation by SO coupling are changed by varying the film thickness. At temperatures T sufficiently above the superconducting critical temperature Tc, clear signature of SO coupling reveals itself in showing a magneto-resistivity peak. When T < Tc, the resistivity peak can still be observed; however, its line-shape is now affected by the onset of the quasi two-dimensional superconductivity. By studying such magneto-resistivity peaks under different strength of spin relaxation, we highlight the important effects of SO interaction on superconductivity. PMID:24961726

  2. Acid anhydrides: a simple route to highly pure organometallic solutions for superconducting films

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Roma, N.; Morlens, S.; Ricart, S.; Zalamova, K.; Moreto, J. M.; Pomar, A.; Puig, T.; Obradors, X.

    2006-06-01

    The presence of impurities in the precursor metal carboxylate solutions for the preparation of epitaxial thin films by metal organic decomposition (MOD) is substantially avoided by the use of acid anhydrides. In particular, trifluoroacetic anhydride (TFAA) was used for the synthesis of the starting Y, Ba and Cu trifluoroacetates used in YBa2Cu3O7-x (YBCO) preparation by the MOD process. In this way, highly stable organometallic precursors and a short pyrolysis process could be used leading to YBCO films with high critical currents (Jc >=2-4 MA cm-2 at 77 K). Furthermore, the reproducibility of the results has been ascertained.

  3. Modeling Geodynamic Mobility of Anisotropic Lithosphere

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Perry-Houts, J.; Karlstrom, L.

    2016-12-01

    The lithosphere is often idealized as a linear, or plastic layer overlying a Newtonian half-space. This approach has led to many insights into lithospheric foundering that include Rayligh-Taylor drips, slab-style delaminations, and small scale convection in the asthenosphere. More recent work has begun to quantify the effect of anisotropic lithosphere viscosity on these same phenomena. Anisotropic viscosity may come about due to stratigraphic deposition in the upper crust, dike/sill emplacement in the mid crust, or volcanic underplating at the Moho related to arcs or plumes. Anisotropic viscosity is also observed in the mantle, due to preferential orientation of olivine grains during flow. Here we extend the work of Lev & Hager (2008) on modeling anisotropic lithospheric foundering to investigate the effects of anisotropic regions which vary in size, magnitude, and orientation. We have extended Aspect, a modern geodynamic finite element code with a large developer and user base, to model exotic constitutive laws with an arbitrary fourth order tensor in place of the viscosity term. We further implement a material model to represent a transverse isotropic medium, such as is expected in a layered, or fractured lithosphere. We have validated our implementation against previous results, and analytic solutions, reproducing the result that horizontally oriented anisotropy tends to inhibit drips, and produce longer-wavelength instabilities. We expect that increased lateral extent of anisotropic regions will exaggerate this effect, to a limit at which the effect will plateau. Varying lithosphere thickness, and mantle anisotropy anisotropy may produce similar behavior. The implications of this effect are significant to lithospheric foundering beneath arcs and hotspots, possibly influencing the recycling of eclogite, production of silicic magmas, and dynamic topography.

  4. An anisotropic elastoplasticity model implemented in FLAG

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Buechler, Miles Allen; Canfield, Thomas R.

    2017-10-12

    Many metals, including Tantalum and Zirconium, exhibit anisotropic elastoplastic behavior at the single crystal level, and if components are manufactured from these metals through forming processes the polycrystal (component) may also exhibit anisotropic elastoplastic behavior. This is because the forming can induce a preferential orientation of the crystals in the polycrystal. One example is a rolled plate of Uranium where the sti /strong orientation of the crystal (c-axis) tends to align itself perpendicular to the rolling direction. If loads are applied to this plate in di erent orientations the sti ness as well as the ow strength of the materialmore » will be greater in the through thickness direction than in other directions. To better accommodate simulations of such materials, an anisotropic elastoplasticity model has been implemented in FLAG. The model includes an anisotropic elastic stress model as well as an anisotropic plasticity model. The model could represent single crystals of any symmetry, though it should not be confused with a high- delity crystal plasticity model with multiple slip planes and evolutions. The model is most appropriate for homogenized polycrystalline materials. Elastic rotation of the material due to deformation is captured, so the anisotropic models are appropriate for arbitrary large rotations, but currently they do not account for signi cant change in material texture beyond the elastic rotation of the entire polycrystal.« less

  5. Enhanced superconductivity of fullerenes

    DOEpatents

    Washington, II, Aaron L.; Teprovich, Joseph A.; Zidan, Ragaiy

    2017-06-20

    Methods for enhancing characteristics of superconductive fullerenes and devices incorporating the fullerenes are disclosed. Enhancements can include increase in the critical transition temperature at a constant magnetic field; the existence of a superconducting hysteresis over a changing magnetic field; a decrease in the stabilizing magnetic field required for the onset of superconductivity; and/or an increase in the stability of superconductivity over a large magnetic field. The enhancements can be brought about by transmitting electromagnetic radiation to the superconductive fullerene such that the electromagnetic radiation impinges on the fullerene with an energy that is greater than the band gap of the fullerene.

  6. Superconductivity of lanthanum revisited

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Loeptien, Peter; Zhou, Lihui; Wiebe, Jens; Khajetoorians, Alexander Ako; Wiesendanger, Roland

    2014-03-01

    The thickness dependence of the superconductivity in clean hexagonal lanthanum films grown on tungsten (110) is studied by means of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and spectroscopy (STS). Fitting of the measured spectra to BCS theory yields the superconducting energy gaps from which the critical temperatures are determined. For the case of thick, bulk-like films, the bulk energy gap and critical temperature of dhcp lanthanum turn out to be considerably higher as compared to values from the literature measured by other techniques. In thin films the superconductivity is quenched by the boundary condition for the superconducting wavefunction imposed by the substrate and surface, leading to a linear decrease of the superconducting transition temperature as a function of the inverse film thickness. This opens up the possibility to grow lanthanum films with defined superconducting properties.

  7. Superconducting Electronic Film Structures

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1991-02-14

    diameter YBCO films are being tested as the endplates in a cylindrical dielectric resonator. The Q and phase noise of the 15 dielectric resonator will...vortex state. Magnus force ne(v, -VL)x O/C is balanced by a drag force an- Josephson 9 demonstrated that the motion of flux vor- tiparallel to the...age of the same sign as in the normal metal [Fig. 3(b)i. the Magnus force Thus a reversal of the sign of the Hall voltage upon enter- "Se ing the mixed

  8. Optimization of superconducting tiling pattern for superconducting bearings

    DOEpatents

    Hull, John R.

    1996-01-01

    An apparatus and method for reducing magnetic field inhomogeneities which produce rotational loss mechanisms in high temperature superconducting magnetic bearings. Magnetic field inhomogeneities are reduced by dividing high temperature superconducting structures into smaller structures, and arranging the smaller structures into tiers which stagger the magnetic field maximum locations of the smaller structures.

  9. Specific Heat and Thermal Diffusivity of YBCO Coated Conductors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Naito, Tomoyuki; Fujishiro, Hiroyuki; YasuhisaYamamura; Saito, Kazuya; Okamoto, Hiroshi; Hayashi, Hidemi; Gosho, Yoshihiro; Ohkuma, Takeshi; Shiohara, Yuh

    We have measured the temperature dependence of specific heat,C(T), for Ag deposited YBCO coated conductor (YCC),YCC reinforced by a thin Cutape (YCC-Cu), andthe Hastelloy substrate with buffer layer. C(T) of HastelloyC-276 with buffer layer agrees well with the reported oneof HastelloyC-276, indicating that the contribution of the buffer layer to the measured C(T) is negligibly small. C(T)of both YCC and YCC-Cu tapes was successfully reproduced by the simple sum rule using the C(T) values reported for Hastelloy, Ag and Cu. The results demonstrate that C(T) of various YCC tapes can be estimated using the reported C(T)of constitutional materials. The estimated thermal diffusivity, a = K/C, at 300K of YCC, which was estimated using the thermal conductivity, K, did not agree with the reported a of Ag. This resultwas in consistent with the fact that the applied heat flew through the Aglayer, suggesting that a relation of a = K/Cfor homogeneous material cannot be applicable for the layered material such as YCC.

  10. Final Report: MATERIALS, STRANDS, AND CABLES FOR SUPERCONDUCTING ACCELERATOR MAGNETS [Grant Number DE-SC0010312

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Sumption, Mike D.; Collings, Edward W.

    2014-10-29

    Our program consisted of the two components: Strand Research and Cable Research, with a focus on Nb3Sn, Bi2212, and YBCO for accelerator magnet applications. We demonstrated a method to refine the grains in Nb3Sn by a factor of two, reaching 45 nm grain sizes, and layer Jcs of 6 kA/mm2 at 12 T. W also measured conductor magnetization for field quality. This has been done both with Nb3Sn conductor, as well as Bi:2212 strand. Work in support of quench studies of YBCO coils was also performed. Cable loss studies in Nb3Sn focused on connecting and comparing persistent magnetization and couplingmore » magnetization for considering their relative impact on HEP machines. In the area of HTS cables, we have investigated both the quench in multistrand YBCO CORC cables, as well as the magnetization of these cables for use in high field magnets. In addition, we examined the magnetic and thermal properties of large (50 T) solenoids.« less

  11. YBCO microbolometer operating below Tc - A modelization based on critical current-temperature dependence

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Robbes, D.; Langlois, P.; Dolabdjian, C.; Bloyet, D.; Hamet, J. F.; Murray, H.

    1993-03-01

    Using careful measurements of the I-V curve of a YBCO thin-film microbridge under light irradiation at 780 nm and temperature close to 77 K, it is shown that the critical current versus temperature dependence is a good thermometer for estimating bolometric effects in the film. A novel dynamic voltage bias is introduced which directly gives the device current responsitivity and greatly reduces risks of thermal runaway. Detectivity is very low but it is predicted that a noise equivalent temperature of less than 10 exp -7 K/sq rt Hz would be achievable in a wide temperature range (10-80 K), which is an improvement over thermometry at the resistive transition.

  12. Process for producing clad superconductive materials

    DOEpatents

    Cass, Richard B.; Ott, Kevin C.; Peterson, Dean E.

    1992-01-01

    A process for fabricating superconducting composite wire by the steps of placing a superconductive precursor admixture capable of undergoing a self propagating combustion in stoichiometric amounts sufficient to form a superconductive product within a metal tube, sealing one end of said tube, igniting said superconductive precursor admixture whereby said superconductive precursor admixture endburns along the length of the admixture, and cross-section reducing said tube at a rate substantially equal to the rate of burning of said superconductive precursor admixture and at a point substantially planar with the burnfront of the superconductive precursor mixture, whereby a clad superconductive product is formed in situ, the product characterized as superconductive without a subsequent sintering stage, is disclosed.

  13. Buffer layers on metal alloy substrates for superconducting tapes

    DOEpatents

    Jia, Quanxi; Foltyn, Stephen R.; Arendt, Paul N.; Groves, James R.

    2004-06-29

    An article including a substrate, a layer of an inert oxide material upon the surface of the substrate, a layer of an amorphous oxide or oxynitride material upon the inert oxide material layer, a layer of an oriented cubic oxide material having a rock-salt-like structure upon the amorphous oxide material layer, and a layer of a SrRuO.sub.3 buffer material upon the oriented cubic oxide material layer is provided together with additional layers such as a HTS top-layer of YBCO directly upon the layer of a SrRuO.sub.3 buffer material layer. With a HTS top-layer of YBCO upon at least one layer of the SrRuO.sub.3 buffer material in such an article, J.sub.c 's of up to 1.3.times.10.sup.6 A/cm.sup.2 have been demonstrated with projected IC's of over 200 Amperes across a sample 1 cm wide.

  14. Anisotropic nanomaterials: structure, growth, assembly, and functions

    PubMed Central

    Sajanlal, Panikkanvalappil R.; Sreeprasad, Theruvakkattil S.; Samal, Akshaya K.; Pradeep, Thalappil

    2011-01-01

    Comprehensive knowledge over the shape of nanomaterials is a critical factor in designing devices with desired functions. Due to this reason, systematic efforts have been made to synthesize materials of diverse shape in the nanoscale regime. Anisotropic nanomaterials are a class of materials in which their properties are direction-dependent and more than one structural parameter is needed to describe them. Their unique and fine-tuned physical and chemical properties make them ideal candidates for devising new applications. In addition, the assembly of ordered one-dimensional (1D), two-dimensional (2D), and three-dimensional (3D) arrays of anisotropic nanoparticles brings novel properties into the resulting system, which would be entirely different from the properties of individual nanoparticles. This review presents an overview of current research in the area of anisotropic nanomaterials in general and noble metal nanoparticles in particular. We begin with an introduction to the advancements in this area followed by general aspects of the growth of anisotropic nanoparticles. Then we describe several important synthetic protocols for making anisotropic nanomaterials, followed by a summary of their assemblies, and conclude with major applications. PMID:22110867

  15. Anisotropic diffusion in mesh-free numerical magnetohydrodynamics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hopkins, Philip F.

    2017-04-01

    We extend recently developed mesh-free Lagrangian methods for numerical magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) to arbitrary anisotropic diffusion equations, including: passive scalar diffusion, Spitzer-Braginskii conduction and viscosity, cosmic ray diffusion/streaming, anisotropic radiation transport, non-ideal MHD (Ohmic resistivity, ambipolar diffusion, the Hall effect) and turbulent 'eddy diffusion'. We study these as implemented in the code GIZMO for both new meshless finite-volume Godunov schemes (MFM/MFV). We show that the MFM/MFV methods are accurate and stable even with noisy fields and irregular particle arrangements, and recover the correct behaviour even in arbitrarily anisotropic cases. They are competitive with state-of-the-art AMR/moving-mesh methods, and can correctly treat anisotropic diffusion-driven instabilities (e.g. the MTI and HBI, Hall MRI). We also develop a new scheme for stabilizing anisotropic tensor-valued fluxes with high-order gradient estimators and non-linear flux limiters, which is trivially generalized to AMR/moving-mesh codes. We also present applications of some of these improvements for SPH, in the form of a new integral-Godunov SPH formulation that adopts a moving-least squares gradient estimator and introduces a flux-limited Riemann problem between particles.

  16. High-pressure effects on isotropic superconductivity in the iron-free layered pnictide superconductor BaPd2As2

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Abdel-Hafiez, M.; Zhao, Y.; Huang, Z.; Cho, C.-w.; Wong, C. H.; Hassen, A.; Ohkuma, M.; Fang, Y.-W.; Pan, B.-J.; Ren, Z.-A.; Sadakov, A.; Usoltsev, A.; Pudalov, V.; Mito, M.; Lortz, R.; Krellner, C.; Yang, W.

    2018-04-01

    While the layered 122 iron arsenide superconductors are highly anisotropic, unconventional, and exhibit several forms of electronic orders that coexist or compete with superconductivity in different regions of their phase diagrams, we find in the absence of iron in the structure that the superconducting characteristics of the end member BaPd2As2 are surprisingly conventional. Here we report on complementary measurements of specific heat, magnetic susceptibility, resistivity measurements, Andreev spectroscopy, and synchrotron high pressure x-ray diffraction measurements supplemented with theoretical calculations for BaPd2As2 . Its superconducting properties are completely isotropic as demonstrated by the critical fields, which do not depend on the direction of the applied field. Under the application of high pressure, Tc is linearly suppressed, which is the typical behavior of classical phonon-mediated superconductors with some additional effect of a pressure-induced decrease in the electronic density of states and the electron-phonon coupling parameters. Structural changes in the layered BaPd2As2 have been studied by means of angle-dispersive diffraction in a diamond-anvil cell. At 12 GPa and 24.2 GPa we observed pressure induced lattice distortions manifesting as the discontinuity and, hence discontinuity in the Birch-Murnaghan equation of state. The bulk modulus is B0=40 (6 ) GPa below 12 GPa and B0=142 (3 ) GPa below 27.2 GPa.

  17. Optimization of superconducting tiling pattern for superconducting bearings

    DOEpatents

    Hull, J.R.

    1996-09-17

    An apparatus and method for reducing magnetic field inhomogeneities which produce rotational loss mechanisms in high temperature superconducting magnetic bearings are disclosed. Magnetic field inhomogeneities are reduced by dividing high temperature superconducting structures into smaller structures, and arranging the smaller structures into tiers which stagger the magnetic field maximum locations of the smaller structures. 20 figs.

  18. The effect of resolidification on preform optimized infiltration growth processed (Y, Nd, Sm, Gd)BCO, multi-grain bulk superconductor

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pavan Kumar Naik, S.; Seshu Bai, V.

    2017-01-01

    Controlling the microstructure of superconductors by incorporating the flux pinning centers and reducing the macro-defects to improve high field performance is the topic of recent research. In continuation, the preform optimized infiltration growth (POIG) processed YBa2Cu3O7-δ (YBCO) system, Y-site substituted with three mixed RE (Nd, Sm, Gd) elements is investigated. 20 wt.% of (Nd, Sm, Gd)2BaCuO5 were mixed with Y2BaCuO5 and POIG processed in reduced oxygen atmosphere to obtain YNSG superconductor. No seed is employed for crystal growth; hence the processed samples are multi-grained. Microstructural and compositional investigations on YNSG revealed the presence of different phases in the matrix as well as in precipitates which are of the order of submicron to 4 μm. A large fraction of macro-defects (∼6% of porosity) was observed in the YNSG sample. For reducing the unwanted macro-defects and refine the non-superconducting precipitates, processed YNSG sample is pressed and resolidified (by infiltrating the liquid phases once again) in an argon atmosphere and the structural, microstructural, elemental and superconducting properties are compared with YNSG and undoped samples. Due to spatial scatter in superconducting critical temperatures, caused by the distribution of different REBCO unit cells in YBCO, superconducting transition curve is sharp in YNSG, whereas the resolidified sample showed the broad transition due to solidified liquid phases.

  19. Critical current measurements of high-temperature superconducting short samples at a wide range of temperatures and magnetic fields.

    PubMed

    Ma, Hongjun; Liu, Huajun; Liu, Fang; Zhang, Huahui; Ci, Lu; Shi, Yi; Lei, Lei

    2018-01-01

    High-Temperature Superconductors (HTS) are potential materials for high-field magnets, low-loss transmission cables, and Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage (SMES) due to their high upper critical magnetic field (H c2 ) and critical temperature (T c ). The critical current (I c ) of HTS, which is one of the most important parameters for superconductor application, depends strongly on the magnetic fields and temperatures. A new I c measurement system that can carry out accurate I c measurement for HTS short samples with various temperatures (4.2-80 K), magnetic fields (0-14 T), and angles of the magnetic field (0°-90°) has been developed. The I c measurement system mainly consists of a measurement holder, temperature-control system, background magnet, test cryostat, data acquisition system, and DC power supply. The accuracy of temperature control is better than ±0.1 K over the 20-80 K range and ±0.05 K when measured below 20 K. The maximum current is over 1000 A with a measurement uncertainty of 1%. The system had been successfully used for YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-x (YBCO) tapes I c determination with different temperatures and magnetic fields.

  20. Critical current measurements of high-temperature superconducting short samples at a wide range of temperatures and magnetic fields

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ma, Hongjun; Liu, Huajun; Liu, Fang; Zhang, Huahui; Ci, Lu; Shi, Yi; Lei, Lei

    2018-01-01

    High-Temperature Superconductors (HTS) are potential materials for high-field magnets, low-loss transmission cables, and Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage (SMES) due to their high upper critical magnetic field (Hc2) and critical temperature (Tc). The critical current (Ic) of HTS, which is one of the most important parameters for superconductor application, depends strongly on the magnetic fields and temperatures. A new Ic measurement system that can carry out accurate Ic measurement for HTS short samples with various temperatures (4.2-80 K), magnetic fields (0-14 T), and angles of the magnetic field (0°-90°) has been developed. The Ic measurement system mainly consists of a measurement holder, temperature-control system, background magnet, test cryostat, data acquisition system, and DC power supply. The accuracy of temperature control is better than ±0.1 K over the 20-80 K range and ±0.05 K when measured below 20 K. The maximum current is over 1000 A with a measurement uncertainty of 1%. The system had been successfully used for YBa2Cu3O7-x(YBCO) tapes Ic determination with different temperatures and magnetic fields.

  1. Band gaps in periodically magnetized homogeneous anisotropic media

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Merzlikin, A. M.; Levy, M.; Vinogradov, A. P.; Wu, Z.; Jalali, A. A.

    2010-11-01

    In [A. M. Merzlikin, A. P. Vinogradov, A. V. Dorofeenko, M. Inoue, M. Levy, A. B. Granovsky, Physica B 394 (2007) 277] it is shown that in anisotropic magnetophotonic crystal made of anisotropic dielectric layers and isotropic magneto-optical layers the magnetization leads to formation of additional band gaps (BG) inside the Brillouin zones. Due to the weakness of the magneto-optical effects the width of these BG is much smaller than that of usual BG forming on the boundaries of Brillouin zones. In the present communication we show that though the anisotropy suppresses magneto-optical effects. An anisotropic magnetophotonic crystal made of anisotropic dielectric layers and anisotropic magneto-optical; the width of additional BG may be much greater than the width of the usual Brillouin BG. Anisotropy tends to suppress Brillouin zone boundary band gap formation because the anisotropy suppresses magneto-optical properties, while degenerate band gap formation occurs around points of effective isotropy and is not suppressed.

