Increased flux pinning upon thermal-neutron irradiation of uranium-doped YBa/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub 7/

Journal Article · Tue Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1989 · Phys. Rev. B: Condens. Matter; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.40.2163· OSTI ID:5917239

Fleischer, R L; Lay, K W; Luborsky, F E

To assess fission-fragment damage as flux-pinning centers, sintered compacts of YBa/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub 7/ were prepared with uranium additions of 150 and 380 atomic ppm and exposed to thermal neutron fluences of 4.3/times/10/sup 17/, 1.2/times/10/sup 18/, and 4.0/times/10/sup 18//cm/sup 2/. Magnetic hysteresis measurements were made as functions of temperature at fields up to 2.5 T. The hysteresis at 1 T for the sample containing 150 ppm uranium increased upon an irradiation of 1.2/times/10/sup 18//cm/sup 2/ by 3.7 times at 4.5 K, 20 times at 63 K, and 8.3 times at 77 K. Much smaller increases in magnetic hysteresis were observed in undoped samples exposed to thermal neutrons. Critical-current densities were calculated from the hysteresis observed at 1 T using the critical-state model, assuming the currents to be restricted to the grains (/approx/5 /mu/m radius). For the 150 ppm, 1.2/times/10/sup 18//cm/sup 2/ sample, the 1-T intragranular critical-current densities obtained are 1.5/times/10/sup 7/, 1.0/times/10/sup 6/, and 1.4/times/10/sup 5/ A/cm/sup 2/ at temperatures of 4.5, 63, and 77 K, respectively. The critical temperatures by an ac susceptibility technique showed that the 4/times/10/sup 18//cm/sup 2/ irradiation lowered the onset critical temperatures only slightly, from 91 to 90 K and from 91.5 to 89 K for the 150 and 380 ppm samples, respectively.

• Research Organization: General Electric Research and Development, Schenectady, New York 12301 (US)
• OSTI ID: 5917239
• Journal Information: Phys. Rev. B: Condens. Matter; (United States), Journal Name: Phys. Rev. B: Condens. Matter; (United States) Vol. 40:4; ISSN PRBMD
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
360206* -- Ceramics
Cermets
& Refractories-- Radiation Effects
656100 -- Condensed Matter Physics-- Superconductivity
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
ACTINIDE ALLOYS
ALKALINE EARTH METAL COMPOUNDS
ALLOYS
BARIUM COMPOUNDS
BARIUM OXIDES
BARYONS
CHALCOGENIDES
COPPER COMPOUNDS
COPPER OXIDES
CRITICAL CURRENT
CURRENT DENSITY
CURRENTS
ELECTRIC CONDUCTIVITY
ELECTRIC CURRENTS
ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
FERMIONS
FISSION FRAGMENTS
HADRONS
HYSTERESIS
LOW TEMPERATURE
MAGNETIC FLUX
MATERIALS
NEUTRONS
NUCLEAR FRAGMENTS
NUCLEONS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
PHYSICAL RADIATION EFFECTS
RADIATION EFFECTS
SINTERED MATERIALS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY
TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE
THERMAL NEUTRONS
THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES
TRANSITION ELEMENT COMPOUNDS
TRANSITION TEMPERATURE
ULTRALOW TEMPERATURE
URANIUM ADDITIONS
URANIUM ALLOYS
VERY LOW TEMPERATURE
YTTRIUM COMPOUNDS
YTTRIUM OXIDES