The aim of this work is to investigate the mechanisms controlling the current-carrying capability of YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7Ϫ␦ thin films. A comparison between the magnetic properties of a film with intrinsic grainboundary defects and two films crossed by columnar defects with different densities is presented. Such properties have been studied by means of ac susceptibility measurements, resistivity measurements, and structural characterizations. The Clem and Sanchez model ͓Phys. Rev. B 50, 9355 ͑1994͔͒ is used to extract critical current values from the susceptibility data. In the virgin film, correlated grain-boundary defects were created among islands with homogeneous size, by means of the appropriate modifications in the growth process. Columnar defects were produced through 0.25-GeV Au-ion irradiation. The central issue concerns the investigation of the plateaulike features characterizing the log-log field dependence of the critical current density, the analysis of the J c temperature dependence, and of the irreversibility line. An analytical expression of J c vs B is given in order to compare the main issues with the experimental data. This model suggests that the intergrain pinning dominates in the high-current/low-temperature regime through a network of frustrated Josephson junctions, while the intragrain pinning is effective near the irreversibility line.

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Fabrication of high-temperature superconductor Josephson junctions by focused ion beam milling

The properties of symmetric 24 • and asymmetric 45 • [100] tilt YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7−x bicrystal grain boundary junctions (GBJs) have been extensively investigated. A large number of junctions, with dimensions ranging from 2 to 20 µm, have been fabricated and characterized at 4.2 K. Experimental data have been compared with [001] tilt bicrystal and [100] tilt biepitaxial YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7−x junctions. [100] GBJs show high I c R n products in the range 5-10 mV at T = 4.2 K, these being slightly sensitive to the critical current density values. A direct tunnelling mechanism for both Cooper pair and quasiparticles has been evidenced. The reduced I c R n values of asymmetric 45 • with respect to symmetric 24 • [100] tilt GBJs have been accounted for by considering a d-wave symmetry of the order parameter using the Sigrist-Rice equation.

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Submicron YBa2Cu3O7−x bicrystal grain boundary junctions have been fabricated, for the first time, by a focused ion beam process. Although such a process has always been considered detrimental to the YBa2Cu3O7−x because of gallium contamination, high quality 24° [001] tilt junctions characterized by RSJ current–voltage characteristics, ICRN products of the order of 1–4 × 104 A cm−2 at 77 K and Fraunhofer-like modulation patterns have been obtained. No significant degradation has been observed over more than 3 months. The critical current density JC and the characteristic voltage ICRN show a clear maximum for widths of the order of the Josephson penetration depth. The asymptotic normal resistance shows a typical (width)−1 dependence, indicating that the FIB process does not increase the grain boundary resistivity of submicron junctions. Experimental results clearly show that FIB is a very powerful tool for the fabrication of high critical temperature superconducting circuits, requiring a small number of submicron Josephson junctions, and for fundamental physics analysis. It also allow the final tuning or repair of superconducting or more complex integrated superconducting–semiconducting devices.

The dominating pinning mechanism in YBa 2 Cu307. x thin film has been investigated by means of resistivity and ac susceptibility measurements and by structural characterizations. The aim of the work is to determine optimal pinning conditions in order to prevent the field-induced drop of the critical current density. The Clem and Sanchez model is used to extract critical current values from the susceptibility data. In this framework, the role of columnar-like defects is extensively studied. The formation of columnar pins was promoted by a suitable modification in the preparation process. In addition, columnar tracks of different density were induced by Au-ion irradiation. Analysis of the critical current dependence on the magnetic field reveals that linearly-correlated defects are effective in improving the vortex lattice stability in "matching regions" of field and temperature.