  2. Making Superconducting Welds between Superconducting Wires

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Penanen, Konstantin I.; Eom, Byeong Ho

    2008-01-01

    A technique for making superconducting joints between wires made of dissimilar superconducting metals has been devised. The technique is especially suitable for fabrication of superconducting circuits needed to support persistent electric currents in electromagnets in diverse cryogenic applications. Examples of such electromagnets include those in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems and in superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs). Sometimes, it is desirable to fabricate different parts of a persistent-current-supporting superconducting loop from different metals. For example, a sensory coil in a SQUID might be made of Pb, a Pb/Sn alloy, or a Cu wire plated with Pb/Sn, while the connections to the sensory coil might be made via Nb or Nb/Ti wires. Conventional wire-bonding techniques, including resistance spot welding and pressed contact, are not workable because of large differences between the hardnesses and melting temperatures of the different metals. The present technique is not subject to this limitation. The present technique involves the use (1) of a cheap, miniature, easy-to-operate, capacitor-discharging welding apparatus that has an Nb or Nb/Ti tip and operates with a continuous local flow of gaseous helium and (2) preparation of a joint in a special spark-discharge welding geometry. In a typical application, a piece of Nb foil about 25 m thick is rolled to form a tube, into which is inserted a wire that one seeks to weld to the tube (see figure). The tube can be slightly crimped for mechanical stability. Then a spark weld is made by use of the aforementioned apparatus with energy and time settings chosen to melt a small section of the niobium foil. The energy setting corresponds to the setting of a voltage to which the capacitor is charged. In an experiment, the technique was used to weld an Nb foil to a copper wire coated with a Pb/Sn soft solder, which is superconducting. The joint was evaluated as

  3. Realization of a mixed-symmetry superconducting gap in correlated organic metals

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Altmeyer, Michaela; Guterding, Daniel; Jeschke, Harald O.; Diehl, Sandra; Methfessel, Torsten; Tutsch, Ulrich; Schubert, Harald; Lang, Michael; Müller, Jens; Huth, Michael; Jourdan, Martin; Elmers, Hans-Joachim; Valenti, Roser

    Recent scanning tunneling spectroscopy measurements on the organic charge tranfer salt κ-(BEDT-TTF)2Cu[N(CN)2]Br show clear evidence of a highly anisotropic gap structure. Based on an ab initio derived model Hamiltonian we employ random phase approximation spin fluctuation theory yielding a composite order parameter of (extended) s+dx2-y2 symmetry. Taking explicitly also the shape of the Fermi surface into account we calculate STS spectra that are in excellent agreement to the experimental observations [1]. Moreover we determine the minimal tight binding model to describe the general lattice structure of these compounds accurately and generate a phase diagram for the gap symmetry by varying the hopping parameters. Based on ab initio derived parameter sets we predict the gap symmetry of other superconducting κ charge transfer salts. This work was supported by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft under Grant No. SFB/TR 49.

  4. Superconductive radiofrequency window assembly

    DOEpatents

    Phillips, Harry Lawrence; Elliott, Thomas S.

    1998-01-01

    The present invention is a superconducting radiofrequency window assembly for use in an electron beam accelerator. The srf window assembly (20) has a superconducting metal-ceramic design. The srf window assembly (20) comprises a superconducting frame (30), a ceramic plate (40) having a superconducting metallized area, and a superconducting eyelet (50) for sealing plate (40) into frame (30). The plate (40) is brazed to eyelet (50) which is then electron beam welded to frame (30). A method for providing a ceramic object mounted in a metal member to withstand cryogenic temperatures is also provided. The method involves a new metallization process for coating a selected area of a ceramic object with a thin film of a superconducting material. Finally, a method for assembling an electron beam accelerator cavity utilizing the srf window assembly is provided. The procedure is carried out within an ultra clean room to minimize exposure to particulates which adversely affect the performance of the cavity within the electron beam accelerator.

  5. Superconductive radiofrequency window assembly

    DOEpatents

    Phillips, H.L.; Elliott, T.S.

    1998-05-19

    The present invention is a superconducting radiofrequency window assembly for use in an electron beam accelerator. The SRF window assembly has a superconducting metal-ceramic design. The SRF window assembly comprises a superconducting frame, a ceramic plate having a superconducting metallized area, and a superconducting eyelet for sealing plate into frame. The plate is brazed to eyelet which is then electron beam welded to frame. A method for providing a ceramic object mounted in a metal member to withstand cryogenic temperatures is also provided. The method involves a new metallization process for coating a selected area of a ceramic object with a thin film of a superconducting material. Finally, a method for assembling an electron beam accelerator cavity utilizing the SRF window assembly is provided. The procedure is carried out within an ultra clean room to minimize exposure to particulates which adversely affect the performance of the cavity within the electron beam accelerator. 11 figs.

  6. Superconducting radiofrequency window assembly

    DOEpatents

    Phillips, Harry L.; Elliott, Thomas S.

    1997-01-01

    The present invention is a superconducting radiofrequency window assembly for use in an electron beam accelerator. The srf window assembly (20) has a superconducting metal-ceramic design. The srf window assembly (20) comprises a superconducting frame (30), a ceramic plate (40) having a superconducting metallized area, and a superconducting eyelet (50) for sealing plate (40) into frame (30). The plate (40) is brazed to eyelet (50) which is then electron beam welded to frame (30). A method for providing a ceramic object mounted in a metal member to withstand cryogenic temperatures is also provided. The method involves a new metallization process for coating a selected area of a ceramic object with a thin film of a superconducting material. Finally, a method for assembling an electron beam accelerator cavity utilizing the srf window assembly is provided. The procedure is carried out within an ultra clean room to minimize exposure to particulates which adversely affect the performance of the cavity within the electron beam accelerator.

  7. Superconducting radiofrequency window assembly

    DOEpatents

    Phillips, H.L.; Elliott, T.S.

    1997-03-11

    The present invention is a superconducting radiofrequency window assembly for use in an electron beam accelerator. The srf window assembly has a superconducting metal-ceramic design. The srf window assembly comprises a superconducting frame, a ceramic plate having a superconducting metallized area, and a superconducting eyelet for sealing plate into frame. The plate is brazed to eyelet which is then electron beam welded to frame. A method for providing a ceramic object mounted in a metal member to withstand cryogenic temperatures is also provided. The method involves a new metallization process for coating a selected area of a ceramic object with a thin film of a superconducting material. Finally, a method for assembling an electron beam accelerator cavity utilizing the srf window assembly is provided. The procedure is carried out within an ultra clean room to minimize exposure to particulates which adversely affect the performance of the cavity within the electron beam accelerator. 11 figs.

  8. Review of 2D superconductivity: the ultimate case of epitaxial monolayers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Brun, Christophe; Cren, Tristan; Roditchev, Dimitri

    2017-01-01

    order to illustrate their specific properties related to quantum-size effects. In the next section 3 we review the growth methods and structural properties of the presented 2DEG surface-confined superconductors. In section 4, we review the electronic structure and Fermi surface properties as measured by macroscopic ARPES and confront them to ab initio DFT calculations based on the characterized atomic structures of the monolayers. The following section 5 reviews the macroscopic properties inferred from in situ electrical transport measurements methods, including attempts to study the Berezinsky-Kosterlitz-Thouless 2D regime. In the last section 6, we summarize the emerging local spectroscopic properties measured by STS. These latter demonstrate variations of the local superconducting properties at a scale much shorter than the superconducting coherence length due to a combined effect of non-magnetic disorder and two-dimensionality. Further peculiar local spectroscopic effects are presented giving evidence for the presence of a mixed singlet-triplet superconducting order parameter induced by the presence of a strong Rashba spin-orbit coupling term at the surface. These local signatures will be discussed along with ARPES and transport measurements in parallel high magnetic field on closely related systems. Finally, we present in anisotropic Pb and In monolayers the peculiar role played by atomic steps on vortex properties, leading to the observation by STS of mixed Abrikosov-Josephson vortices in agreement with in situ macroscopic transport measurements. From the overview of all recent experimental and theoretical results it appears that these surface 2D superconductors, such as one monolayer of Pb on Si(111), are ideal templates to engineer and realize topological superconductivity.

  9. Metric anisotropies and emergent anisotropic hydrodynamics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dash, Ashutosh; Jaiswal, Amaresh

    2018-05-01

    Expansion of a locally equilibrated fluid is considered in an anisotropic space-time given by the Bianchi type-I metric. Starting from the isotropic equilibrium phase-space distribution function in the local rest frame, we obtain expressions for components of the energy-momentum tensor and conserved current, such as number density, energy density, and pressure components. In the case of an axissymmetric Bianchi type-I metric, we show that they are identical to those obtained within the setup of anisotropic hydrodynamics. We further consider the case in which the Bianchi type-I metric is a vacuum solution of the Einstein equation: the Kasner metric. For the axissymmetric Kasner metric, we discuss the implications of our results in the context of anisotropic hydrodynamics.

  10. Relativistic Modelling of Stable Anisotropic Super-Dense Star

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Maurya, S. K.; Gupta, Y. K.; Jasim, M. K.

    2015-08-01

    In the present article we have obtained new set of exact solutions of Einstein field equations for anisotropic fluid spheres by using the Herrera et al. [1] algorithm. The anisotropic fluid solutions so obtained join continuously to the Schwarzschild exterior solution across the pressure-free boundary. It is observed that most of the new anisotropic solutions are well-behaved and are used to construct the super-dense star models such as neutron stars and pulsars.

  11. Discovery of superconductivity in quasicrystal.

    PubMed

    Kamiya, K; Takeuchi, T; Kabeya, N; Wada, N; Ishimasa, T; Ochiai, A; Deguchi, K; Imura, K; Sato, N K

    2018-01-11

    Superconductivity is ubiquitous as evidenced by the observation in many crystals including carrier-doped oxides and diamond. Amorphous solids are no exception. However, it remains to be discovered in quasicrystals, in which atoms are ordered over long distances but not in a periodically repeating arrangement. Here we report electrical resistivity, magnetization, and specific-heat measurements of Al-Zn-Mg quasicrystal, presenting convincing evidence for the emergence of bulk superconductivity at a very low transition temperature of [Formula: see text] K. We also find superconductivity in its approximant crystals, structures that are periodic, but that are very similar to quasicrystals. These observations demonstrate that the effective interaction between electrons remains attractive under variation of the atomic arrangement from periodic to quasiperiodic one. The discovery of the superconducting quasicrystal, in which the fractal geometry interplays with superconductivity, opens the door to a new type of superconductivity, fractal superconductivity.

  12. Some boundary-value problems for anisotropic quarter plane

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Arkhypenko, K. M.; Kryvyi, O. F.

    2018-04-01

    To solve the mixed boundary-value problems of the anisotropic elasticity for the anisotropic quarter plane, a method based on the use of the space of generalized functions {\\Im }{\\prime }({\\text{R}}+2) with slow growth properties was developed. The two-dimensional integral Fourier transform was used to construct the system of fundamental solutions for the anisotropic quarter plane in this space and a system of eight boundary integral relations was obtained, which allows one to reduce the mixed boundary-value problems for the anisotropic quarter plane directly to systems of singular integral equations with fixed singularities. The exact solutions of these systems were found by using the integral Mellin transform. The asymptotic behavior of solutions was investigated at the vertex of the quarter plane.

  13. Anisotropic contraction of hydrogel reinforced by aligned fibers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Olvera de La Cruz, Monica; Liu, Shuangping

    Hydrogel reinforced by aligned fibers can have strong anisotropic contraction or swelling behavior triggered by external stimuli, which has been largely employed in realizing soft actuators for artificial muscles as well as many biological systems. In this work, we investigate how this anisotropic behavior is controlled by the dimension of the embedded fibers and their reinforcement to the surrounding hydrogel. We describe the anisotropic contraction of hydrogels with rigid fibers using the Flory-Rehner thermodynamic model under periodic boundary conditions. It is found that a hydrogel reinforced by aligned fibers exhibits larger anisotropy when it is pre-stretched before contraction. Using finite element method, we further observe that the anisotropic contraction is dampened by reducing the fiber-fiber distance due to the finite size of the fibers.

  14. Application of ceramic superconductors in high speed turbines

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Mcmichael, C. K.; Lamb, M. A.; Lin, M. W.; Ma, K. B.; Chu, W. K.

    1992-01-01

    A turbine system was modified to adapt melt textured YBa2Cu3O(7-delta) (YBCO) with high energy permanent magnets to form a hybrid superconducting magnetic bearing (HSMB). The HSMB/turbine prototype has achieved a static axial thrust capacity exceeding 41 N/sq cm (60 psi) and a radial magnetic stiffness of 7 N/mm in a field cooled state at 77 K. A comparison was made between different configurations of magnets and superconductor for radial stability, axial instability, and force hystereses. This systematic study lead to a greater understanding of the interactions between YBCO and high energy permanent magnets to define design parameters for high rotational devices using the HSMB design.

  15. Free-standing oxide superconducting articles

    DOEpatents

    Wu, X.D.; Muenchausen, R.E.

    1993-12-14

    A substrate-free, free-standing epitaxially oriented superconductive film including a layer of a template material and a layer of a ceramic superconducting material is provided together with a method of making such a substrate-free ceramic superconductive film by coating an etchable material with a template layer, coating the template layer with a layer of a ceramic superconductive material, coating the layer of ceramic superconductive material with a protective material, removing the etchable material by an appropriate means so that the etchable material is separated from a composite structure including the template layer.

  16. Anisotropic solutions by gravitational decoupling

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ovalle, J.; Casadio, R.; da Rocha, R.; Sotomayor, A.

    2018-02-01

    We investigate the extension of isotropic interior solutions for static self-gravitating systems to include the effects of anisotropic spherically symmetric gravitational sources by means of the gravitational decoupling realised via the minimal geometric deformation approach. In particular, the matching conditions at the surface of the star with the outer Schwarzschild space-time are studied in great detail, and we describe how to generate, from a single physically acceptable isotropic solution, new families of anisotropic solutions whose physical acceptability is also inherited from their isotropic parent.

  17. Jets in a strongly coupled anisotropic plasma

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fadafan, Kazem Bitaghsir; Morad, Razieh

    2018-01-01

    In this paper, we study the dynamics of the light quark jet moving through the static, strongly coupled N=4, anisotropic plasma with and without charge. The light quark is presented by a 2-parameters point-like initial condition falling string in the context of the AdS/CFT. We calculate the stopping distance of the light quark in the anisotropic medium and compare it with its isotropic value. We study the dependency of the stopping distance to the both string initial conditions and background parameters such as anisotropy parameter or chemical potential. Although the typical behavior of the string in the anisotropic medium is similar to the one in the isotropic AdS-Sch background, the string falls faster to the horizon depending on the direction of moving. Particularly, the enhancement of quenching is larger in the beam direction. We find that the suppression of stopping distance is more prominent when the anisotropic plasma have the same temperature as the isotropic plasma.

  18. Development of superconducting magnetic bearing using superconducting coil and bulk superconductor

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Seino, H.; Nagashima, K.; Arai, Y.

    2008-02-01

    The authors conducted a study on superconducting magnetic bearing, which consists of superconducting rotor and stator to apply the flywheel energy-storage system for railways. In this study, high temperature bulk superconductor (HTS bulk) was combined with superconducting coils to increase the load capacity of the bearing. In the first step of the study, the thrust rolling bearing was selected for application by using liquid nitrogen cooled HTS bulk. 60mm-diameter HTS bulks and superconducting coil which generated a high gradient of magnetic field by cusp field were adopted as a rotor and a stator for superconducting magnetic bearing, respectively. The results of the static load test and the rotation test, creep of the electromagnetic forces caused by static flux penetration and AC loss due to eccentric rotation were decreased to the level without any problems in substantial use by using two HTS bulks. In the result of verification of static load capacity, levitation force (thrust load) of 8900N or more was supportable, and stable static load capacity was obtainable when weight of 460kg was levitated.

  19. AC loss in YBCO coated conductors at high dB/dt measured using a spinning magnet calorimeter (stator testbed environment)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Murphy, J. P.; Gheorghiu, N. N.; Bullard, T.; Haugan, T.; Sumption, M. D.; Majoros, M.; Collings, E. W.

    2017-09-01

    A new facility for the measurement of AC loss in superconductors at high dB/dt has been developed. The test device has a spinning rotor consisting of permanent magnets arranged in a Halbach array; the sample, positioned outside of this, is exposed to a time varying AC field with a peak radial field of 0.566 T. At a rotor speed of 3600 RPM the frequency of the AC field is 240 Hz, the radial dB/dt is 543 T/s and the tangential dB/dt is 249 T/s. Loss is measured using nitrogen boiloff from a double wall calorimeter feeding a gas flow meter. The system is calibrated using power from a known resistor. YBCO tape losses were measured in the new device and compared to the results from a solenoidal magnet AC loss system measurement of the same samples (in this latter case measurements were limited to a field of amplitude 0.1 T and a dB/dt of 100 T/s). Solenoidal magnet system AC loss measurements taken on a YBCO sample agreed with the Brandt loss expression associated with a 0-0.1 T Ic of 128 A. Subsequently, losses for two more YBCO tapes nominally identical to the first were individually measured in this spinning magnet calorimeter (SMC) machine with a Bmax of 0.566 T and dB/dt of up to 272 T/s. The losses, compared to a simplified version of the Brandt expression, were consistent with the average Ic expected for the tape in the 0-0.5 T range at 77 K. The eddy current contribution was consistent with a 77 K residual resistance ratio, RR, of 4.0. The SMC results for these samples agreed to within 5%. Good agreement was also obtained between the results of the SMC AC loss measurement and the solenoidal magnet AC loss measurement on the same samples.

  20. A new RE + 011 TSIG method for the fabrication of high quality and large size single domain YBCO bulk superconductors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, W. M.; Chen, L. P.; Wang, X. J.

    2016-02-01

    High quality single domain YBCO bulk superconductors, 20 mm in diameter, have been fabricated using a new top seeded infiltration and growth method (called the RE + 011 TSIG method), with a new solid phase (Y2O3 + xBaCuO2) instead of the conventional Y2BaCuO5 solid phase, x = 0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.2, 1.5, 1.8, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0. The effects of different BaCuO2 contents x on the growth morphology, microstructure, and levitation force have been investigated. The results show that the levitation force of the YBCO bulks first increases and then decreases with increasing x, and reaches maximum levitation forces of about 49.2 N (77 K, 0.5 T, with the traditional liquid phase of YBa2Cu3O y + 3 BaCuO2 + 2 CuO) and 47 N (77.3 K, 0.5 T, with the new liquid phase of Y2O3 + 10 BaCuO2 + 6 CuO) when x = 1.2, which is much higher than that of the samples fabricated with the conventional solid phases (23 N). The average Y2BaCuO5 particle size is about 1 μm, which is much smaller than the 3.4 μm in the samples prepared with the conventional Y2BaCuO5 solid phase; this means that the flux pinning force of the sample can be improved by using the new solid phase. Based on this method, single domain YBCO bulks 40 mm, 59 mm, and 93 mm in diameter have also been fabricated using the TSIG process with the new solid phases (Y2O3 + 1.2BaCuO2). These results indicate that the new TSIG process developed by our lab is a very important and practical method for the fabrication of low cost, large size, and high quality single domain REBCO bulk superconductors.

  1. High temperature interfacial superconductivity

    DOEpatents

    Bozovic, Ivan [Mount Sinai, NY; Logvenov, Gennady [Port Jefferson Station, NY; Gozar, Adrian Mihai [Port Jefferson, NY

    2012-06-19

    High-temperature superconductivity confined to nanometer-scale interfaces has been a long standing goal because of potential applications in electronic devices. The spontaneous formation of a superconducting interface in bilayers consisting of an insulator (La.sub.2CuO.sub.4) and a metal (La.sub.1-xSr.sub.xCuO.sub.4), neither of which is superconducting per se, is described. Depending upon the layering sequence of the bilayers, T.sub.c may be either .about.15 K or .about.30 K. This highly robust phenomenon is confined to within 2-3 nm around the interface. After exposing the bilayer to ozone, T.sub.c exceeds 50 K and this enhanced superconductivity is also shown to originate from a 1 to 2 unit cell thick interfacial layer. The results demonstrate that engineering artificial heterostructures provides a novel, unconventional way to fabricate stable, quasi two-dimensional high T.sub.c phases and to significantly enhance superconducting properties in other superconductors. The superconducting interface may be implemented, for example, in SIS tunnel junctions or a SuFET.

