Vortex matching at 6 T in YBa_2⁢Cu_3⁢O_{7−𝛿} thin films by imprinting a 20-nm periodic pinning array with a focused helium-ion beam

Author(s)

Max Karrer, Bernd Aichner, Katja Wurster, César Magén, Christoph Schmid, Robin Hutt, Barbora Budinská, Oleksandr Dobrovolskiy, Reinhold Kleiner, Wolfgang Lang, Edward Goldobin, Dieter Koelle

Abstract

Controlled engineering of vortex pinning sites in copper-oxide superconductors is a critical issue in manufacturing devices based on magnetic flux quanta. To address this, we employed a focused He-ion beam (He-FIB) to irradiate thin YBa₂Cu₃O_7−δ films and create ultradense hexagonal arrays of defects with lattice spacings as small as 20 nm. Critical current and magnetoresistance measurements demonstrate efficient pinning by amatching field of 6 T visible in a huge temperature range from the critical temperature Tc down to 2 K. These results show that He-FIB irradiation provides excellent opportunities for the development and application of superconducting fluxonic devices based on Abrikosov vortices. In particular, our findings suggest that such devices can operate at temperatures far below Tc, where superconductivity is robust.

Organisation(s)

Electronic Properties of Materials, Nanomagnetism and Magnonics

External organisation(s)

Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Universidad de Zaragoza, Technische Universität Carolo-Wilhelmina zu Braunschweig

Journal

Physical Review Applied

Volume

22

No. of pages

11

ISSN

2331-7019

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevApplied.22.014043

Publication date

07-2024

Peer reviewed

Yes

Austrian Fields of Science 2012

103013 Ion physics, 103033 Superconductivity, 210006 Nanotechnology

ASJC Scopus subject areas

General Physics and Astronomy

Portal url

https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/d70719c3-ee7d-4a86-b73b-c0b3d2150e18