Conductive polymer/high-TC superconductor sandwich structures: An example of a molecular switch for controlling superconductivity

Conference · Sat Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1994

OSTI ID:191694

McDevitt, J T; Haupt, S G; Lo, R K ^[1]

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1. Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX (United States); and others

The preparation of a hybrid conducting polymer/high-temperature superconductor device consisting of a polypyrrole coated YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7-x} microbridge is reported. Electrochemical techniques are exploited to alter the oxidation state of the polymer and, in doing so, it is found for the first time that superconductivity can be modulated in a controllable and reproducible fashion by a polymer layer. Whereas the neutral (insulating) polypyrrole only slightly influences the electrical properties of the underlying YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7-} film, the oxidized (conductive) polymer depresses T{sub c} by up to 50K. In a similar fashion, the oxidation state of the polymer is found to modulate reversibly the magnitude of J{sub c}, the superconducting critical current. Thus, a new type of molecular switch for controlling superconductivity is demonstrated. Electrochemical, resistance vs. temperature, atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy measurements are utilized to explore the polymer/superconductor interactions.

• OSTI ID: 191694
• Report Number(s): CONF-941098--
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
BARIUM COMPOUNDS
CUPRATES
HIGH-TC SUPERCONDUCTORS
ORGANIC POLYMERS
PYRROLES
STRUCTURAL CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY
VALENCE
YTTRIUM COMPOUNDS