  2. Azimuthally Anisotropic 3D Velocity Continuation

    DOE PAGES

    Burnett, William; Fomel, Sergey

    2011-01-01

    We extend time-domain velocity continuation to the zero-offset 3D azimuthally anisotropic case. Velocity continuation describes how a seismic image changes given a change in migration velocity. This description turns out to be of a wave propagation process, in which images change along a velocity axis. In the anisotropic case, the velocity model is multiparameter. Therefore, anisotropic image propagation is multidimensional. We use a three-parameter slowness model, which is related to azimuthal variations in velocity, as well as their principal directions. This information is useful for fracture and reservoir characterization from seismic data. We provide synthetic diffraction imaging examples to illustratemore » the concept and potential applications of azimuthal velocity continuation and to analyze the impulse response of the 3D velocity continuation operator.« less

  3. Stability of anisotropic self-gravitating fluids

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ahmad, S.; Jami, A. Rehman; Mughal, M. Z.

    2018-06-01

    The aim of this paper is to study the stability as well as the existence of self-gravitating anisotropic fluids in Λ-dominated era. Taking a cylindrically symmetric and static spacetime, we computed the corresponding equations of motion in the background of anisotropic fluid distributions. The realistic formulation of energy momentum tensor as well as theoretical model of the scale factors are considered in order to describe some physical properties of the anisotropic fluids. To find the stability of the compact star, we have used Herrera’s technique which is based on finding the radial and the transverse components of the speed of sound. Moreover, the behaviors of other physical quantities are also discussed like anisotropy, matching conditions of interior metric and exterior metric and compactness of the compact structures are also discussed.

  4. The family of anisotropically scaled equatorial waves

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    RamíRez GutiéRrez, Enver; da Silva Dias, Pedro Leite; Raupp, Carlos; Bonatti, Jose Paulo

    2011-04-01

    In the present work we introduce the family of anisotropic equatorial waves. This family corresponds to equatorial waves at intermediate states between the shallow water and the long wave approximation model. The new family is obtained by using anisotropic time/space scalings on the linearized, unforced and inviscid shallow water model. It is shown that the anisotropic equatorial waves tend to the solutions of the long wave model in one extreme and to the shallow water model solutions in the other extreme of the parameter dependency. Thus, the problem associated with the completeness of the long wave model solutions can be asymptotically addressed. The anisotropic dispersion relation is computed and, in addition to the typical dependency on the equivalent depth, meridional quantum number and zonal wavenumber, it also depends on the anisotropy between both zonal to meridional space and velocity scales as well as the fast to slow time scales ratio. For magnitudes of the scales compatible with those of the tropical region, both mixed Rossby-gravity and inertio-gravity waves are shifted to a moderately higher frequency and, consequently, not filtered out. This draws attention to the fact that, for completeness of the long wave like solutions, it is necessary to include both the anisotropic mixed Rossby-gravity and inertio-gravity waves. Furthermore, the connection of slow and fast manifolds (distinguishing feature of equatorial dynamics) is preserved, though modified for the equatorial anisotropy parameters used δ ∈ < 1]. New possibilities of horizontal and vertical scale nonlinear interactions are allowed. Thus, the anisotropic shallow water model is of fundamental importance for understanding multiscale atmosphere and ocean dynamics in the tropics.

  5. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Stewart, Gary

    The primary objective of this project was to demonstrate the feasibility and reliability of utilizing high-temperature superconducting (HTS) materials in a Transmission Level Superconducting Fault Current Limiter (SFCL) application. During the project, the type of high-temperature superconducting material used evolved from 1 st generation (1G) BSCCO-2212 melt cast bulk high-temperature superconductors to 2 nd generation (2G) YBCO-based high-temperature superconducting tape. The SFCL employed SuperPower's “Matrix” technology, that offers modular features to enable scale up to transmission voltage levels. The SFCL consists of individual modules that contain elements and parallel inductors that assist in carrying the current during the fault. Amore » number of these modules are arranged in an m x n array to form the current-limiting matrix.« less

  6. Superconductive imaging surface magnetometer

    DOEpatents

    Overton, Jr., William C.; van Hulsteyn, David B.; Flynn, Edward R.

    1991-01-01

    An improved pick-up coil system for use with Superconducting Quantum Interference Device gradiometers and magnetometers involving the use of superconducting plates near conventional pick-up coil arrangements to provide imaging of nearby dipole sources and to deflect environmental magnetic noise away from the pick-up coils. This allows the practice of gradiometry and magnetometry in magnetically unshielded environments. One embodiment uses a hemispherically shaped superconducting plate with interior pick-up coils, allowing brain wave measurements to be made on human patients. another embodiment using flat superconducting plates could be used in non-destructive evaluation of materials.

  7. Superconductivity-related insulating behavior.

    PubMed

    Sambandamurthy, G; Engel, L W; Johansson, A; Shahar, D

    2004-03-12

    We present the results of an experimental study of superconducting, disordered, thin films of amorphous indium oxide. These films can be driven from the superconducting phase to a reentrant insulating state by the application of a perpendicular magnetic field (B). We find that the high-B insulator exhibits activated transport with a characteristic temperature, TI. TI has a maximum value (TpI) that is close to the superconducting transition temperature (Tc) at B=0, suggesting a possible relation between the conduction mechanisms in the superconducting and insulating phases. Tp(I) and Tc display opposite dependences on the disorder strength.

  8. Structural differences between superconducting and non-superconducting CaCuO2/SrTiO3 interfaces

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zarotti, Francesca; Di Castro, Daniele; Felici, Roberto; Balestrino, Giuseppe

    2018-06-01

    A study of the interface structure of superconducting and non-superconducting CaCuO2/SrTiO3 heterostructures grown on NdGaO3(110) substrates is reported. Using the combination of high resolution x-ray reflectivity and surface diffraction, the crystallographic structure of superconducting and non-superconducting samples has been investigated. The analysis has demonstrated the excellent sharpness of the CaCuO2/SrTiO3 interface (roughness smaller than one perovskite unit cell). Furthermore, we were able to discriminate between the superconducting and the non-superconducting phase. In the former case, we found an increase of the spacing between the topmost Ca plane of CaCuO2 block and the first TiO2 plane of the overlaying STO block, relative to the non-superconducting case. These results are in agreement with the model that foresees a strong oxygen incorporation in the interface Ca plane in the superconducting heterostructures.

  9. Superconductivity in diamond.

    PubMed

    Ekimov, E A; Sidorov, V A; Bauer, E D; Mel'nik, N N; Curro, N J; Thompson, J D; Stishov, S M

    2004-04-01

    Diamond is an electrical insulator well known for its exceptional hardness. It also conducts heat even more effectively than copper, and can withstand very high electric fields. With these physical properties, diamond is attractive for electronic applications, particularly when charge carriers are introduced (by chemical doping) into the system. Boron has one less electron than carbon and, because of its small atomic radius, boron is relatively easily incorporated into diamond; as boron acts as a charge acceptor, the resulting diamond is effectively hole-doped. Here we report the discovery of superconductivity in boron-doped diamond synthesized at high pressure (nearly 100,000 atmospheres) and temperature (2,500-2,800 K). Electrical resistivity, magnetic susceptibility, specific heat and field-dependent resistance measurements show that boron-doped diamond is a bulk, type-II superconductor below the superconducting transition temperature T(c) approximately 4 K; superconductivity survives in a magnetic field up to Hc2(0) > or = 3.5 T. The discovery of superconductivity in diamond-structured carbon suggests that Si and Ge, which also form in the diamond structure, may similarly exhibit superconductivity under the appropriate conditions.

  10. Superconducting thermoelectric generator

    DOEpatents

    Metzger, J.D.; El-Genk, M.S.

    1996-01-01

    An apparatus and method for producing electricity from heat. The present invention is a thermoelectric generator that uses materials with substantially no electrical resistance, often called superconductors, to efficiently convert heat into electrical energy without resistive losses. Preferably, an array of superconducting elements is encased within a second material with a high thermal conductivity. The second material is preferably a semiconductor. Alternatively, the superconducting material can be doped on a base semiconducting material, or the superconducting material and the semiconducting material can exist as alternating, interleaved layers of waferlike materials. A temperature gradient imposed across the boundary of the two materials establishes an electrical potential related to the magnitude of the temperature gradient. The superconducting material carries the resulting electrical current at zero resistivity, thereby eliminating resistive losses. The elimination of resistive losses significantly increases the conversion efficiency of the thermoelectric device.

  11. Superconducting thermoelectric generator

    DOEpatents

    Metzger, John D.; El-Genk, Mohamed S.

    1998-01-01

    An apparatus and method for producing electricity from heat. The present invention is a thermoelectric generator that uses materials with substantially no electrical resistance, often called superconductors, to efficiently convert heat into electrical energy without resistive losses. Preferably, an array of superconducting elements is encased within a second material with a high thermal conductivity. The second material is preferably a semiconductor. Alternatively, the superconducting material can be doped on a base semiconducting material, or the superconducting material and the semiconducting material can exist as alternating, interleaved layers of waferlike materials. A temperature gradient imposed across the boundary of the two materials establishes an electrical potential related to the magnitude of the temperature gradient. The superconducting material carries the resulting electrical current at zero resistivity, thereby eliminating resistive losses. The elimination of resistive losses significantly increases the conversion efficiency of the thermoelectric device.

  12. Electrostatic separation of superconducting particles from non-superconducting particles and improvement in fuel atomization by electrorheology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chhabria, Deepika

    This thesis has two major topics: (1) Electrostatic Separation of Superconducting Particles from a Mixture of Non-Superconducting Particles. (2) Improvement in fuel atomization by Electrorheology. (1) Based on the basic science research, the interactions between electric field and superconductors, we have developed a new technology, which can separate superconducting granular particles from their mixture with non-superconducting particles. The electric-field induced formation of superconducting balls is important aspect of the interaction between superconducting particles and electric field. When the applied electric field exceeds a critical value, the induced positive surface energy on the superconducting particles forces them to aggregate into balls or cling to the electrodes. In fabrication of superconducting materials, especially HTSC materials, it is common to come across materials with multiple phases: some grains are in superconducting state while the others are not. Our technology is proven to be very useful in separating superconducting grains from the rest non-superconducting materials. To separate superconducting particles from normal conducting particles, we apply a suitable strong electric field. The superconducting particles cling to the electrodes, while normal conducting particles bounce between the electrodes. The superconducting particles could then be collected from the electrodes. To separate superconducting particles from insulating ones, we apply a moderate electric field to force insulating particles to the electrodes to form short chains while the superconducting particles are collected from the middle of capacitor. The importance of this technology is evidenced by the unsuccessful efforts to utilize the Meissner effect to separate superconducting particles from nonsuperconducting ones. Because the Meissner effect is proportional to the particle volume, it has been found that the Meissner effect is not useful when the superconducting

  13. High Temperature Superconducting Materials Database

    National Institute of Standards and Technology Data Gateway

    SRD 62 NIST High Temperature Superconducting Materials Database (Web, free access)   The NIST High Temperature Superconducting Materials Database (WebHTS) provides evaluated thermal, mechanical, and superconducting property data for oxides and other nonconventional superconductors.

  14. Fabrication of gradient optical filter containing anisotropic Bragg nanostructure.

    PubMed

    Cho, Bomin; Um, Sungyong; Woo, Hee-Gweon; Sohn, Honglae

    2011-08-01

    New gradient optical filters containing asymmetric Bragg structure were prepared from the distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) porous silicon (PSi). Anisotropic DBR PSi displaying a rainbow-colored reflection was generated by using an asymmetric etching configuration. Flexible anisotropic DBR PSi composite films were obtained by casting of polymer solution onto anisotropic DBR PSi thin films. The surface and cross-sectional images images of anisotropic DBR PSi composite films obtained with cold field emission scanning electron microscope indicated that the average pore size and the thickness of porous layer decreased as the lateral distance increased. As lateral distance increased, the reflection resonance shifted to shorter wavelength.

  15. Superconducting wires and methods of making thereof

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Xu, Xingchen; Sumption, Michael D.; Peng, Xuan

    Disclosed herein are superconducting wires. The superconducting wires can comprise a metallic matrix and at least one continuous subelement embedded in the matrix. Each subelement can comprise a non-superconducting core, a superconducting layer coaxially disposed around the non-superconducting core, and a barrier layer coaxially disposed around the superconducting layer. The superconducting layer can comprise a plurality of Nb.sub.3Sn grains stabilized by metal oxide particulates disposed therein. The Nb.sub.3Sn grains can have an average grain size of from 5 nm to 90 nm (for example, from 15 nm to 30 nm). The superconducting wire can have a high-field critical current densitymore » (J.sub.c) of at least 5,000 A/mm.sup.2 at a temperature of 4.2 K in a magnetic field of 12 T. Also described are superconducting wire precursors that can be heat treated to prepare superconducting wires, as well as methods of making superconducting wires.« less

  16. Generalized Fractional Derivative Anisotropic Viscoelastic Characterization.

    PubMed

    Hilton, Harry H

    2012-01-18

    Isotropic linear and nonlinear fractional derivative constitutive relations are formulated and examined in terms of many parameter generalized Kelvin models and are analytically extended to cover general anisotropic homogeneous or non-homogeneous as well as functionally graded viscoelastic material behavior. Equivalent integral constitutive relations, which are computationally more powerful, are derived from fractional differential ones and the associated anisotropic temperature-moisture-degree-of-cure shift functions and reduced times are established. Approximate Fourier transform inversions for fractional derivative relations are formulated and their accuracy is evaluated. The efficacy of integer and fractional derivative constitutive relations is compared and the preferential use of either characterization in analyzing isotropic and anisotropic real materials must be examined on a case-by-case basis. Approximate protocols for curve fitting analytical fractional derivative results to experimental data are formulated and evaluated.

  17. Gravitational stresses in anisotropic rock masses

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Amadei, B.; Savage, W.Z.; Swolfs, H.S.

    1987-01-01

    This paper presents closed-form solutions for the stress field induced by gravity in anisotropic rock masses. These rocks are assumed to be laterally restrained and are modelled as a homogeneous, orthotropic or transversely isotropic, linearly elastic material. The analysis, constrained by the thermodynamic requirement that strain energy be positive definite, gives the following important result: inclusion of anisotropy broadens the range of permissible values of gravity-induced horizontal stresses. In fact, for some ranges of anisotropic rock properties, it is thermodynamically admissible for gravity-induced horizontal stresses to exceed the vertical stress component; this is not possible for the classical isotropic solution. Specific examples are presented to explore the nature of the gravity-induced stress field in anisotropic rocks and its dependence on the type, degree and orientation of anisotropy with respect to the horizontal ground surface. ?? 1987.

  18. Superconductivity in doped Dirac semimetals

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hashimoto, Tatsuki; Kobayashi, Shingo; Tanaka, Yukio; Sato, Masatoshi

    2016-07-01

    We theoretically study intrinsic superconductivity in doped Dirac semimetals. Dirac semimetals host bulk Dirac points, which are formed by doubly degenerate bands, so the Hamiltonian is described by a 4 ×4 matrix and six types of k -independent pair potentials are allowed by the Fermi-Dirac statistics. We show that the unique spin-orbit coupling leads to characteristic superconducting gap structures and d vectors on the Fermi surface and the electron-electron interaction between intra and interorbitals gives a novel phase diagram of superconductivity. It is found that when the interorbital attraction is dominant, an unconventional superconducting state with point nodes appears. To verify the experimental signature of possible superconducting states, we calculate the temperature dependence of bulk physical properties such as electronic specific heat and spin susceptibility and surface state. In the unconventional superconducting phase, either dispersive or flat Andreev bound states appear between point nodes, which leads to double peaks or a single peak in the surface density of states, respectively. As a result, possible superconducting states can be distinguished by combining bulk and surface measurements.

  19. Superconductivity in graphite intercalation compounds

    DOE PAGES

    Smith, Robert P.; Weller, Thomas E.; Howard, Christopher A.; ...

    2015-02-26

    This study examines the field of superconductivity in the class of materials known as graphite intercalation compounds which has a history dating back to the 1960s. This paper recontextualizes the field in light of the discovery of superconductivity in CaC₆ and YbC₆ in 2005. In what follows, we outline the crystal structure and electronic structure of these and related compounds. We go on to experiments addressing the superconducting energy gap, lattice dynamics, pressure dependence, and how this relates to theoretical studies. The bulk of the evidence strongly supports a BCS superconducting state. However, important questions remain regarding which electronic statesmore » and phonon modes are most important for superconductivity and whether current theoretical techniques can fully describe the dependence of the superconducting transition temperature on pressure and chemical composition.« less

  20. An engineered anisotropic nanofilm with unidirectional wetting properties.

    PubMed

    Malvadkar, Niranjan A; Hancock, Matthew J; Sekeroglu, Koray; Dressick, Walter J; Demirel, Melik C

    2010-12-01

    Anisotropic textured surfaces allow water striders to walk on water, butterflies to shed water from their wings and plants to trap insects and pollen. Capturing these natural features in biomimetic surfaces is an active area of research. Here, we report an engineered nanofilm, composed of an array of poly(p-xylylene) nanorods, which demonstrates anisotropic wetting behaviour by means of a pin-release droplet ratchet mechanism. Droplet retention forces in the pin and release directions differ by up to 80 μN, which is over ten times greater than the values reported for other engineered anisotropic surfaces. The nanofilm provides a microscale smooth surface on which to transport microlitre droplets, and is also relatively easy to synthesize by a bottom-up vapour-phase technique. An accompanying comprehensive model successfully describes the film's anisotropic wetting behaviour as a function of measurable film morphology parameters.

  1. Superconducting thermoelectric generator

    DOEpatents

    Metzger, J.D.; El-Genk, M.S.

    1998-05-05

    An apparatus and method for producing electricity from heat is disclosed. The present invention is a thermoelectric generator that uses materials with substantially no electrical resistance, often called superconductors, to efficiently convert heat into electrical energy without resistive losses. Preferably, an array of superconducting elements is encased within a second material with a high thermal conductivity. The second material is preferably a semiconductor. Alternatively, the superconducting material can be doped on a base semiconducting material, or the superconducting material and the semiconducting material can exist as alternating, interleaved layers of waferlike materials. A temperature gradient imposed across the boundary of the two materials establishes an electrical potential related to the magnitude of the temperature gradient. The superconducting material carries the resulting electrical current at zero resistivity, thereby eliminating resistive losses. The elimination of resistive losses significantly increases the conversion efficiency of the thermoelectric device. 4 figs.

  2. Anisotropic conductivity imaging with MREIT using equipotential projection algorithm.

    PubMed

    Değirmenci, Evren; Eyüboğlu, B Murat

    2007-12-21

    Magnetic resonance electrical impedance tomography (MREIT) combines magnetic flux or current density measurements obtained by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and surface potential measurements to reconstruct images of true conductivity with high spatial resolution. Most of the biological tissues have anisotropic conductivity; therefore, anisotropy should be taken into account in conductivity image reconstruction. Almost all of the MREIT reconstruction algorithms proposed to date assume isotropic conductivity distribution. In this study, a novel MREIT image reconstruction algorithm is proposed to image anisotropic conductivity. Relative anisotropic conductivity values are reconstructed iteratively, using only current density measurements without any potential measurement. In order to obtain true conductivity values, only either one potential or conductivity measurement is sufficient to determine a scaling factor. The proposed technique is evaluated on simulated data for isotropic and anisotropic conductivity distributions, with and without measurement noise. Simulation results show that the images of both anisotropic and isotropic conductivity distributions can be reconstructed successfully.

  3. Covalent-supramolecular hybrid polymers as muscle-inspired anisotropic actuators.

    PubMed

    Chin, Stacey M; Synatschke, Christopher V; Liu, Shuangping; Nap, Rikkert J; Sather, Nicholas A; Wang, Qifeng; Álvarez, Zaida; Edelbrock, Alexandra N; Fyrner, Timmy; Palmer, Liam C; Szleifer, Igal; Olvera de la Cruz, Monica; Stupp, Samuel I

    2018-06-19

    Skeletal muscle provides inspiration on how to achieve reversible, macroscopic, anisotropic motion in soft materials. Here we report on the bottom-up design of macroscopic tubes that exhibit anisotropic actuation driven by a thermal stimulus. The tube is built from a hydrogel in which extremely long supramolecular nanofibers are aligned using weak shear forces, followed by radial growth of thermoresponsive polymers from their surfaces. The hierarchically ordered tube exhibits reversible anisotropic actuation with changes in temperature, with much greater contraction perpendicular to the direction of nanofiber alignment. We identify two critical factors for the anisotropic actuation, macroscopic alignment of the supramolecular scaffold and its covalent bonding to polymer chains. Using finite element analysis and molecular calculations, we conclude polymer chain confinement and mechanical reinforcement by rigid supramolecular nanofibers are responsible for the anisotropic actuation. The work reported suggests strategies to create soft active matter with molecularly encoded capacity to perform complex tasks.

  4. Grain growth simulation of [001] textured YBCO films grown on (001) substrates with large lattice misfit: Prediction of misorientations of the remaining boundaries

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tsai, Jack W. H.; Ling, Shiun; Rodriguez, Julio C.; Mustapha, Zarina; Chan, Siu-Wai

    2001-04-01

    We study the effects of (1) the variation of grain boundary energy with misorientation and (2) the large lattice misfit (>3%) between the films and substrates on grain growth in films by method of Monte Carlo simulations. The results from the grain growth simulation in YBa2Cu3O7-x (YBCO) films was found to concur with previous experimental observation of preferred grain orientations for YBCO films deposited on various substrates such as (001) magnesium oxide (MgO) and (001) yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ). The simulation has helped us to identify three factors influencing the competition of these [001] tilt boundaries. They are: (1) the relative depths of local minima in the boundary energy vs. misorientation curve, (2) the number of combinations of coincidence epitaxy (CE) orientations contributing to the exact misorientation for each of the high-angle-but-low-energy (HABLE) boundaries, and (3) the number of combinations of CE orientations within the angular ranges bracketing each of the exact HABLE boundaries. Hence, these factors can be applied to clarify the origin of special misorientations observed experimentally.

