Temporal Evolution of Defects and Related Electric Properties in He-Irradiated YBa₂Cu₃O_7-δ Thin Films

Author(s)

Sandra Keppert, Bernd Aichner, Philip Rohringer, Marius-Aurel Bodea, Benedikt Müller, Max Karrer, Reinhold Kleiner, Edward Goldobin, Dieter Koelle, Johannes D. Pedarnig, Wolfgang Lang

Abstract

Thin films of the superconductor YBa

₂Cu

₃O

_7−δ (YBCO) were modified by low-energy light-ion irradiation employing collimated or focused He

⁺ beams, and the long-term stability of irradiation-induced defects was investigated. For films irradiated with collimated beams, the resistance was measured in situ during and after irradiation and analyzed using a phenomenological model. The formation and stability of irradiation-induced defects are highly influenced by temperature. Thermal annealing experiments conducted in an Ar atmosphere at various temperatures demonstrated a decrease in resistivity and allowed us to determine diffusion coefficients and the activation energy (Formula presented.) eV for diffusive oxygen rearrangement within the YBCO unit cell basal plane. Additionally, thin YBCO films, nanostructured by focused He

⁺-beam irradiation into vortex pinning arrays, displayed significant commensurability effects in magnetic fields. Despite the strong modulation of defect densities in these pinning arrays, oxygen diffusion during room-temperature annealing over almost six years did not compromise the signatures of vortex matching, which remained precisely at their magnetic fields predicted by the pattern geometry. Moreover, the critical current increased substantially within the entire magnetic field range after long-term storage in dry air. These findings underscore the potential of ion irradiation in tailoring the superconducting properties of thin YBCO films.

Organisation(s)

Electronic Properties of Materials

External organisation(s)

Johannes Kepler Universität Linz, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen

Journal

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Volume

25

No. of pages

16

ISSN

1422-0067

DOI

https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25147877

Publication date

07-2024

Peer reviewed

Yes

Austrian Fields of Science 2012

103013 Ion physics, 103033 Superconductivity, 210006 Nanotechnology, 103018 Materials physics

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Molecular Biology, Spectroscopy, Catalysis, Inorganic Chemistry, Computer Science Applications, Physical and Theoretical Chemistry, Organic Chemistry

Portal url

https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/temporal-evolution-of-defects-and-related-electric-properties-in-heirradiated-yba2cu3o7-thin-films(bd250999-b729-45a2-8a6d-889dd97e3591).html