Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Two-dimensional collective flux pinning, defects, and structural relaxation in amorphous superconducting films

Journal Article · · Phys. Rev. B: Condens. Matter; (United States)

The existence of two-dimensional collective pinning has been experimentally confirmed by measuring the pinning force F/sub p/ in superconducting amorphous films of transition-metal--metalloid alloys (Nb/sub 3/Ge, Nb/sub 3/Si, Mo/sub 3/Si) as a function of perpendicular field, temperature, and thickness of the specimens. The field and temperature dependence of F/sub p/ can be well explained if it is assumed that the pinning defects in these amorphous superconductors are quasidislocation loops of sizes comparable to the superconducting coherence length. Structural relaxation studies in Nb/sub 3/Ge show that these defects are stable against annealing at temperatures up to at least 0.8 of the recrystallization temperature. The possible effect of randomly distributed pinning centers (random field) on the phase transitions of a two-dimensional flux-line lattice is briefly discussed.

Research Organization:
IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, New York 10598
OSTI ID:
5475650
Journal Information:
Phys. Rev. B: Condens. Matter; (United States), Journal Name: Phys. Rev. B: Condens. Matter; (United States) Vol. 28:9; ISSN PRBMD
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English