  5. Scientific Presentations on Superconductivity from 2002-2005

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2006-01-01

    00 Dark-field reflection, using 211 diffraction vector Bright-field transmission (2111.6nm/1236.6nm)x35, ~ 80 sec interval • 211 Density ~ 3x1011...1.8.1 2b.1.9 High Resolution SEM Figure 2b.1.9.1 Y211/YBCO film on LAO (PV43D) At 77K and at 3T magnetic feild 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2

  6. Korea's developmental program for superconductivity

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hong, Gye-Won; Won, Dong-Yeon; Kuk, Il-Hyun; Park, Jong-Chul

    1995-01-01

    Superconductivity research in Korea was firstly carried out in the late 70's by a research group in Seoul National University (SNU), who fabricated a small scale superconducting magnetic energy storage system under the financial support from Korea Electric Power Company (KEPCO). But a few researchers were involved in superconductivity research until the oxide high Tc superconductor was discovered by Bednorz and Mueller. After the discovery of YBaCuO superconductor operating above the boiling point of liquid nitrogen (77 K)(exp 2), Korean Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) sponsored a special fund for the high Tc superconductivity research to universities and national research institutes by recognizing its importance. Scientists engaged in this project organized 'High Temperature Superconductivity Research Association (HITSRA)' for effective conducting of research. Its major functions are to coordinate research activities on high Tc superconductivity and organize the workshop for active exchange of information. During last seven years the major superconductivity research has been carried out through the coordination of HITSRA. The major parts of the Korea's superconductivity research program were related to high temperature superconductor and only a few groups were carrying out research on conventional superconductor technology, and Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) and Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI) have led this research. In this talk, the current status and future plans of superconductivity research in Korea will be reviewed based on the results presented in interim meeting of HITSRA, April 1-2, 1994. Taejeon, as well as the research activity of KAERI.

  7. Korea's developmental program for superconductivity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hong, Gye-Won; Won, Dong-Yeon; Kuk, Il-Hyun; Park, Jong-Chul

    1995-04-01

    Superconductivity research in Korea was firstly carried out in the late 70's by a research group in Seoul National University (SNU), who fabricated a small scale superconducting magnetic energy storage system under the financial support from Korea Electric Power Company (KEPCO). But a few researchers were involved in superconductivity research until the oxide high Tc superconductor was discovered by Bednorz and Mueller. After the discovery of YBaCuO superconductor operating above the boiling point of liquid nitrogen (77 K)(exp 2), Korean Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) sponsored a special fund for the high Tc superconductivity research to universities and national research institutes by recognizing its importance. Scientists engaged in this project organized 'High Temperature Superconductivity Research Association (HITSRA)' for effective conducting of research. Its major functions are to coordinate research activities on high Tc superconductivity and organize the workshop for active exchange of information. During last seven years the major superconductivity research has been carried out through the coordination of HITSRA. The major parts of the Korea's superconductivity research program were related to high temperature superconductor and only a few groups were carrying out research on conventional superconductor technology, and Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) and Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI) have led this research. In this talk, the current status and future plans of superconductivity research in Korea will be reviewed based on the results presented in interim meeting of HITSRA, April 1-2, 1994. Taejeon, as well as the research activity of KAERI.

  8. Superconducting energy recovery linacs

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ben-Zvi, Ilan

    High-average-power and high-brightness electron beams from a combination of laser photocathode electron guns and a superconducting energy recovery linac (ERL) is an emerging accelerator science with applications in ERL light sources, high repetition rate free electron lasers , electron cooling, electron ion colliders and more. This paper reviews the accelerator physics issues of superconducting ERLs, discusses major subsystems and provides a few examples of superconducting ERLs.

  9. Superconducting energy recovery linacs

    DOE PAGES

    Ben-Zvi, Ilan

    2016-09-01

    High-average-power and high-brightness electron beams from a combination of laser photocathode electron guns and a superconducting energy recovery linac (ERL) is an emerging accelerator science with applications in ERL light sources, high repetition rate free electron lasers , electron cooling, electron ion colliders and more. This paper reviews the accelerator physics issues of superconducting ERLs, discusses major subsystems and provides a few examples of superconducting ERLs.

  10. Oligonucleotide-Functionalized Anisotropic Gold Nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jones, Matthew Robert

    In this thesis, we describe the properties of oligonucleotide-functionalized gold colloids under the unique set of conditions where the particles are geometrically anisotropic and have nanometer-scale dimensions. While nearly two decades of previous work elucidated numerous unexpected and emergent phenomena arising from the combination of inorganic nanoparticles with surface-bound DNA strands, virtually nothing was known about how these properties are altered when the shape of the nanoparticle core is chosen to be non-spherical. In particular, we are interested in understanding, and ultimately controlling, the ways in which these DNA-conjugated anisotropic nanostructures interact when their attraction is governed by programmable DNA hybridization events. Chapter 1 introduces the field of DNA-based materials assembly by discussing how nanoscale building blocks which present rigid, directional interactions can be thought of as possessing artificial versions of the familiar chemical principles of "bonds" and "valency". In chapter 2 we explore the fundamental interparticle binding thermodynamics of DNA-functionalized spherical and anisotropic nanoparticles, which reveals enormous preferences for collective ligand interactions occurring between flat surfaces over those that occur between curved surfaces. Using these insights, chapter 3 demonstrates that when syntheses produce mixtures of different nanoparticle shapes, the tailorable nature of DNA-mediated interparticle association can be used to selectively crystallize and purify the desired anisotropic nanostructure products, leaving spherical impurity particles behind. Chapter 4 leverages the principle that the flat facets of anisotropic particles generate directional DNA-based hybridization interactions to assemble a variety of tailorable nanoparticle superlattices whose symmetry and dimensionality are a direct consequence of the shape of the nanoparticle building block used in their construction. Chapter 5 explores

  11. Free-standing oxide superconducting articles

    DOEpatents

    Wu, Xin D.; Muenchausen, Ross E.

    1993-01-01

    A substrate-free, free-standing epitaxially oriented superconductive film including a layer of a template material and a layer of a ceramic superconducting material is provided together with a method of making such a substrate-free ceramic superconductive film by coating an etchable material with a template layer, coating the template layer with a layer of a ceramic superconductive material, coating the layer of ceramic superconductive material with a protective material, removing the etchable material by an appropriate means so that the etchable material is separated from a composite structure including the template lay This invention is the result of a contract with the Department of Energy (Contract No. W-7405-ENG-36).

  12. Investigation for surface resistance of yttrium-barium-copper-oxide thin films on various substrates for microwave applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yao, Hongjun

    High temperature superconducting (HTS) materials such as YBCO (Yttrium-Barium-Copper-Oxide) are very attractive in microwave applications because of their extremely low surface resistance. In the proposed all-HTS tunable filter, a layer of HTS thin film on a very thin substrate (100 mum) is needed to act as the toractor that can be rotated to tune the frequency. In order to provide more substrate candidates that meet both electrical and mechanical requirements for this special application, surface resistance of YBCO thin films on various substrates was measured using microstrip ring resonator method. For alumina polycrystalline substrate, a layer of YSZ (Yttrium stabilized Zirconia) was deposited using IBAD (ion beam assisted deposition) method prior to YBCO deposition. The surface resistance of the YBCO thin film on alumina was found to be 22 mO due to high-angle grain boundary problem caused by the mixed in-plane orientations and large FWHM (full width at half maximum) of the thin film. For YBCO thin films on a YSZ single crystal substrate, the surface resistance showed even higher value of 30 mO because of the mixed in-plane orientation problem. However, by annealing the substrate in 200 Torr oxygen at 730°C prior to deposition, the in-plane orientation of YBCO thin films can be greatly improved. Therefore, the surface resistance decreased to 1.4 mO, which is still more than an order higher than the reported best value. The YBCO thin films grown on LaAlO3 single crystal substrate showed perfect in-plane orientation with FWHM less 1°. The surface resistance was as low as 0.032 mO. A tunable spiral resonator made of YBCO thin film on LaAlO3 single crystal substrate demonstrated that the resonant frequency can be tuned in a rang as large as 500 MHz by changing the gap between toractor and substrate. The Q-factor was more than 12,000, which ensured the extraordinarily high sensitivity for the proposed all-HTS tunable filter.

  13. Anisotropy reversal of the upper critical field at low temperatures and spin-locked superconductivity in K 2 Cr 3 As 3

    DOE PAGES

    Balakirev, F. F.; Kong, T.; Jaime, M.; ...

    2015-06-23

    We report measurements of the anisotropic upper critical field H c2(T) for K 2Cr 3As 3 single crystals up to 60 T and T>0.6K. Our results show that the upper critical field parallel to the Cr chains, H ∥ c2(T), exhibits a paramagnetically limited behavior, whereas the shape of the H ⊥ c2(T) curve (perpendicular to the Cr chains) has no evidence of paramagnetic effects. As a result, the curves H ⊥ c2(T) and H ∥ c2(T) cross at T≈4K, so that the anisotropy parameter γ H(T)=H ⊥ c2/H ∥ c2(T) increases from γ H(T c)≈0.35 near T c tomore » γ H(0)≈1.7 at 0.6 K. The paramagnetically limited behavior of H ∥ c2(T) is inconsistent with triplet superconductivity but suggests a form of singlet superconductivity with the electron spins locked onto the direction of Cr chains.« less

  14. Inflation in anisotropic scalar-tensor theories

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Pimentel, Luis O.; Stein-Schabes, Jaime

    1988-01-01

    The existence of an inflationary phase in anisotropic Scalar-Tensor Theories is investigated by means of a conformal transformation that allows us to rewrite these theories as gravity minimally coupled to a scalar field with a nontrivial potential. The explicit form of the potential is then used and the No Hair Theorem concludes that there is an inflationary phase in all open or flat anisotropic spacetimes in these theories. Several examples are constructed where the effect becomes manifest.

  15. Magnetoresistivity and microstructure of YBa2Cu3Oy prepared using planetary ball milling

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hamrita, A.; Ben Azzouz, F.; Madani, A.; Ben Salem, M.

    2012-01-01

    We have studied the microstructure and the magnetoresistivity of polycrystalline YBa2Cu3Oy (YBCO or Y-123 for brevity) embedded with nanoparticles of Y-deficient YBCO, generated by the planetary ball milling technique. Bulk samples were synthesized from a precursor YBCO powder, which was prepared from commercial high purity Y2O3, Ba2CO3 and CuO via a one-step annealing process in air at 950 °C. After planetary ball milling of the precursor, the powder was uniaxially pressed and subsequently annealed at 950 °C in air. Phase analysis by X-ray diffraction (XRD), granular structure examination by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), microstructure investigation by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDXS) were carried out. TEM analyses show that nanoparticles of Y-deficient YBCO, generated by ball milling, are embedded in the superconducting matrix. Electrical resistance as a function of temperature, ρ(T), revealed that the zero resistance temperature, Tco, is 84.5 and 90 K for the milled and unmilled samples respectively. The milled ceramics exhibit a large magnetoresistance in weak magnetic fields at liquid nitrogen temperature. This attractive effect is of high significance as it makes these materials promising candidates for practical application in magnetic field sensor devices.

  16. Hydrodynamic cavitation in Stokes flow of anisotropic fluids.

    PubMed

    Stieger, Tillmann; Agha, Hakam; Schoen, Martin; Mazza, Marco G; Sengupta, Anupam

    2017-05-30

    Cavitation, the nucleation of vapour in liquids, is ubiquitous in fluid dynamics, and is often implicated in a myriad of industrial and biomedical applications. Although extensively studied in isotropic liquids, corresponding investigations in anisotropic liquids are largely lacking. Here, by combining liquid crystal microfluidic experiments, nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulations and theoretical arguments, we report flow-induced cavitation in an anisotropic fluid. The cavitation domain nucleates due to sudden pressure drop upon flow past a cylindrical obstacle within a microchannel. For an anisotropic fluid, the inception and growth of the cavitation domain ensued in the Stokes regime, while no cavitation was observed in isotropic liquids flowing under similar hydrodynamic parameters. Using simulations we identify a critical value of the Reynolds number for cavitation inception that scales inversely with the order parameter of the fluid. Strikingly, the critical Reynolds number for anisotropic fluids can be 50% lower than that of isotropic fluids.

  17. Hydrodynamic cavitation in Stokes flow of anisotropic fluids

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stieger, Tillmann; Agha, Hakam; Schoen, Martin; Mazza, Marco G.; Sengupta, Anupam

    2017-05-01

    Cavitation, the nucleation of vapour in liquids, is ubiquitous in fluid dynamics, and is often implicated in a myriad of industrial and biomedical applications. Although extensively studied in isotropic liquids, corresponding investigations in anisotropic liquids are largely lacking. Here, by combining liquid crystal microfluidic experiments, nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulations and theoretical arguments, we report flow-induced cavitation in an anisotropic fluid. The cavitation domain nucleates due to sudden pressure drop upon flow past a cylindrical obstacle within a microchannel. For an anisotropic fluid, the inception and growth of the cavitation domain ensued in the Stokes regime, while no cavitation was observed in isotropic liquids flowing under similar hydrodynamic parameters. Using simulations we identify a critical value of the Reynolds number for cavitation inception that scales inversely with the order parameter of the fluid. Strikingly, the critical Reynolds number for anisotropic fluids can be 50% lower than that of isotropic fluids.

  18. Superconductivity in CVD diamond films.

    PubMed

    Takano, Yoshihiko

    2009-06-24

    A beautiful jewel of diamond is insulator. However, boron doping can induce semiconductive, metallic and superconducting properties in diamond. When the boron concentration is tuned over 3 × 10(20) cm(-3), diamonds enter the metallic region and show superconductivity at low temperatures. The metal-insulator transition and superconductivity are analyzed using ARPES, XAS, NMR, IXS, transport and magnetic measurements and so on. This review elucidates the physical properties and mechanism of diamond superconductor as a special superconductivity that occurs in semiconductors.

  19. Correlation between non-Fermi-liquid behavior and superconductivity in (Ca, La)(Fe,Co)As2 iron arsenides: A high-pressure study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhou, W.; Ke, F.; Xu, Xiaofeng; Sankar, R.; Xing, X.; Xu, C. Q.; Jiang, X. F.; Qian, B.; Zhou, N.; Zhang, Y.; Xu, M.; Li, B.; Chen, B.; Shi, Z. X.

    2017-11-01

    Non-Fermi-liquid (NFL) phenomena associated with correlation effects have been widely observed in the phase diagrams of unconventional superconducting families. Exploration of the correlation between the normal state NFL, regardless of its microscopic origins, and the superconductivity has been argued as a key to unveiling the mystery of the high-Tc pairing mechanism. Here we systematically investigate the pressure-dependent in-plane resistivity (ρ ) and Hall coefficient (RH) of a high-quality 112-type Fe-based superconductor Ca1 -xLaxFe1 -yCoyAs2 (x =0.2 ,y =0.02 ). With increasing pressure, the normal-state resistivity of the studied sample exhibits a pronounced crossover from non-Fermi-liquid to Fermi-liquid behaviors. Accompanied with this crossover, Tc is gradually suppressed. In parallel, the extremum in the Hall coefficient RH(T ) curve, possibly due to anisotropic scattering induced by spin fluctuations, is also gradually suppressed. The symbiosis of NFL and superconductivity implies that these two phenomena are intimately related. Further study on the pressure-dependent upper critical field reveals that the two-band effects are also gradually weakened with increasing pressure and reduced to the one-band Werthamer-Helfand-Hohenberg limit in the low-Tc regime. Overall, our paper supports the picture that NFL, multigap, and extreme RH(T ) are all of the same magnetic origin, i.e., the spin fluctuations in the 112 iron arsenide superconductors.

  20. Unconventional superconductivity in heavy-fermion compounds

    DOE PAGES

    White, B. D.; Thompson, J. D.; Maple, M. B.

    2015-02-27

    Over the past 35 years, research on unconventional superconductivity in heavy-fermion systems has evolved from the surprising observations of unprecedented superconducting properties in compounds that convention dictated should not superconduct at all to performing explorations of rich phase spaces in which the delicate interplay between competing ground states appears to support emergent superconducting states. In this article, we review the current understanding of superconductivity in heavy-fermion com- pounds and identify a set of characteristics that is common to their unconventional superconducting states. These core properties are compared with those of other classes of unconventional superconductors such as the cuprates andmore » iron-based superconductors. Lastly, we conclude by speculating on the prospects for future research in this field and how new advances might contribute towards resolving the long-standing mystery of how unconventional superconductivity works.« less

  1. Control of Y-211 content in bulk YBCO superconductors fabricated by a buffer-aided, top seeded infiltration and growth melt process

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Namburi, Devendra K.; Shi, Yunhua; Palmer, Kysen G.; Dennis, Anthony R.; Durrell, John H.; Cardwell, David A.

    2016-03-01

    Bulk (RE)-Ba-Cu-O ((RE)BCO, where RE stands for rare-earth), single grain superconductors can trap magnetic fields of several tesla at low temperatures and therefore can function potentially as high field magnets. Although top seeded melt growth (TSMG) is an established process for fabricating relatively high quality single grains of (RE)BCO for high field applications, this technique suffers from inherent problems such as sample shrinkage, a large intrinsic porosity and the presence of (RE)2BaCuO5 (RE-211)-free regions in the single grain microstructure. Seeded infiltration and growth (SIG), therefore, has emerged as a practical alternative to TSMG that overcomes many of these problems. Until now, however, the superconducting properties of bulk materials processed by SIG have been inferior to those fabricated using the TSMG technique. In this study, we identify that the inferior properties of SIG processed bulk superconductors are related to the presence of a relatively large Y-211 content (˜41.8%) in the single grain microstructure. Controlling the RE-211 content in SIG bulk samples is particularly challenging because it is difficult to regulate the entry of the liquid phase into the solid RE-211 preform during the infiltration process. In an attempt to solve this issue, we have investigated the effect of careful control of both the infiltration temperature and the quantity of liquid phase powder present in the sample preforms prior to processing. We conclude that careful control of the infiltration temperature is the most promising of these two process variables. Using this knowledge, we have fabricated successfully a YBCO bulk single grain using the SIG process of diameter 25 mm that exhibits a trapped field of 0.69 T at 77 K, which is the largest value reported to date for a sample fabricated by the SIG technique.

  2. van der Waals torque and force between dielectrically anisotropic layered media.

    PubMed

    Lu, Bing-Sui; Podgornik, Rudolf

    2016-07-28

    We analyse van der Waals interactions between a pair of dielectrically anisotropic plane-layered media interacting across a dielectrically isotropic solvent medium. We develop a general formalism based on transfer matrices to investigate the van der Waals torque and force in the limit of weak birefringence and dielectric matching between the ordinary axes of the anisotropic layers and the solvent. We apply this formalism to study the following systems: (i) a pair of single anisotropic layers, (ii) a single anisotropic layer interacting with a multilayered slab consisting of alternating anisotropic and isotropic layers, and (iii) a pair of multilayered slabs each consisting of alternating anisotropic and isotropic layers, looking at the cases where the optic axes lie parallel and/or perpendicular to the plane of the layers. For the first case, the optic axes of the oppositely facing anisotropic layers of the two interacting slabs generally possess an angular mismatch, and within each multilayered slab the optic axes may either be the same or undergo constant angular increments across the anisotropic layers. In particular, we examine how the behaviors of the van der Waals torque and force can be "tuned" by adjusting the layer thicknesses, the relative angular increment within each slab, and the angular mismatch between the slabs.

  3. 2017 Gordon Conference on Superconductivity

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Chubukov, Andrey

    The DOE award was for a 2017 Gordon Research conference on Superconductivity (GRC). The objective of GRC is to interchange the information about the latest theoretical and experimental developments in the area of superconductivity and to select most perspective directions for future research in this area.The goal of the Gordon Conference on Superconductivity is to present and discuss the latest results in the field of modern superconductivity, discuss new ideas and new directions of research in the area. It is a long-standing tradition of the Gordon conference on Superconductivity that the vast majority of participants are junior scientists. Funding formore » the conference would primarily be used to support junior researchers, particularly from under-represented groups. We had more 10 female speakers, some of them junior researchers, and some funding was used to support these speakers. The conference was held together with Gordon Research Seminar on Superconductivity, where almost all speakers and participants were junior scientists.« less

  4. Fringe Field Superconducting Switch

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1997-10-31

    However, it is not believed that any known superconducting switch has all of these desirable 3 properties . 4 Many known superconducting devices rely on...will recognize, a weak link is a structure that does not in itself have superconducting properties , but 7 will allow a relatively small flow of tunnel... properties of the junction. 12 Thus, the operating parameters of conventional Josephson junctions tend to drift over time. This 13 shortcoming of

  5. Superconducting wind turbine generators

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Abrahamsen, A. B.; Mijatovic, N.; Seiler, E.; Zirngibl, T.; Træholt, C.; Nørgård, P. B.; Pedersen, N. F.; Andersen, N. H.; Østergård, J.

