Critical current of a layered high-temperature superconductor with artificial pinning centers: the Monte Carlo simulation

Abstract

Current–voltage characteristics (EJ curves) and magnetic field dependences of the critical current have been calculated for a superconductor with artificial pinning in the form of submicron-sized holes and tilted radiation defects. Calculations have been performed within the framework of the three-dimensional model of a layered HTS by means of the Monte Carlo method. S-shaped features of the EJ curves have been observed for a sample with a rectangular lattice of holes. Such features have not occurred in calculations for HTSs with non-magnetic pinning centers before, but they have been observed in experimental studies. In this paper, the features occurred in magnetic fields close to 290 Gs (which is the lower critical field for the Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8-δ superconductor at 1 K) and they were sensitive to the magnitude of the external magnetic field. In addition, the features were more prominent at temperatures below 30 K and in samples with weak intrinsic pinning, and they were connected with matching-like effects in the vortex system (i. e. a certain number of vortices being pinned on each hole, screening new vortices from entering the sample). For samples with tilted radiation defects, decreasing field dependences of the critical current have been obtained, showing weak maxima near the lower critical field of the superconductor. Calculations have shown that, at a fixed value of the external field, the critical current decreases with the increasing tilt angle of the defects.