    2010-03-01

    We have examined the potential of 10 MW superconducting direct drive generators to enter the European offshore wind power market and estimated that the production of about 1200 superconducting turbines until 2030 would correspond to 10% of the EU offshore market. The expected properties of future offshore turbines of 8 and 10 MW have been determined from an up-scaling of an existing 5 MW turbine and the necessary properties of the superconducting drive train are discussed. We have found that the absence of the gear box is the main benefit and the reduced weight and size is secondary. However, the main challenge of the superconducting direct drive technology is to prove that the reliability is superior to the alternative drive trains based on gearboxes or permanent magnets. A strategy of successive testing of superconducting direct drive trains in real wind turbines of 10 kW, 100 kW, 1 MW and 10 MW is suggested to secure the accumulation of reliability experience. Finally, the quantities of high temperature superconducting tape needed for a 10 kW and an extreme high field 10 MW generator are found to be 7.5 km and 1500 km, respectively. A more realistic estimate is 200-300 km of tape per 10 MW generator and it is concluded that the present production capacity of coated conductors must be increased by a factor of 36 by 2020, resulting in a ten times lower price of the tape in order to reach a realistic price level for the superconducting drive train.

  6. Elastic properties of spherically anisotropic piezoelectric composites

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wei, En-Bo; Gu, Guo-Qing; Poon, Ying-Ming

    2010-09-01

    Effective elastic properties of spherically anisotropic piezoelectric composites, whose spherically anisotropic piezoelectric inclusions are embedded in an infinite non-piezoelectric matrix, are theoretically investigated. Analytical solutions for the elastic displacements and the electric potentials under a uniform external strain are derived exactly. Taking into account of the coupling effects of elasticity, permittivity and piezoelectricity, the formula is derived for estimating the effective elastic properties based on the average field theory in the dilute limit. An elastic response mechanism is revealed, in which the effective elastic properties increase as inclusion piezoelectric properties increase and inclusion dielectric properties decrease. Moreover, a piezoelectric response mechanism, of which the effective piezoelectric response vanishes due to the symmetry of spherically anisotropic composite, is also disclosed.

  7. Microstructure and trapped field of YBCO bulk single-grain superconductors prepared by interior seeding

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Radusovska, M.; Diko, P.; Piovarci, S.; Park, S.-D.; Jun, B.-H.; Kim, C.-J.

    2017-10-01

    The microstructural analyses of YBCO bulk single-grain superconductors grown by interior seeding with taller and shorter upper pellets have shown that a suitable upper pellet height can lower the porosity in the upper part of the sample, produce a more appropriate distribution of pinning centres in the form of Y-211 particles and suppress subgrain formation with a higher crystal misalignment in the c-growth sector (c-GS), which can lead to a higher measured trapped magnetic field and a more uniform cone of the trapped-field profile. The observed bulging of the sample surface at the c-GS can be explained by the edge melt distribution model, which shows that macroscopic mass transport to the growth sector occurs with higher growth rates.

  8. Acoustic frequency filter based on anisotropic topological phononic crystals.

    PubMed

    Chen, Ze-Guo; Zhao, Jiajun; Mei, Jun; Wu, Ying

    2017-11-08

    We present a design of acoustic frequency filter based on a two-dimensional anisotropic phononic crystal. The anisotropic band structure exhibits either a directional or a combined (global + directional) bandgap at certain frequency regions, depending on the geometry. When the time-reversal symmetry is broken, it may introduce a topologically nontrivial bandgap. The induced nontrivial bandgap and the original directional bandgap result in various interesting wave propagation behaviors, such as frequency filter. We develop a tight-binding model to characterize the effective Hamiltonian of the system, from which the contribution of anisotropy is explicitly shown. Different from the isotropic cases, the Zeeman-type splitting is not linear and the anisotropic bandgap makes it possible to achieve anisotropic propagation characteristics along different directions and at different frequencies.

  9. Structural, magnetic, and superconducting properties of pulsed-laser-deposition-grown La 1.85 Sr 0.15 CuO 4 / La 2 / 3 Ca 1 / 3 MnO 3 superlattices on (001)-oriented LaSrAlO 4 substrates

    DOE PAGES

    Das, S.; Sen, K.; Marozau, I.; ...

    2014-03-12

    Epimore » taxial La 1.85 Sr 0.15 CuO 4 / La 2 / 3 Ca 1 / 3 MnO 3 (LSCO/LCMO) superlattices (SL) on (001)- oriented LaSrAlO 4 substrates have been grown with pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique. Their structural, magnetic and superconducting properties have been determined with in-situ reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED), x-ray diffraction, specular neutron reflectometry, scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), electric transport, and magnetization measurements. We find that despite the large mismatch between the in-plane lattice parameters of LSCO (a = 0.3779 nm) and LCMO (a = 0.387 nm) these superlattices can be grown epitaxially and with a high crystalline quality. While the first LSCO layer remains clamped to the LSAO substrate, a sizeable strain relaxation occurs already in the first LCMO layer. The following LSCO and LCMO layers adopt a nearly balanced state in which the tensile and compressive strain effects yield alternating in-plane lattice parameters with an almost constant average value. No major defects are observed in the LSCO layers, while a significant number of vertical antiphase boundaries are found in the LCMO layers. The LSCO layers remain superconducting with a relatively high superconducting onset temperature of T c onset ≈ 36 K. The macroscopic superconducting response is also evident in the magnetization data due to a weak diamagnetic signal below 10 K for H ∥ ab and a sizeable paramagnetic shift for H ∥ c that can be explained in terms of a vortex-pinning-induced flux compression. The LCMO layers maintain a strongly ferromagnetic state with a Curie temperature of T Curie ≈ 190 K and a large low-temperature saturation moment of about 3.5 (1) μ B. These results suggest that the LSCO/LCMO superlattices can be used to study the interaction between the antagonistic ferromagnetic and superconducting orders and, in combination with previous studies on YBCO/LCMO superlattices, may allow one to identify the

  10. Structural, magnetic, and superconducting properties of pulsed-laser-deposition-grown La 1.85 Sr 0.15 CuO 4 / La 2 / 3 Ca 1 / 3 MnO 3 superlattices on (001)-oriented LaSrAlO 4 substrates

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Das, S.; Sen, K.; Marozau, I.

    Epimore » taxial La 1.85 Sr 0.15 CuO 4 / La 2 / 3 Ca 1 / 3 MnO 3 (LSCO/LCMO) superlattices (SL) on (001)- oriented LaSrAlO 4 substrates have been grown with pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique. Their structural, magnetic and superconducting properties have been determined with in-situ reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED), x-ray diffraction, specular neutron reflectometry, scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), electric transport, and magnetization measurements. We find that despite the large mismatch between the in-plane lattice parameters of LSCO (a = 0.3779 nm) and LCMO (a = 0.387 nm) these superlattices can be grown epitaxially and with a high crystalline quality. While the first LSCO layer remains clamped to the LSAO substrate, a sizeable strain relaxation occurs already in the first LCMO layer. The following LSCO and LCMO layers adopt a nearly balanced state in which the tensile and compressive strain effects yield alternating in-plane lattice parameters with an almost constant average value. No major defects are observed in the LSCO layers, while a significant number of vertical antiphase boundaries are found in the LCMO layers. The LSCO layers remain superconducting with a relatively high superconducting onset temperature of T c onset ≈ 36 K. The macroscopic superconducting response is also evident in the magnetization data due to a weak diamagnetic signal below 10 K for H ∥ ab and a sizeable paramagnetic shift for H ∥ c that can be explained in terms of a vortex-pinning-induced flux compression. The LCMO layers maintain a strongly ferromagnetic state with a Curie temperature of T Curie ≈ 190 K and a large low-temperature saturation moment of about 3.5 (1) μ B. These results suggest that the LSCO/LCMO superlattices can be used to study the interaction between the antagonistic ferromagnetic and superconducting orders and, in combination with previous studies on YBCO/LCMO superlattices, may allow one to identify the

  11. Anisotropy of the Fermi surface, Fermi velocity, many-body enhancement, and superconducting energy gap in Nb

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Crabtree, G.W.; Dye, D.H.; Karim, D.P.

    1987-02-01

    The detailed angular dependence of the Fermi radius k/sub F/, the Fermi velocity v/sub F/(k), the many-body enhancement factor lambda(k), and the superconducting energy gap ..delta..(k), for electrons on the Fermi surface of Nb are derived with use of the de Haas--van Alphen (dHvA) data of Karim, Ketterson, and Crabtree (J. Low Temp. Phys. 30, 389 (1978)), a Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker parametrization scheme, and an empirically adjusted band-structure calculation of Koelling. The parametrization is a nonrelativistic five-parameter fit allowing for cubic rather than spherical symmetry inside the muffin-tin spheres. The parametrized Fermi surface gives a detailed interpretation of the previously unexplained kappa,more » ..cap alpha..', and ..cap alpha..'' orbits in the dHvA data. Comparison of the parametrized Fermi velocities with those of the empirically adjusted band calculation allow the anisotropic many-body enhancement factor lambda(k) to be determined. Theoretical calculations of the electron-phonon interaction based on the tight-binding model agree with our derived values of lambda(k) much better than those based on the rigid-muffin-tin approximation. The anisotropy in the superconducting energy gap ..delta..(k) is estimated from our results for lambda(k), assuming weak anisotropy.« less

  12. Anisotropy of the Fermi surface, Fermi velocity, many-body enhancement, and superconducting energy gap in Nb

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Crabtree, G. W.; Dye, D. H.; Karim, D. P.; Campbell, S. A.; Ketterson, J. B.

    1987-02-01

    The detailed angular dependence of the Fermi radius kF, the Fermi velocity vF(k), the many-body enhancement factor λ(k), and the superconducting energy gap Δ(k), for electrons on the Fermi surface of Nb are derived with use of the de Haas-van Alphen (dHvA) data of Karim, Ketterson, and Crabtree [J. Low Temp. Phys. 30, 389 (1978)], a Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker parametrization scheme, and an empirically adjusted band-structure calculation of Koelling. The parametrization is a nonrelativistic five-parameter fit allowing for cubic rather than spherical symmetry inside the muffin-tin spheres. The parametrized Fermi surface gives a detailed interpretation of the previously unexplained κ, α', and α'' orbits in the dHvA data. Comparison of the parametrized Fermi velocities with those of the empirically adjusted band calculation allow the anisotropic many-body enhancement factor λ(k) to be determined. Theoretical calculations of the electron-phonon interaction based on the tight-binding model agree with our derived values of λ(k) much better than those based on the rigid-muffin-tin approximation. The anisotropy in the superconducting energy gap Δ(k) is estimated from our results for λ(k), assuming weak anisotropy.

  13. Optimal illusion and invisibility of multilayered anisotropic cylinders and spheres.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Lin; Shi, Yan; Liang, Chang-Hong

    2016-10-03

    In this paper, full-wave electromagnetic scattering theory is employed to investigate illusion and invisibility of inhomogeneous anisotropic cylinders and spheres. With the use of a shell designed according to Mie series theory for multiple piecewise anisotropic layers, radar cross section (RCS) of the coated inhomogeneous anisotropic object can be dramatically reduced or disguised as another object in the long-wavelength limit. With the suitable adjustment of the anisotropy parameters of the shell, optimal illusion and invisibility characteristics of the coated inhomogeneous anisotropic object can be achieved. Details of theoretical analysis and numerical examples are presented to validate the proposed methodology.

  14. Superconducting magnetic bearings with bulks and 2G HTS stacks: comparison between simulations using H and A-V formulations with measurements

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sass, F.; Dias, D. H. N.; Sotelo, G. G.; Junior, R. de Andrade

    2018-07-01

    A-V and H are two of the most widespread formulations applied in the literature to calculate current distribution in high-temperature superconductors (HTSs). Both formulations can successfully solve problems related to large-scale HTS applications, but the way to implement the calculations is different. In recent years, several authors have chosen the H formulation to solve problems related to HTS applications. This choice can probably be attributed to the easy implementation of the H formulation with the aid of commercial finite element method (FEM) software, producing precise results and performing fast calculations. In a previous work, we proposed the use of the H formulation to solve superconducting magnetic bearing (SMB) problems. However, most of the SMB simulations presented in the literature are solved using the A-V formulation implemented with the finite difference method (FDM). Which of these two techniques is more suitable for superconducting magnetic bearing applications? This paper aims to answer this question. In order to do so, an experimental rig was developed to test SMBs using YBCO bulks or stacks of coated conductors. The simulated levitation force results from the A-V formulation using FDM and from the H formulation using FEM were compared with the experimental data. In general, the calculation time and the results error obtained with both formulations are comparable. It is worth mentioning that the main contribution of this paper is to present improvements to reduce the A-V formulation computational time and details of how to implement it using FDM in any platform. For this reason, most of this work is about the A-V formulation, while the H formulation is just presented for comparison.

  15. Viscoacoustic anisotropic full waveform inversion

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Qu, Yingming; Li, Zhenchun; Huang, Jianping; Li, Jinli

    2017-01-01

    A viscoacoustic vertical transverse isotropic (VTI) quasi-differential wave equation, which takes account for both the viscosity and anisotropy of media, is proposed for wavefield simulation in this study. The finite difference method is used to solve the equations, for which the attenuation terms are solved in the wavenumber domain, and all remaining terms in the time-space domain. To stabilize the adjoint wavefield, robust regularization operators are applied to the wave equation to eliminate the high-frequency component of the numerical noise produced during the backward propagation of the viscoacoustic wavefield. Based on these strategies, we derive the corresponding gradient formula and implement a viscoacoustic VTI full waveform inversion (FWI). Numerical tests verify that our proposed viscoacoustic VTI FWI can produce accurate and stable inversion results for viscoacoustic VTI data sets. In addition, we test our method's sensitivity to velocity, Q, and anisotropic parameters. Our results show that the sensitivity to velocity is much higher than that to Q and anisotropic parameters. As such, our proposed method can produce acceptable inversion results as long as the Q and anisotropic parameters are within predefined thresholds.

  16. Hydrodynamic cavitation in Stokes flow of anisotropic fluids

    PubMed Central

    Stieger, Tillmann; Agha, Hakam; Schoen, Martin; Mazza, Marco G.; Sengupta, Anupam

    2017-01-01

    Cavitation, the nucleation of vapour in liquids, is ubiquitous in fluid dynamics, and is often implicated in a myriad of industrial and biomedical applications. Although extensively studied in isotropic liquids, corresponding investigations in anisotropic liquids are largely lacking. Here, by combining liquid crystal microfluidic experiments, nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulations and theoretical arguments, we report flow-induced cavitation in an anisotropic fluid. The cavitation domain nucleates due to sudden pressure drop upon flow past a cylindrical obstacle within a microchannel. For an anisotropic fluid, the inception and growth of the cavitation domain ensued in the Stokes regime, while no cavitation was observed in isotropic liquids flowing under similar hydrodynamic parameters. Using simulations we identify a critical value of the Reynolds number for cavitation inception that scales inversely with the order parameter of the fluid. Strikingly, the critical Reynolds number for anisotropic fluids can be 50% lower than that of isotropic fluids. PMID:28555615

  17. Suppression of activation energy and superconductivity by the addition of Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} nanoparticles in CuTl-1223 matrix

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Jabbar, Abdul; Qasim, Irfan; Mumtaz, M.

    2014-05-28

    Low anisotropic (Cu{sub 0.5}Tl{sub 0.5})Ba{sub 2}Ca{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 10−δ} (CuTl-1223) high T{sub c} superconducting matrix was synthesized by solid-state reaction and Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} nanoparticles were prepared separately by co-precipitation method. Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} nanoparticles were added with different concentrations during the final sintering cycle of CuTl-1223 superconducting matrix to get the required (Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}){sub y}/CuTl-1223, y = 0.0, 0.5, 0.7, 1.0, and 1.5 wt. %, composites. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray, and dc-resistivity (ρ) measurements. The activation energy and superconductivity were suppressed with increasing concentration of Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} nanoparticles in (CuTl-1223) matrix.more » The XRD analysis showed that the addition of Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} nanoparticles did not affect the crystal structure of the parent CuTl-1223 superconducting phase. The suppression of activation energy and superconducting properties is most probably due to weak flux pinning in the samples. The possible reason of weak flux pinning is reduction of weak links and enhanced inter-grain coupling due to the presence of Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} nanoparticles at the grain boundaries. The presence of Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} nanoparticles at the grain boundaries possibly reduced the number of flux pinning centers, which were present in the form of weak links in the pure CuTl-1223 superconducting matrix. The increase in the values of inter-grain coupling (α) deduced from the fluctuation induced conductivity analysis with the increased concentration of Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} nanoparticles is a theoretical evidence of improved inter-grain coupling.« less

  18. Enhanced Raman Scattering on In-plane Anisotropic Layered Materials

    DOE PAGES

    Liang, Liangbo; Meunier, Vincent; Sumpter, Bobby G.; ...

    2015-11-19

    Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) on two-dimensional (2D) layered materials has provided a unique platform to study the chemical mechanism (CM) of the enhancement due to its natural separation from electromagnetic enhancement. The CM stems from the basic charge interactions between the substrate and molecules. Despite the extensive studies of the energy alignment between 2D materials and molecules, an understanding of how the electronic properties of the substrate are explicitly involved in the charge interaction is still unclear. Lately, a new group of 2D layered materials with anisotropic structure, including orthorhombic black phosphorus (BP) and triclinic rhenium disulphide (ReS2), has attractedmore » great interest due to their unique anisotropic electrical and optical properties. Herein, we report a unique anisotropic Raman enhancement on few-layered BP and ReS2 using copper phthalocyanine (CuPc) molecules as a Raman probe, which is absent on isotropic graphene and h-BN. According to detailed Raman tensor analysis and density functional theory calculations, anisotropic charge interactions due to the anisotropic carrier mobilities of the 2D materials are responsible for the angular dependence of the Raman enhancement. Our findings not only provide new insights into the CM process in SERS, but also open up new avenues for the exploration and application of the electronic properties of anisotropic 2D layered materials.« less

  19. Electronic materials high-T(sub c) superconductivity polymers and composites structural materials surface science and catalysts industry participation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1988-01-01

    The fifth year of the Center for Advanced Materials was marked primarily by the significant scientific accomplishments of the research programs. The Electronics Materials program continued its work on the growth and characterization of gallium arsenide crystals, and the development of theories to understand the nature and distribution of defects in the crystals. The High Tc Superconductivity Program continued to make significant contributions to the field in theoretical and experimental work on both bulk materials and thin films and devices. The Ceramic Processing group developed a new technique for cladding YBCO superconductors for high current applications in work with the Electric Power Research Institute. The Polymers and Composites program published a number of important studies involving atomistic simulations of polymer surfaces with excellent correlations to experimental results. The new Enzymatic Synthesis of Materials project produced its first fluorinated polymers and successfully began engineering enzymes designed for materials synthesis. The structural Materials Program continued work on novel alloys, development of processing methods for advanced ceramics, and characterization of mechanical properties of these materials, including the newly documented characterization of cyclic fatigue crack propagation behavior in toughened ceramics. Finally, the Surface Science and Catalysis program made significant contributions to the understanding of microporous catalysts and the nature of surface structures and interface compounds.

  20. Controllable underwater anisotropic oil-wetting

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Yong, Jiale; Chen, Feng, E-mail: chenfeng@mail.xjtu.edu.cn; Yang, Qing

    This Letter demonstrates a simple method to achieve underwater anisotropic oil-wetting using silicon surfaces with a microgroove array produced by femtosecond laser ablation. The oil contact angles along the direction perpendicular to the grooves are consistently larger than those parallel to the microgroove arrays in water because the oil droplet is restricted by the energy barrier that exists between the non-irradiated domain and the trapped water in the laser-ablated microgrooves. This underwater anisotropic oil-wetting is able to be controlled, and the anisotropy can be tuned from 0° to ∼20° by adjusting the period of the microgroove arrays.

  1. Tunable high-q superconducting notch filter

    DOEpatents

    Pang, C.S.; Falco, C.M.; Kampwirth, R.T.; Schuller, I.K.

    1979-11-29

    A superconducting notch filter is made of three substrates disposed in a cryogenic environment. A superconducting material is disposed on one substrate in a pattern of a circle and an annular ring connected together. The second substrate has a corresponding pattern to form a parallel plate capacitor and the second substrate has the circle and annular ring connected by a superconducting spiral that forms an inductor. The third substrate has a superconducting spiral that is placed parallel to the first superconducting spiral to form a transformer. Relative motion of the first substrate with respect to the second is effected from outside the cryogenic environment to vary the capacitance and hence the frequency of the resonant circuit formed by the superconducting devices.

  2. Phase space analysis in anisotropic optical systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rivera, Ana Leonor; Chumakov, Sergey M.; Wolf, Kurt Bernardo

    1995-01-01

    From the minimal action principle follows the Hamilton equations of evolution for geometric optical rays in anisotropic media. As in classical mechanics of velocity-dependent potentials, the velocity and the canonical momentum are not parallel, but differ by an anisotropy vector potential, similar to that of linear electromagnetism. Descartes' well known diagram for refraction is generalized and a factorization theorem holds for interfaces between two anisotropic media.

  3. Materials, Strands, and Cables for Superconducting Accelerator Magnets. Final Report

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Sumption, Mike D.; Collings, Edward W.

    2014-09-19

    This report focuses on Materials, Strands and Cables for High Energy Physics Particle accelerators. In the materials area, work has included studies of basic reactions, diffusion, transformations, and phase assemblage of Nb 3Sn. These materials science aspects have been married to results, in the form of flux pinning, B c2, B irr, and transport J c, with an emphasis on obtaining the needed J c for HEP needs. Attention has also been paid to the “intermediate-temperature superconductor”, magnesium diboride emphasis being placed on (i) irreversibility field enhancement, (ii) critical current density and flux pinning, and (iii) connectivity. We also reportmore » on studies of Bi-2212. The second area of the program has been in the area of “Strands” in which, aside from the materials aspect of the conductor, its physical properties and their influence on performance have been studied. Much of this work has been in the area of magnetization estimation and flux jump calculation and control. One of the areas of this work was strand instabilities in high-performance Nb 3Sn conductors due to combined fields and currents. Additionally, we investigated quench and thermal propagation in YBCO coated conductors at low temperatures and high fields. The last section, “Cables”, focussed on interstrand contact resistance, ICR, it origins, control, and implications. Following on from earlier work in NbTi, the present work in Nb 3Sn has aimed to make ICR intermediate between the two extremes of too little contact (no current sharing) and too much (large and unacceptable magnetization and associated beam de-focussing). Interstrand contact and current sharing measurements are being made on YBCO based Roebel cables using transport current methods. Finally, quench was investigated for YBCO cables and the magnets wound from them, presently with a focus on 50 T solenoids for muon collider applications.« less

  4. Contact resistance and normal zone formation in coated yttrium barium copper oxide superconductors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Duckworth, Robert Calvin

    2001-11-01

    This project presents a systematic study of contact resistance and normal zone formation in silver coated YBa2CU3Ox (YBCO) superconductors. A unique opportunity exists in YBCO superconductors because of the ability to use oxygen annealing to influence the interfacial properties and the planar geometry of this type of superconductor to characterize the contact resistance between the silver and YBCO. The interface represents a region that current must cross when normal zones form in the superconductor and a high contact resistance could impede the current transfer or produce excess Joule heating that would result in premature quench or damage of the sample. While it has been shown in single-crystalline YBCO processing methods that the contact resistance of the silver/YBCO interface can be influenced by post-process oxygen annealing, this has not previously been confirmed for high-density films, nor for samples with complete layers of silver deposited on top of the YBCO. Both the influence of contact resistance and the knowledge of normal zone formation on conductor sized samples is essential for their successful implementation into superconducting applications such as transmission lines and magnets. While normal zone formation and propagation have been studied in other high temperature superconductors, the amount of information with respect to YBCO has been very limited. This study establishes that the processing method for the YBCO does not affect the contact resistance and mirrors the dependence of contact resistance on oxygen annealing temperature observed in earlier work. It has also been experimentally confirmed that the current transfer length provides an effective representation of the contact resistance when compared to more direct measurements using the traditional four-wire method. Finally for samples with low contact resistance, a combination of experiments and modeling demonstrate an accurate understanding of the key role of silver thickness and substrate

  5. 119Sn-NMR investigations on superconducting Ca 3Ir 4Sn 13: Evidence for multigap superconductivity

    DOE PAGES

    Sarkar, R.; Petrovic, C.; Bruckner, F.; ...

    2015-09-25

    In this study, we report bulk superconductivity (SC) in Ca 3Ir 4Sn 13 by means of 119Sn nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments. Two classical signatures of BCS superconductivity in spin-lattice relaxation rate (1/T 1), namely the Hebel–Slichter coherence peak just below the T c, and the exponential decay in the superconducting phase, are evident. The noticeable decrease of 119Sn Knight shift below T c indicates spin-singlet superconductivity. The temperature dependence of the spin-lattice relaxation rate 119(1/T 1) is convincingly described by the multigap isotropic superconducting gap. NMR experiments do not witness any sign of enhanced spin fluctuations.

  6. Phase slips in superconducting weak links

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kimmel, Gregory; Glatz, Andreas; Aranson, Igor S.

    2017-01-01

    Superconducting vortices and phase slips are primary mechanisms of dissipation in superconducting, superfluid, and cold-atom systems. While the dynamics of vortices is fairly well described, phase slips occurring in quasi-one- dimensional superconducting wires still elude understanding. The main reason is that phase slips are strongly nonlinear time-dependent phenomena that cannot be cast in terms of small perturbations of the superconducting state. Here we study phase slips occurring in superconducting weak links. Thanks to partial suppression of superconductivity in weak links, we employ a weakly nonlinear approximation for dynamic phase slips. This approximation is not valid for homogeneous superconducting wires andmore » slabs. Using the numerical solution of the time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau equation and bifurcation analysis of stationary solutions, we show that the onset of phase slips occurs via an infinite period bifurcation, which is manifested in a specific voltage-current dependence. Our analytical results are in good agreement with simulations.« less

  7. Operational Merits of Maritime Superconductivity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ross, R.; Bosklopper, J. J.; van der Meij, K. H.

    The perspective of superconductivity to transfer currents without loss is very appealing in high power applications. In the maritime sector many machines and systems exist in the roughly 1-100 MW range and the losses are well over 50%, which calls for dramatic efficiency improvements. This paper reports on three studies that aimed at the perspectives of superconductivity in the maritime sector. It is important to realize that the introduction of superconductivity comprises two technology transitions namely firstly electrification i.e. the transition from mechanical drives to electric drives and secondly the transition from normal to superconductive electrical machinery. It is concluded that superconductivity does reduce losses, but its impact on the total energy chain is of little significance compared to the investments and the risk of introducing a very promising but as yet not proven technology in the harsh maritime environment. The main reason of the little impact is that the largest losses are imposed on the system by the fossil fueled generators as prime movers that generate the electricity through mechanical torque. Unless electric power is supplied by an efficient and reliable technology that does not involve mechanical torque with the present losses both normal as well as superconductive electrification of the propulsion will hardly improve energy efficiency or may even reduce it. One exception may be the application of degaussing coils. Still appealing merits of superconductivity do exist, but they are rather related to the behavior of superconductive machines and strong magnetic fields and consequently reduction in volume and mass of machinery or (sometimes radically) better performance. The merits are rather convenience, design flexibility as well as novel applications and capabilities which together yield more adequate systems. These may yield lower operational costs in the long run, but at present the added value of superconductivity rather seems more

  8. Micro-domain controlled anisotropic laser ceramics assisted by rare-earth trivalent

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sato, Yoichi; Akiyama, Jun; Taira, Takunori

    2012-01-01

    Principles that enable to synthesize anisotropic laser ceramics have been established. Anisotropic laser ceramics contain micro domains made of anisotropic crystals, and we have invented the novel alignment technology of micro domain structure in laser ceramics assisted by rare-earth trivalent. Our novel process is essentially superior to the traditional electromagnetic processing from the viewpoint of mass production. We discussed the significance of anisotropic laser ceramics, and we also show the result of evaluations to our orientation controlled RE:FAP ceramics.

  9. High-Temperature High-Current Superconductors: Preparation, Structure, Superconducting Properties, and Flux-Pinning Mechanisms

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hu, Shouxiang

    In bulk high-T_{rm c } superconductors, weak links at the grain boundaries and weak flux pinning are the two major causes of low critical current density (J_{ rm c}) at 77 K. In the present study, various processes designed and developed to address these problems are discussed. The novel pressurized-partial -melt-growth process, which leads to a relatively large improvement in the microstructure as well as in the superconducting properties of bulk Y-Ba-Cu-O superconductors, is described. The effects of introducing foreign elements to serve as pinning centers are reported, and the associated anomalous superconducting phenomena are explained on the basis of a detailed study of basic pinning mechanisms related to the presence of small defects. It is demonstrated that in certain cases the pinning force induced by the compression of the vortex line may be comparable to, or even larger than, the usually recognized pinning force due to the condensation energy. Studies of the pinning mechanism corresponding to large boundary defects show that boundary defects associated with certain non-superconducting inclusions and isolated weak links have a very positive role in the enhancement of both the critical current density and the effective activation energy for flux creep. However, even optimized theoretical estimates show that it will be difficult to reach J_ {rm c} values of 5 times 10^5 A/cm^2 at 77 K and H = 1 T by increasing the number of Y_2BaCuO inclusions alone. Although even higher J_{rm c} values may be achieved by introducing other types of defects using alternative approaches such as irradiation, and, probably, chemical doping, the presence of large amount of boundary defects is very important in causing a large increase in the effective activation energy for flux creep. Also studied are the anisotropic electromagnetic features of the grain-aligned YBa_2Cu _3O_{rm x} bulk superconductors. The development of novel processing methods guided by improved understanding

  10. Effects of K and Ca doping on twin boundary energy of cupperate superconductors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Khoshnevisan, Bahram; Mohammadi, Mahnaz

    2016-04-01

    Ab-initio calculations under GGA approximation have been employed to find out the effect Ba substitution by K and Ca on the structural and electronic properties twined and untwined YBCO system. In this regard, the twin boundary energy, γ, and impact of the substitution on the boundary's charge distribution have been of special consideration. Our results show that despite the structural changes the presence of K (Ca) modifies substantially density of levels at the Fermi level, which could be responsible for empirical reports of decreasing the critical temperature (Tc) by increasing the K(Ca) content. Although, the K doping reduces the γ value in YBa2-xKxCu3O7 system, after calcium doping it remains more or less unchanged. In addition, reduction of the carrier density occurs at twin boundary in CuO2 layer for the substituted system with respect to the untwined YBCO system. Our results would be noticeable in conjunction with the experimentally reported twinned and alkali substituted superconductive properties of the YBCO samples.

  11. Superconducting thermoelectric generator

    DOEpatents

    Metzger, J.D.; El-Genk, M.S.

    1994-01-01

    Thermoelectricity is produced by applying a temperature differential to dissimilar electrically conducting or semiconducting materials, thereby producing a voltage that is proportional to the temperature difference. Thermoelectric generators use this effect to directly convert heat into electricity; however, presently-known generators have low efficiencies due to the production of high currents which in turn cause large resistive heating losses. Some thermoelectric generators operate at efficiencies between 4% and 7% in the 800{degrees} to 1200{degrees}C range. According to its major aspects and bradly stated, the present invention is an apparatus and method for producing electricity from heat. In particular, the invention is a thermoelectric generator that juxtaposes a superconducting material and a semiconducting material - so that the superconducting and the semiconducting materials touch - to convert heat energy into electrical energy without resistive losses in the temperature range below the critical temperature of the superconducting material. Preferably, an array of superconducting material is encased in one of several possible configurations within a second material having a high thermal conductivity, preferably a semiconductor, to form a thermoelectric generator.

  12. Superconducting Cable Having A Felexible Former

    DOEpatents

    Hughey, Raburn L.; Sinha, Uday K.; Reece, David S.; Muller, Albert C.

    2005-03-15

    In order to provide a flexible oxide superconducting cable which is reduced in AC loss, tape-shaped superconducting wires covered with a stabilizing metal are wound on a flexible former. The superconducting wires are preferably laid on the former at a bending strain of not more than 0.2%. In laying on the former, a number of tape-shaped superconducting wires are laid on a core member in a side-by-side manner, to form a first layer. A prescribed number of tape-shaped superconducting wires are laid on top of the first layer in a side-by-side manner, to form a second layer. The former may be made of a metal, plastic, reinforced plastic, polymer, or a composite and provides flexibility to the superconducting wires and the cable formed therewith.

  13. Superconducting Cable Having A Flexible Former

    DOEpatents

    Hughey, Raburn L.; Sinha, Uday K.; Reece, David S.; Muller, Albert C.

    2005-08-30

    In order to provide a flexible oxide superconducting cable which is reduced in AC loss, tape-shaped superconducting wires covered with a stabilizing metal are wound on a flexible former. The superconducting wires are preferably laid on the former at a bending strain of not more than 0.2%. In laying on the former, a number of tape-shaped superconducting wires are laid on a core member in a side-by-side manner, to form a first layer. A prescribed number of tape-shaped superconducting wires are laid on top of the first layer in a side-by-side manner, to form a second layer. The former may be made of a metal, plastic, reinforced plastic, polymer, or a composite and provides flexibility to the superconducting wires and the cable formed therewith.

  14. Superconducting fault current-limiter with variable shunt impedance

    DOEpatents

    Llambes, Juan Carlos H; Xiong, Xuming

    2013-11-19

    A superconducting fault current-limiter is provided, including a superconducting element configured to resistively or inductively limit a fault current, and one or more variable-impedance shunts electrically coupled in parallel with the superconducting element. The variable-impedance shunt(s) is configured to present a first impedance during a superconducting state of the superconducting element and a second impedance during a normal resistive state of the superconducting element. The superconducting element transitions from the superconducting state to the normal resistive state responsive to the fault current, and responsive thereto, the variable-impedance shunt(s) transitions from the first to the second impedance. The second impedance of the variable-impedance shunt(s) is a lower impedance than the first impedance, which facilitates current flow through the variable-impedance shunt(s) during a recovery transition of the superconducting element from the normal resistive state to the superconducting state, and thus, facilitates recovery of the superconducting element under load.

  15. Superconducting magnetic energy storage and superconducting self-supplied electromagnetic launcher

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ciceron, Jérémie; Badel, Arnaud; Tixador, Pascal

    2017-10-01

    Superconductors can be used to build energy storage systems called Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage (SMES), which are promising as inductive pulse power source and suitable for powering electromagnetic launchers. The second generation of high critical temperature superconductors is called coated conductors or REBCO (Rare Earth Barium Copper Oxide) tapes. Their current carrying capability in high magnetic field and their thermal stability are expanding the SMES application field. The BOSSE (Bobine Supraconductrice pour le Stockage d'Energie) project aims to develop and to master the use of these superconducting tapes through two prototypes. The first one is a SMES with high energy density. Thanks to the performances of REBCO tapes, the volume energy and specific energy of existing SMES systems can be surpassed. A study has been undertaken to make the best use of the REBCO tapes and to determine the most adapted topology in order to reach our objective, which is to beat the world record of mass energy density for a superconducting coil. This objective is conflicting with the classical strategies of superconducting coil protection. A different protection approach is proposed. The second prototype of the BOSSE project is a small-scale demonstrator of a Superconducting Self-Supplied Electromagnetic Launcher (S3EL), in which a SMES is integrated around the launcher which benefits from the generated magnetic field to increase the thrust applied to the projectile. The S3EL principle and its design are presented. Contribution to the topical issue "Electrical Engineering Symposium (SGE 2016)", edited by Adel Razek

  16. Analysis of a High-Tc Hot-Electron Superconducting Mixer for Terahertz Applications

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Karasik, B. S.; McGrath, W. R.; Gaidis, M. C.

    1996-01-01

    The prospects of a YBa2Cu3O7(delta)(YBCO) hot-electron bolometer (HEB) mixer for a THz heterodyne receiver is discussed. The modeled device is a submicron bridge made from a 10 nm thick film on a high thermal conductance substrate.

  17. Illuminating heterogeneous anisotropic upper mantle: testing a new anisotropic teleseismic body-wave tomography code - part II: Inversion mode

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Munzarova, Helena; Plomerova, Jaroslava; Kissling, Edi

    2015-04-01

    Considering only isotropic wave propagation and neglecting anisotropy in teleseismic tomography studies is a simplification obviously incongruous with current understanding of the mantle-lithosphere plate dynamics. Furthermore, in solely isotropic high-resolution tomography results, potentially significant artefacts (i.e., amplitude and/or geometry distortions of 3D velocity heterogeneities) may result from such neglect. Therefore, we have undertaken to develop a code for anisotropic teleseismic tomography (AniTomo), which will allow us to invert the relative P-wave travel time residuals simultaneously for coupled isotropic-anisotropic P-wave velocity models of the upper mantle. To accomplish that, we have modified frequently-used isotropic teleseismic tomography code Telinv (e.g., Weiland et al., JGR, 1995; Lippitsch, JGR, 2003; Karousova et al., GJI, 2013). Apart from isotropic velocity heterogeneities, a weak hexagonal anisotropy is assumed as well to be responsible for the observed P-wave travel-time residuals. Moreover, no limitations to orientation of the symmetry axis are prescribed in the code. We allow a search for anisotropy oriented generally in 3D, which represents a unique approach among recent trials that otherwise incorporate only azimuthal anisotopy into the body-wave tomography. The presented code for retrieving anisotropy in 3D thus enables its direct applications to datasets from tectonically diverse regions. In this contribution, we outline the theoretical background of the AniTomo anisotropic tomography code. We parameterize the mantle lithosphere and asthenosphere with an orthogonal grid of nodes with various values of isotropic velocities, as well as of strength and orientation of anisotropy in 3D, which is defined by azimuth and inclination of either fast or slow symmetry axis of the hexagonal approximation of the media. Careful testing of the new code on synthetics, concentrating on code functionality, strength and weaknesses, is a

  18. On the anisotropic elastic properties of hydroxyapatite.

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Katz, J. L.; Ukraincik, K.

    1971-01-01

    Experimental measurements of the isotropic elastic moduli on polycrystalline specimens of hydroxyapatite and fluorapatite are compared with elastic constants measured directly from single crystals of fluorapatite in order to derive a set of pseudo single crystal elastic constants for hydroxyapatite. The stiffness coefficients thus derived are given. The anisotropic and isotropic elastic properties are then computed and compared with similar properties derived from experimental observations of the anisotropic behavior of bone.

  19. Superconducting gyroscope research

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hendricks, J. B.; Karr, G. R.

    1985-01-01

    Four basic areas of research and development of superconducting gyroscopes are studied. Chapter 1 studies the analysis of a SQUID readout for a superconducting gyroscope. Chapter 2 studies the dependence of spin-up torque on channel and gas properties. Chapter 3 studies the theory of super fluid plug operation. And chapter 4 studies the gyro rotor and housing manufacture.

  20. Parallel Anisotropic Tetrahedral Adaptation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Park, Michael A.; Darmofal, David L.

    2008-01-01

    An adaptive method that robustly produces high aspect ratio tetrahedra to a general 3D metric specification without introducing hybrid semi-structured regions is presented. The elemental operators and higher-level logic is described with their respective domain-decomposed parallelizations. An anisotropic tetrahedral grid adaptation scheme is demonstrated for 1000-1 stretching for a simple cube geometry. This form of adaptation is applicable to more complex domain boundaries via a cut-cell approach as demonstrated by a parallel 3D supersonic simulation of a complex fighter aircraft. To avoid the assumptions and approximations required to form a metric to specify adaptation, an approach is introduced that directly evaluates interpolation error. The grid is adapted to reduce and equidistribute this interpolation error calculation without the use of an intervening anisotropic metric. Direct interpolation error adaptation is illustrated for 1D and 3D domains.

  1. Anisotropic spectra of acoustic type turbulence

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kuznetsov, E.; P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute, 53 Leninsky Ave., 119991 Moscow; Krasnoselskikh, V.

    2008-06-15

    The problem of spectra for acoustic type of turbulence generated by shocks being randomly distributed in space is considered. It is shown that for turbulence with a weak anisotropy, such spectra have the same dependence in k-space as the Kadomtsev-Petviashvili spectrum: E(k){approx}k{sup -2}. However, the frequency spectrum has always the falling {approx}{omega}{sup -2}, independent of anisotropy. In the strong anisotropic case the energy distribution relative to wave vectors takes anisotropic dependence, forming in the large-k region spectra of the jet type.

  2. Anisotropic Thermal Diffusion

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gardiner, Thomas

    2013-10-01

    Anisotropic thermal diffusion in magnetized plasmas is an important physical phenomena for a diverse set of physical conditions ranging from astrophysical plasmas to MFE and ICF. Yet numerically simulating this phenomenon accurately poses significant challenges when the computational mesh is misaligned with respect to the magnetic field. Particularly when the temperature gradients are unresolved, one frequently finds entropy violating solutions with heat flowing from cold to hot zones for χ∥ /χ⊥ >=102 which is substantially smaller than the range of interest which can reach 1010 or higher. In this talk we present a new implicit algorithm for solving the anisotropic thermal diffusion equations and demonstrate its characteristics on what has become a fairly standard set of test problems in the literature. Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-program laboratory managed and operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation, for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-AC04-94AL85000. SAND2013-5687A.

  3. Anisotropic Reinforcement of Acute Anteroapical Infarcts Improves Pump Function

    PubMed Central

    Fomovsky, Gregory M.; Clark, Samantha A.; Parker, Katherine M.; Ailawadi, Gorav; Holmes, Jeffrey W.

    2012-01-01

    Background We hypothesize that a therapy that improves LV pump function early after infarction should decrease the need for compensation through sympathetic activation and dilation, thereby reducing the risk of developing heart failure. The mechanical properties of healing myocardial infarcts are an important determinant of left ventricular (LV) function, yet improving function by altering infarct properties has proven unexpectedly difficult. Using a computational model, we recently predicted that stiffening a large anterior infarct anisotropically (in only one direction) would improve LV function, while isotropic stiffening, the focus of previous studies and therapies, would not. The goal of this study was to test the novel strategy of anisotropic infarct reinforcement. Methods and Results We tested the effects of anisotropic infarct reinforcement in 10 open-chest dogs with large anteroapical infarcts that depressed LV pump function. We measured regional mechanics, LV volumes, and cardiac output at a range of preloads at Baseline, 45 minutes after coronary ligation (Ischemia), and 30 minutes later, following surgical reinforcement in the longitudinal direction (Anisotropic). Ischemia shifted the end-systolic pressure-volume relationship (ESPVR) and cardiac output curves rightward, decreasing cardiac output at matched end-diastolic pressure (EDP) by 44%. Anisotropic reinforcement significantly improved systolic function without impairing diastolic function, recovering half the deficit in overall LV function. Conclusions We conclude that anisotropic reinforcement is a promising new approach to improving LV function following a large myocardial infarction. PMID:22665716

  4. Electron pairing without superconductivity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Levy, Jeremy

    Strontium titanate (SrTiO3) is the first and best known superconducting semiconductor. It exhibits an extremely low carrier density threshold for superconductivity, and possesses a phase diagram similar to that of high-temperature superconductors--two factors that suggest an unconventional pairing mechanism. Despite sustained interest for 50 years, direct experimental insight into the nature of electron pairing in SrTiO3 has remained elusive. Here we perform transport experiments with nanowire-based single-electron transistors at the interface between SrTiO3 and a thin layer of lanthanum aluminate, LaAlO3. Electrostatic gating reveals a series of two-electron conductance resonances--paired electron states--that bifurcate above a critical pairing field Bp of about 1-4 tesla, an order of magnitude larger than the superconducting critical magnetic field. For magnetic fields below Bp, these resonances are insensitive to the applied magnetic field; for fields in excess of Bp, the resonances exhibit a linear Zeeman-like energy splitting. Electron pairing is stable at temperatures as high as 900 millikelvin, well above the superconducting transition temperature (about 300 millikelvin). These experiments demonstrate the existence of a robust electronic phase in which electrons pair without forming a superconducting state. Key experimental signatures are captured by a model involving an attractive Hubbard interaction that describes real-space electron pairing as a precursor to superconductivity. Support from AFOSR, ONR, ARO, NSF, DOE and NSSEFF is gratefully acknowledged.

  5. Anisotropic charged generalized polytropic models

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nasim, A.; Azam, M.

    2018-06-01

    In this paper, we found some new anisotropic charged models admitting generalized polytropic equation of state with spherically symmetry. An analytic solution of the Einstein-Maxwell field equations is obtained through the transformation introduced by Durgapal and Banerji (Phys. Rev. D 27:328, 1983). The physical viability of solutions corresponding to polytropic index η =1/2, 2/3, 1, 2 is analyzed graphically. For this, we plot physical quantities such as radial and tangential pressure, anisotropy, speed of sound which demonstrated that these models achieve all the considerable physical conditions required for a relativistic star. Further, it is mentioned here that previous results for anisotropic charged matter with linear, quadratic and polytropic equation of state can be retrieved.

  6. Anisotropic inflation with derivative couplings

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Holland, Jonathan; Kanno, Sugumi; Zavala, Ivonne

    2018-05-01

    We study anisotropic power-law inflationary solutions when the inflaton and its derivative couple to a vector field. This type of coupling is motivated by D-brane inflationary models, in which the inflaton, and a vector field living on the D-brane, couple disformally (derivatively). We start by studying a phenomenological model where we show the existence of anisotropic solutions and demonstrate their stability via a dynamical system analysis. Compared to the case without a derivative coupling, the anisotropy is reduced and thus can be made consistent with current limits, while the value of the slow-roll parameter remains almost unchanged. We also discuss solutions for more general cases, including D-brane-like couplings.

  7. Superconductivity in an electron band just above the Fermi level: possible route to BCS-BEC superconductivity.

    PubMed

    Okazaki, K; Ito, Y; Ota, Y; Kotani, Y; Shimojima, T; Kiss, T; Watanabe, S; Chen, C-T; Niitaka, S; Hanaguri, T; Takagi, H; Chainani, A; Shin, S

    2014-02-28

    Conventional superconductivity follows Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer(BCS) theory of electrons-pairing in momentum-space, while superfluidity is the Bose-Einstein condensation(BEC) of atoms paired in real-space. These properties of solid metals and ultra-cold gases, respectively, are connected by the BCS-BEC crossover. Here we investigate the band dispersions in FeTe(0.6)Se(0.4)(Tc = 14.5 K ~ 1.2 meV) in an accessible range below and above the Fermi level(EF) using ultra-high resolution laser angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. We uncover an electron band lying just 0.7 meV (~8 K) above EF at the Γ-point, which shows a sharp superconducting coherence peak with gap formation below Tc. The estimated superconducting gap Δ and Fermi energy [Symbol: see text]F indicate composite superconductivity in an iron-based superconductor, consisting of strong-coupling BEC in the electron band and weak-coupling BCS-like superconductivity in the hole band. The study identifies the possible route to BCS-BEC superconductivity.

  8. Leith diffusion model for homogeneous anisotropic turbulence

    DOE PAGES

    Rubinstein, Robert; Clark, Timothy T.; Kurien, Susan

    2017-06-01

    Here, a proposal for a spectral closure model for homogeneous anisotropic turbulence. The systematic development begins by closing the third-order correlation describing nonlinear interactions by an anisotropic generalization of the Leith diffusion model for isotropic turbulence. The correlation tensor is then decomposed into a tensorially isotropic part, or directional anisotropy, and a trace-free remainder, or polarization anisotropy. The directional and polarization components are then decomposed using irreducible representations of the SO(3) symmetry group. Under the ansatz that the decomposition is truncated at quadratic order, evolution equations are derived for the directional and polarization pieces of the correlation tensor. Here, numericalmore » simulation of the model equations for a freely decaying anisotropic flow illustrate the non-trivial effects of spectral dependencies on the different return-to-isotropy rates of the directional and polarization contributions.« less

  9. Anisotropic hydrodynamics for conformal Gubser flow

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nopoush, Mohammad; Ryblewski, Radoslaw; Strickland, Michael

    2015-02-01

    We derive the equations of motion for a system undergoing boost-invariant longitudinal and azimuthally symmetric transverse "Gubser flow" using leading-order anisotropic hydrodynamics. This is accomplished by assuming that the one-particle distribution function is ellipsoidally symmetric in the momenta conjugate to the de Sitter coordinates used to parametrize the Gubser flow. We then demonstrate that the S O (3 )q symmetry in de Sitter space further constrains the anisotropy tensor to be of spheroidal form. The resulting system of two coupled ordinary differential equations for the de Sitter-space momentum scale and anisotropy parameter are solved numerically and compared to a recently obtained exact solution of the relaxation-time-approximation Boltzmann equation subject to the same flow. We show that anisotropic hydrodynamics describes the spatiotemporal evolution of the system better than all currently known dissipative hydrodynamics approaches. In addition, we prove that anisotropic hydrodynamics gives the exact solution of the relaxation-time approximation Boltzmann equation in the ideal, η /s →0 , and free-streaming, η /s →∞, limits.

  10. Oxide-based platform for reconfigurable superconducting nanoelectronics.

    PubMed

    Veazey, Joshua P; Cheng, Guanglei; Irvin, Patrick; Cen, Cheng; Bogorin, Daniela F; Bi, Feng; Huang, Mengchen; Bark, Chung-Wung; Ryu, Sangwoo; Cho, Kwang-Hwan; Eom, Chang-Beom; Levy, Jeremy

    2013-09-20

    We report quasi-1D superconductivity at the interface of LaAlO3 and SrTiO3. The material system and nanostructure fabrication method supply a new platform for superconducting nanoelectronics. Nanostructures having line widths w ~ 10 nm are formed from the parent two-dimensional electron liquid using conductive atomic force microscope lithography. Nanowire cross-sections are small compared to the superconducting coherence length in LaAlO3/SrTiO3, placing them in the quasi-1D regime. Broad superconducting transitions versus temperature and finite resistances in the superconducting state well below Tc ≈ 200 mK are observed, suggesting the presence of fluctuation- and heating-induced resistance. The superconducting resistances and V-I characteristics are tunable through the use of a back gate. Four-terminal resistances in the superconducting state show an unusual dependence on the current path, varying by as much as an order of magnitude. This new technology, i.e., the ability to 'write' gate-tunable superconducting nanostructures on an insulating LaAlO3/SrTiO3 'canvas', opens possibilities for the development of new families of reconfigurable superconducting nanoelectronics.

  11. Anisotropic-Scale Junction Detection and Matching for Indoor Images.

    PubMed

    Xue, Nan; Xia, Gui-Song; Bai, Xiang; Zhang, Liangpei; Shen, Weiming

    Junctions play an important role in characterizing local geometrical structures of images, and the detection of which is a longstanding but challenging task. Existing junction detectors usually focus on identifying the location and orientations of junction branches while ignoring their scales, which, however, contain rich geometries of images. This paper presents a novel approach for junction detection and characterization, which especially exploits the locally anisotropic geometries of a junction and estimates its scales by relying on an a-contrario model. The output junctions are with anisotropic scales, saying that a scale parameter is associated with each branch of a junction and are thus named as anisotropic-scale junctions (ASJs). We then apply the new detected ASJs for matching indoor images, where there are dramatic changes of viewpoints and the detected local visual features, e.g., key-points, are usually insufficient and lack distinctive ability. We propose to use the anisotropic geometries of our junctions to improve the matching precision of indoor images. The matching results on sets of indoor images demonstrate that our approach achieves the state-of-the-art performance on indoor image matching.Junctions play an important role in characterizing local geometrical structures of images, and the detection of which is a longstanding but challenging task. Existing junction detectors usually focus on identifying the location and orientations of junction branches while ignoring their scales, which, however, contain rich geometries of images. This paper presents a novel approach for junction detection and characterization, which especially exploits the locally anisotropic geometries of a junction and estimates its scales by relying on an a-contrario model. The output junctions are with anisotropic scales, saying that a scale parameter is associated with each branch of a junction and are thus named as anisotropic-scale junctions (ASJs). We then apply the new

  12. Anisotropic charged stellar models in Generalized Tolman IV spacetime

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Murad, Mohammad Hassan; Fatema, Saba

    2015-01-01

    With the presence of electric charge and pressure anisotropy some anisotropic stellar models have been developed. An algorithm recently presented by Herrera et al. (Phys. Rev. D 77, 027502 (2008)) to generate static spherically symmetric anisotropic solutions of Einstein's equations has been used to derive relativistic anisotropic charged fluid spheres. In the absence of pressure anisotropy the fluid spheres reduce to some well-known Generalized Tolman IV exact metrics. The astrophysical significance of the resulting equations of state (EOS) for a particular case (Wyman-Leibovitz-Adler) for the anisotropic charged matter distribution has been discussed. Physical analysis shows that the relativistic stellar structure obtained in this work may reasonably model an electrically charged compact star, whose energy density associated with the electric fields is on the same order of magnitude as the energy density of fluid matter itself like electrically charged bare strange quark stars.

  13. Atomic and electronic structures of BaHfO3-doped TFA-MOD-derived YBa2Cu3O7-δ thin films

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Molina-Luna, Leopoldo; Duerrschnabel, Michael; Turner, Stuart; Erbe, Manuela; Martinez, Gerardo T.; Van Aert, Sandra; Holzapfel, Bernhard; Van Tendeloo, Gustaaf

    2015-11-01

    Tailoring the properties of oxide-based nanocomposites is of great importance for a wide range of materials relevant for energy technology. YBa2Cu3O7-δ (YBCO) superconducting thin films containing nanosized BaHfO3 (BHO) particles yield a significant improvement of the magnetic flux pinning properties and a reduced anisotropy of the critical current density. These films were prepared by chemical solution deposition (CSD) on (100) SrTiO3 (STO) substrates yielding critical current densities up to 3.6 MA cm-2 at 77 K and self-field. Transport in-field J c measurements demonstrated a high pinning force maximum of around 6 GN/m3 for a sample annealed at T = 760 °C that has a doping of 12 mol% of BHO. This sample was investigated by scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) in combination with electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) yielding strain and spectral maps. Spherical BHO nanoparticles of 15 nm in size were found in the matrix, whereas the particles at the interface were flat. A 2 nm diffusion layer containing Ti was found at the YBCO (BHO)/STO interface. Local lattice deformation mapping at the atomic scale revealed crystal defects induced by the presence of both sorts of BHO nanoparticles, which can act as pinning centers for magnetic flux lines. Two types of local lattice defects were identified and imaged: (i) misfit edge dislocations and (ii) Ba-Cu-Cu-Ba stacking faults (Y-248 intergrowths). The local electronic structure and charge transfer were probed by high energy resolution monochromated electron energy-loss spectroscopy. This technique made it possible to distinguish superconducting from non-superconducting areas in nanocomposite samples with atomic resolution in real space, allowing the identification of local pinning sites on the order of the coherence length of YBCO (˜1.5 nm) and the determination of 0.25 nm dislocation cores.

  14. Superconductivity in highly disordered dense carbon disulfide

    PubMed Central

    Dias, Ranga P.; Yoo, Choong-Shik; Struzhkin, Viktor V.; Kim, Minseob; Muramatsu, Takaki; Matsuoka, Takahiro; Ohishi, Yasuo; Sinogeikin, Stanislav

    2013-01-01

    High pressure plays an increasingly important role in both understanding superconductivity and the development of new superconducting materials. New superconductors were found in metallic and metal oxide systems at high pressure. However, because of the filled close-shell configuration, the superconductivity in molecular systems has been limited to charge-transferred salts and metal-doped carbon species with relatively low superconducting transition temperatures. Here, we report the low-temperature superconducting phase observed in diamagnetic carbon disulfide under high pressure. The superconductivity arises from a highly disordered extended state (CS4 phase or phase III[CS4]) at ∼6.2 K over a broad pressure range from 50 to 172 GPa. Based on the X-ray scattering data, we suggest that the local structural change from a tetrahedral to an octahedral configuration is responsible for the observed superconductivity. PMID:23818624

  15. Superconductivity in highly disordered dense carbon disulfide.

    PubMed

    Dias, Ranga P; Yoo, Choong-Shik; Struzhkin, Viktor V; Kim, Minseob; Muramatsu, Takaki; Matsuoka, Takahiro; Ohishi, Yasuo; Sinogeikin, Stanislav

    2013-07-16

    High pressure plays an increasingly important role in both understanding superconductivity and the development of new superconducting materials. New superconductors were found in metallic and metal oxide systems at high pressure. However, because of the filled close-shell configuration, the superconductivity in molecular systems has been limited to charge-transferred salts and metal-doped carbon species with relatively low superconducting transition temperatures. Here, we report the low-temperature superconducting phase observed in diamagnetic carbon disulfide under high pressure. The superconductivity arises from a highly disordered extended state (CS4 phase or phase III[CS4]) at ~6.2 K over a broad pressure range from 50 to 172 GPa. Based on the X-ray scattering data, we suggest that the local structural change from a tetrahedral to an octahedral configuration is responsible for the observed superconductivity.

  16. Suppressed Superconductivity on the Surface of Superconducting RF Quality Niobium for Particle Accelerating Cavities

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sung, Z. H.; Polyanskii, A. A.; Lee, P. J.; Gurevich, A.; Larbalestier, D. C.

    2011-03-01

    Significant performance degradation of superconducting RF (radio frequency) niobium cavities in high RF field is strongly associated with the breakdown of superconductivity on localized multi-scale surface defects lying within the 40 nm penetration depth. These defects may be on the nanometer scale, like grain boundaries and dislocations or even at the much larger scale of surface roughness and welding pits. By combining multiple superconducting characterization techniques including magneto-optical (MO) imaging and direct transport measurement with non-contact characterization of the surface topology using scanning confocal microscopy, we were able to show clear evidence of suppression of surface superconductivity at chemically treated RF-quality niobium. We found that pinning of vortices along GBs is weaker than pinning of vortices in the grains, which may indicate suppressed superfluid density on GBs. We also directly measured the local magnetic characteristics of BCP-treated Nb sample surface using a micro-Hall sensor in order to further understanding of the effect of surface topological features on the breakdown of superconducting state in RF mode.

  17. Superconductive articles including cerium oxide layer

    DOEpatents

    Wu, Xin D.; Muenchausen, Ross E.

    1993-01-01

    A ceramic superconductor comprising a metal oxide substrate, a ceramic high temperature superconductive material, and a intermediate layer of a material having a cubic crystal structure, said layer situated between the substrate and the superconductive material is provided, and a structure for supporting a ceramic superconducting material is provided, said structure comprising a metal oxide substrate, and a layer situated over the surface of the substrate to substantially inhibit interdiffusion between the substrate and a ceramic superconducting material deposited upon said structure.

  18. Anisotropic microporous supports impregnated with polymeric ion-exchange materials

    DOEpatents

    Friesen, Dwayne; Babcock, Walter C.; Tuttle, Mark

    1985-05-07

    Novel ion-exchange media are disclosed, the media comprising polymeric anisotropic microporous supports containing polymeric ion-exchange or ion-complexing materials. The supports are anisotropic, having small exterior pores and larger interior pores, and are preferably in the form of beads, fibers and sheets.

  19. Anisotropic Nanomechanics of Boron Nitride Nanotubes: Nanostructured "Skin" Effect

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Srivastava, Deepak; Menon, Madhu; Cho, KyeongJae

    2000-01-01

    The stiffness and plasticity of boron nitride nanotubes are investigated using generalized tight-binding molecular dynamics and ab-initio total energy methods. Due to boron-nitride BN bond buckling effects, compressed zigzag BN nanotubes are found to undergo novel anisotropic strain release followed by anisotropic plastic buckling. The strain is preferentially released towards N atoms in the rotated BN bonds. The tubes buckle anisotropically towards only one end when uniaxially compressed from both. A "skin-effect" model of smart nanocomposite materials is proposed which will localize the structural damage towards the 'skin' or surface side of the material.

  20. Superconducting quantum circuits theory and application

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Deng, Xiuhao

    Superconducting quantum circuit models are widely used to understand superconducting devices. This thesis consists of four studies wherein the superconducting quantum circuit is used to illustrate challenges related to quantum information encoding and processing, quantum simulation, quantum signal detection and amplification. The existence of scalar Aharanov-Bohm phase has been a controversial topic for decades. Scalar AB phase, defined as time integral of electric potential, gives rises to an extra phase factor in wavefunction. We proposed a superconducting quantum Faraday cage to detect temporal interference effect as a consequence of scalar AB phase. Using the superconducting quantum circuit model, the physical system is solved and resulting AB effect is predicted. Further discussion in this chapter shows that treating the experimental apparatus quantum mechanically, spatial scalar AB effect, proposed by Aharanov-Bohm, can't be observed. Either a decoherent interference apparatus is used to observe spatial scalar AB effect, or a quantum Faraday cage is used to observe temporal scalar AB effect. The second study involves protecting a quantum system from losing coherence, which is crucial to any practical quantum computation scheme. We present a theory to encode any qubit, especially superconducting qubits, into a universal quantum degeneracy point (UQDP) where low frequency noise is suppressed significantly. Numerical simulations for superconducting charge qubit using experimental parameters show that its coherence time is prolong by two orders of magnitude using our universal degeneracy point approach. With this improvement, a set of universal quantum gates can be performed at high fidelity without losing too much quantum coherence. Starting in 2004, the use of circuit QED has enabled the manipulation of superconducting qubits with photons. We applied quantum optical approach to model coupled resonators and obtained a four-wave mixing toolbox to operate photons

  1. Superconducting six-axis accelerometer

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Paik, H. J.

    1990-01-01

    A new superconducting accelerometer, capable of measuring both linear and angular accelerations, is under development at the University of Maryland. A single superconducting proof mass is magnetically levitated against gravity or any other proof force. Its relative positions and orientations with respect to the platform are monitored by six superconducting inductance bridges sharing a single amplifier, called the Superconducting Quantum Interference Device (SQUID). The six degrees of freedom, the three linear acceleration components and the three angular acceleration components, of the platform are measured simultaneously. In order to improve the linearity and the dynamic range of the instrument, the demodulated outputs of the SQUID are fed back to appropriate levitation coils so that the proof mass remains at the null position for all six inductance bridges. The expected intrinsic noise of the instrument is 4 x 10(exp -12)m s(exp -2) Hz(exp -1/2) for linear acceleration and 3 x 10(exp -11) rad s(exp -2) Hz(exp -1/2) for angular acceleration in 1-g environment. In 0-g, the linear acceleration sensitivity of the superconducting accelerometer could be improved by two orders of magnitude. The design and the operating principle of a laboratory prototype of the new instrument is discussed.

  2. Superconducting pipes and levitating magnets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Levin, Yan; Rizzato, Felipe B.

    2006-12-01

    Motivated by a beautiful demonstration of the Faraday and the Lenz laws in which a small neodymium magnet falls slowly through a conducting nonferromagnetic tube, we consider the dynamics of a magnet falling coaxially through a superconducting pipe. Unlike the case of normal conducting pipes, in which the magnet quickly reaches the terminal velocity, inside a superconducting tube the magnet falls freely. On the other hand, to enter the pipe the magnet must overcome a large electromagnetic energy barrier. For sufficiently strong magnets, the barrier is so large that the magnet will not be able to penetrate it and will be levitated over the mouth of the pipe. We calculate the work that must done to force the magnet to enter a superconducting tube. The calculations show that superconducting pipes are very efficient at screening magnetic fields. For example, the magnetic field of a dipole at the center of a short pipe of radius a and length L≳a decays, in the axial direction, with a characteristic length ξ≈0.26a . The efficient screening of the magnetic field might be useful for shielding highly sensitive superconducting quantum interference devices. Finally, the motion of the magnet through a superconducting pipe is compared and contrasted to the flow of ions through a trans-membrane channel.

  3. Anisotropic microporous supports impregnated with polymeric ion-exchange materials

    DOEpatents

    Friesen, D.; Babcock, W.C.; Tuttle, M.

    1985-05-07

    Novel ion-exchange media are disclosed, the media comprising polymeric anisotropic microporous supports containing polymeric ion-exchange or ion-complexing materials. The supports are anisotropic, having small exterior pores and larger interior pores, and are preferably in the form of beads, fibers and sheets. 5 figs.

  4. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Lombardo, v.; Barzi, E.; Turrioni, D.

    Superconducting magnets with magnetic fields above 20 T will be needed for a Muon Collider and possible LHC energy upgrade. This field level exceeds the possibilities of traditional Low Temperature Superconductors (LTS) such as Nb{sub 3}Sn and Nb{sub 3}Al. Presently the use of high field high temperature superconductors (HTS) is the only option available for achieving such field levels. Commercially available YBCO comes in tapes and shows noticeable anisotropy with respect to field orientation, which needs to be accounted for during magnet design. In the present work, critical current test results are presented for YBCO tape manufactured by Bruker. Shortmore » sample measurements results are presented up to 14 T, assessing the level of anisotropy as a function of field, field orientation and operating temperature.« less

  5. Superconductive articles including cerium oxide layer

    DOEpatents

    Wu, X.D.; Muenchausen, R.E.

    1993-11-16

    A ceramic superconductor comprising a metal oxide substrate, a ceramic high temperature superconductive material, and a intermediate layer of a material having a cubic crystal structure, said layer situated between the substrate and the superconductive material is provided, and a structure for supporting a ceramic superconducting material is provided, said structure comprising a metal oxide substrate, and a layer situated over the surface of the substrate to substantially inhibit interdiffusion between the substrate and a ceramic superconducting material deposited upon said structure. 7 figures.

  6. Phase Evolution of YBa2Cu3O7-x films by all-chemical solution deposition route for coated conductors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhao, Yue; Tang, Xiao; Wu, Wei; Grivel, Jean-Claude

    2014-05-01

    In order to understand the all-chemical-solution-deposition (CSD) processes for manufacturing coated conductors, we investigated the phase evolution of YBa2Cu3O7 (YBCO) films deposited by a low-fluorine metal-organic solution deposition (LF-MOD) method on CSD derived Ce0.9La0.1O2/Gd2Zr2O7/NiW. It is shown that the phase transition from the pyrolyzed film to fully converted YBCO film in the LF-MOD process is similar to that in typical trifluoroacetates-metal organic deposition (TFA-MOD) processes even though the amount of TFA in the solution is reduced by almost one half compared with typical TFA-MOD cases. Moreover, we found that the formation of impurities (mainly BaCeO3, NiWO4 and NiO) is strongly related to the annealing temperature, i.e., the diffusion controlled reactions become intensive from 760 oC, which might be connected with the poor structural and superconducting properties of the films deposited at high sintering temperatures. Based on these results, the optimized growth conditions of YBCO films were established, and a high critical current density (Jc) of about 2 MA/cm2 (77 K, self field) is achieved in a 200 nm thick YBCO film in the architecture made by our all CSD route.

  7. National Action Plan on Superconductivity Research and Development

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    1989-12-01

    The Superconductivity Action Plan pursuant to the Superconductivity and Competitiveness Act of 1988 is presented. The plan draws upon contributions from leaders in the technical community of the Federal Government responsible for research and development in superconductivity programs, as well as from the report of the Committee to Advise the President on Superconductivity. Input from leaders in the private sector was obtained during the formulation and review of the plan. Some contents: Coordination of the plan; Technical areas (high temperature superconductivity materials in general, high temperature superconductivity films for sensors and electronics, magnets, large area high temperature superconductivity films, bulk conductors); and Policy areas.

  8. Novel anisotropic engineered cardiac tissues: studies of electrical propagation.

    PubMed

    Bursac, Nenad; Loo, Yihua; Leong, Kam; Tung, Leslie

    2007-10-05

    The goal of this study was to engineer cardiac tissue constructs with uniformly anisotropic architecture, and to evaluate their electrical function using multi-site optical mapping of cell membrane potentials. Anisotropic polymer scaffolds made by leaching of aligned sucrose templates were seeded with neonatal rat cardiac cells and cultured in rotating bioreactors for 6-14 days. Cells aligned and interconnected inside the scaffolds and when stimulated by a point electrode, supported macroscopically continuous, anisotropic impulse propagation. By culture day 14, the ratio of conduction velocities along vs. across cardiac fibers reached a value of 2, similar to that in native neonatal ventricles, while action potential duration and maximum capture rate, respectively, decreased to 120ms and increased to approximately 5Hz. The shorter culture time and larger scaffold thickness were associated with increased incidence of sustained reentrant arrhythmias. In summary, this study is the first successful attempt to engineer a cm(2)-size, functional anisotropic cardiac tissue patch.

  9. Emergence of anisotropic Gilbert damping in ultrathin Fe layers on GaAs(001)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, L.; Mankovsky, S.; Wimmer, S.; Schoen, M. A. W.; Körner, H. S.; Kronseder, M.; Schuh, D.; Bougeard, D.; Ebert, H.; Weiss, D.; Back, C. H.

    2018-05-01

    As a fundamental parameter in magnetism, the phenomenological Gilbert damping constant α determines the performance of many spintronic devices. For most magnetic materials, α is treated as an isotropic parameter entering the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation. However, could the Gilbert damping be anisotropic? Although several theoretical approaches have suggested that anisotropic α could appear in single-crystalline bulk systems, experimental evidence of its existence is scarce. Here, we report the emergence of anisotropic magnetic damping by exploring a quasi-two-dimensional single-crystalline ferromagnetic metal/semiconductor interface—that is, a Fe/GaAs(001) heterojunction. The observed anisotropic damping shows twofold C2v symmetry, which is expected from the interplay of interfacial Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit interaction, and is manifested by the anisotropic density of states at the Fe/GaAs (001) interface. This discovery of anisotropic damping will enrich the understanding of magnetization relaxation mechanisms and can provide a route towards the search for anisotropic damping at other ferromagnetic metal/semiconductor interfaces.

  10. Thermodynamic signature of a magnetic-field-driven phase transition within the superconducting state of an underdoped cuprate

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kemper, J. B.; Vafek, O.; Betts, J. B.; Balakirev, F. F.; Hardy, W. N.; Liang, Ruixing; Bonn, D. A.; Boebinger, G. S.

    2016-01-01

    More than a quarter century after the discovery of the high-temperature superconductor (HTS) YBa2Cu3O6+δ (YBCO; ref. ), studies continue to uncover complexity in its phase diagram. In addition to HTS and the pseudogap, there is growing evidence for multiple phases with boundaries which are functions of temperature (T), doping (p) and magnetic field. Here we report the low-temperature electronic specific heat (Celec) of YBa2Cu3O6.43 and YBa2Cu3O6.47 (p = 0.076 and 0.084) up to a magnetic field (H) of 34.5 T, a poorly understood region of the underdoped H-T-p phase space. We observe two regimes in the low-temperature limit: below a characteristic magnetic field H' ~ 12-15 T, Celec/T obeys an expected H1/2 behaviour; however, near H' there is a sharp inflection followed by a linear-in-H behaviour. H' rests deep within the superconducting phase and, thus, the linear-in-H behaviour is observed in the zero-resistance regime. In the limit of zero temperature, Celec/T is proportional to the zero-energy electronic density of states. At one of our dopings, the inflection is sharp only at lowest temperatures, and we thus conclude that this inflection is evidence of a magnetic-field-driven quantum phase transition.

  11. Microseismic Full Waveform Modeling in Anisotropic Media with Moment Tensor Implementation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shi, Peidong; Angus, Doug; Nowacki, Andy; Yuan, Sanyi; Wang, Yanyan

    2018-03-01

    Seismic anisotropy which is common in shale and fractured rocks will cause travel-time and amplitude discrepancy in different propagation directions. For microseismic monitoring which is often implemented in shale or fractured rocks, seismic anisotropy needs to be carefully accounted for in source location and mechanism determination. We have developed an efficient finite-difference full waveform modeling tool with an arbitrary moment tensor source. The modeling tool is suitable for simulating wave propagation in anisotropic media for microseismic monitoring. As both dislocation and non-double-couple source are often observed in microseismic monitoring, an arbitrary moment tensor source is implemented in our forward modeling tool. The increments of shear stress are equally distributed on the staggered grid to implement an accurate and symmetric moment tensor source. Our modeling tool provides an efficient way to obtain the Green's function in anisotropic media, which is the key of anisotropic moment tensor inversion and source mechanism characterization in microseismic monitoring. In our research, wavefields in anisotropic media have been carefully simulated and analyzed in both surface array and downhole array. The variation characteristics of travel-time and amplitude of direct P- and S-wave in vertical transverse isotropic media and horizontal transverse isotropic media are distinct, thus providing a feasible way to distinguish and identify the anisotropic type of the subsurface. Analyzing the travel-times and amplitudes of the microseismic data is a feasible way to estimate the orientation and density of the induced cracks in hydraulic fracturing. Our anisotropic modeling tool can be used to generate and analyze microseismic full wavefield with full moment tensor source in anisotropic media, which can help promote the anisotropic interpretation and inversion of field data.

  12. Microseismic Full Waveform Modeling in Anisotropic Media with Moment Tensor Implementation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shi, Peidong; Angus, Doug; Nowacki, Andy; Yuan, Sanyi; Wang, Yanyan

    2018-07-01

    Seismic anisotropy which is common in shale and fractured rocks will cause travel-time and amplitude discrepancy in different propagation directions. For microseismic monitoring which is often implemented in shale or fractured rocks, seismic anisotropy needs to be carefully accounted for in source location and mechanism determination. We have developed an efficient finite-difference full waveform modeling tool with an arbitrary moment tensor source. The modeling tool is suitable for simulating wave propagation in anisotropic media for microseismic monitoring. As both dislocation and non-double-couple source are often observed in microseismic monitoring, an arbitrary moment tensor source is implemented in our forward modeling tool. The increments of shear stress are equally distributed on the staggered grid to implement an accurate and symmetric moment tensor source. Our modeling tool provides an efficient way to obtain the Green's function in anisotropic media, which is the key of anisotropic moment tensor inversion and source mechanism characterization in microseismic monitoring. In our research, wavefields in anisotropic media have been carefully simulated and analyzed in both surface array and downhole array. The variation characteristics of travel-time and amplitude of direct P- and S-wave in vertical transverse isotropic media and horizontal transverse isotropic media are distinct, thus providing a feasible way to distinguish and identify the anisotropic type of the subsurface. Analyzing the travel-times and amplitudes of the microseismic data is a feasible way to estimate the orientation and density of the induced cracks in hydraulic fracturing. Our anisotropic modeling tool can be used to generate and analyze microseismic full wavefield with full moment tensor source in anisotropic media, which can help promote the anisotropic interpretation and inversion of field data.

  13. Anisotropic characterization of magnetorheological materials

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dohmen, E.; Modler, N.; Gude, M.

    2017-06-01

    For the development of energy efficient lightweight parts novel function integrating materials are needed. Concerning this field of application magnetorheological (MR) fluids, MR elastomers and MR composites are promising materials allowing the adjustment of mechanical properties by an external magnetic field. A key issue for operating such structures in praxis is the magneto-mechanical description. Most rheological properties are gathered at laboratory conditions for high magnetic flux densities and a single field direction, which does not correspond to real praxis conditions. Although anisotropic formation of superstructures can be observed in MR suspensions (Fig. 1) or experimenters intentionally polymerize MR elastomers with anisotropic superstructures these MR materials are usually described in an external magnetic field as uniform, isotropic materials. This is due to missing possibilities for experimentally measuring field angle dependent properties and ways of distinguishing between material properties and frictional effects. Just a few scientific works experimentally investigated the influence of different field angles (Ambacher et al., 1992; Grants et al., 1990; Kuzhir et al., 2003) [1-3] or the influence of surface roughness on the shear behaviour of magnetic fluids (Tang and Conrad, 1996) [4]. The aim of this work is the introduction of a novel field angle cell allowing the determination of anisotropic mechanical properties for various MR materials depending on the applied magnetic field angle.

  14. Shear viscosity in an anisotropic unitary Fermi gas

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Samanta, Rickmoy; Sharma, Rishi; Trivedi, Sandip P.

    2017-11-01

    We consider a system consisting of a strongly interacting, ultracold unitary Fermi gas under harmonic confinement. Our analysis suggests the possibility of experimentally studying, in this system, an anisotropic shear viscosity tensor driven by the anisotropy in the trapping potential. In particular, we suggest that this experimental setup could mimic some features of anisotropic geometries that have recently been studied for strongly coupled field theories which have a dual gravitational description. Results using the AdS/CFT (anti-de Sitter/conformal field theory correspondence) in these theories show that in systems with a background linear potential, certain viscosity components can be made much smaller than the entropy density, parametrically violating the bound proposed by Kovtun, Son, and Starinets (KSS). This intuition, along with results from a Boltzmann analysis that we perform, suggests that a violation of the KSS bound can perhaps occur in the unitary Fermi gas system when it is subjected to a suitable anisotropic trapping potential which may be approximated to be linear in a suitable range of parameters. We give a concrete proposal for an experimental setup where an anisotropic shear viscosity tensor may arise. In such situations, it may also be possible to observe a reduction in the spin-1 component of the shear viscosity from its lowest value observed so far in ultracold Fermi gases. In extreme anisotropic situations, the reduction may be enough to reduce the shear viscosity to entropy ratio below the proposed KSS bound, although this regime is difficult to analyze in a theoretically controlled manner.

  15. Visualizing domain wall and reverse domain superconductivity.

    PubMed

    Iavarone, M; Moore, S A; Fedor, J; Ciocys, S T; Karapetrov, G; Pearson, J; Novosad, V; Bader, S D

    2014-08-28

    In magnetically coupled, planar ferromagnet-superconductor (F/S) hybrid structures, magnetic domain walls can be used to spatially confine the superconductivity. In contrast to a superconductor in a uniform applied magnetic field, the nucleation of the superconducting order parameter in F/S structures is governed by the inhomogeneous magnetic field distribution. The interplay between the superconductivity localized at the domain walls and far from the walls leads to effects such as re-entrant superconductivity and reverse domain superconductivity with the critical temperature depending upon the location. Here we use scanning tunnelling spectroscopy to directly image the nucleation of superconductivity at the domain wall in F/S structures realized with Co-Pd multilayers and Pb thin films. Our results demonstrate that such F/S structures are attractive model systems that offer the possibility to control the strength and the location of the superconducting nucleus by applying an external magnetic field, potentially useful to guide vortices for computing application.

  16. Method for forming bismuth-based superconducting ceramics

    DOEpatents

    Maroni, Victor A.; Merchant, Nazarali N.; Parrella, Ronald D.

    2005-05-17

    A method for reducing the concentration of non-superconducting phases during the heat treatment of Pb doped Ag/Bi-2223 composites having Bi-2223 and Bi-2212 superconducting phases is disclosed. A Pb doped Ag/Bi-2223 composite having Bi-2223 and Bi-2212 superconducting phases is heated in an atmosphere having an oxygen partial pressure not less than about 0.04 atmospheres and the temperature is maintained at the lower of a non-superconducting phase take-off temperature and the Bi-2223 superconducting phase grain growth take-off temperature. The oxygen partial pressure is varied and the temperature is varied between about 815.degree. C. and about 835.degree. C. to produce not less than 80 percent conversion to Pb doped Bi-2223 superconducting phase and not greater than about 20 volume percent non-superconducting phases. The oxygen partial pressure is preferably varied between about 0.04 and about 0.21 atmospheres. A product by the method is disclosed.

  17. Visualizing domain wall and reverse domain superconductivity

    PubMed Central

    Iavarone, M.; Moore, S. A.; Fedor, J.; Ciocys, S. T.; Karapetrov, G.; Pearson, J.; Novosad, V.; Bader, S. D.

    2014-01-01

    In magnetically coupled, planar ferromagnet-superconductor (F/S) hybrid structures, magnetic domain walls can be used to spatially confine the superconductivity. In contrast to a superconductor in a uniform applied magnetic field, the nucleation of the superconducting order parameter in F/S structures is governed by the inhomogeneous magnetic field distribution. The interplay between the superconductivity localized at the domain walls and far from the walls leads to effects such as re-entrant superconductivity and reverse domain superconductivity with the critical temperature depending upon the location. Here we use scanning tunnelling spectroscopy to directly image the nucleation of superconductivity at the domain wall in F/S structures realized with Co-Pd multilayers and Pb thin films. Our results demonstrate that such F/S structures are attractive model systems that offer the possibility to control the strength and the location of the superconducting nucleus by applying an external magnetic field, potentially useful to guide vortices for computing application. PMID:25164004

  18. YBCO film deposition on very large areas up to 20 × 20 cm2

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kinder, H.; Berberich, P.; Prusseit, W.; Rieder-Zecha, S.; Semerad, R.; Utz, B.

    1997-08-01

    In the last decade we have developed thermal reactive co-evaporation as a technique to produce high quality YBCO and other oxide films of very large size up to 9 inches in diameter. This was achieved by intermittent deposition and reaction with oxygen using a heater which rotates the substrate in and out of an oxygen pocket. Even larger substrates, e. g. coated conductors, cannot be rotated. Therefore we have recently developed a new setup where the substrate is held fixed, and the oxygen pocket is set in linear reciprocation. This technique allows simultaneous deposition on a square of 20×20 cm 2. Moreover, we have developed an instant refill mechanism for the thermal boats, and stable rate control by atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS), in order to obtain a continuous process suitable for small scale mass production.

  19. Anisotropic elliptic optical fibers. Ph.D. Thesis

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kang, Soon Ahm

    1991-01-01

    The exact characteristic equation for an anisotropic elliptic optical fiber is obtained for odd and even hybrid modes in terms of infinite determinants utilizing Mathieu and modified Mathieu functions. A simplified characteristic equation is obtained by applying the weakly guiding approximation such that the difference in the refractive indices of the core and the cladding is small. The simplified characteristic equation is used to compute the normalized guide wavelength for an elliptical fiber. When the anisotropic parameter is equal to unity, the results are compared with the previous research and they are in close agreement. For a fixed value normalized cross-section area or major axis, the normalized guide wavelength lambda/lambda(sub 0) for an anisotropic elliptic fiber is small for the larger value of anisotropy. This condition indicates that more energy is carried inside of the fiber. However, the geometry and anisotropy of the fiber have a smaller effect when the normalized cross-section area is very small or very large.

  20. Superconducting Continuous Graphene Fibers via Calcium Intercalation.

    PubMed

    Liu, Yingjun; Liang, Hui; Xu, Zhen; Xi, Jiabin; Chen, Genfu; Gao, Weiwei; Xue, Mianqi; Gao, Chao

    2017-04-25

    Superconductors are important materials in the field of low-temperature magnet applications and long-distance electrical power transmission systems. Besides metal-based superconducting materials, carbon-based superconductors have attracted considerable attention in recent years. Up to now, five allotropes of carbon, including diamond, graphite, C 60 , CNTs, and graphene, have been reported to show superconducting behavior. However, most of the carbon-based superconductors are limited to small size and discontinuous phases, which inevitably hinders further application in macroscopic form. Therefore, it raises a question of whether continuously carbon-based superconducting wires could be accessed, which is of vital importance from viewpoints of fundamental research and practical application. Here, inspired by superconducting graphene, we successfully fabricated flexible graphene-based superconducting fibers via a well-established calcium (Ca) intercalation strategy. The resultant Ca-intercalated graphene fiber (Ca-GF) shows a superconducting transition at ∼11 K, which is almost 2 orders of magnitude higher than that of early reported alkali metal intercalated graphite and comparable to that of commercial superconducting NbTi wire. The combination of lightness and easy scalability makes Ca-GF highly promising as a lightweight superconducting wire.