Fluxoid quantization in disordered, quasiperiodic, and anisotropic superconducting networks
The quantization of the magnetic fluxoid in the unit cells of a network of superconducting wires gives rise to a system with competing length scales determined by the resulting fluxoid lattice and the underlying network. This system provides an excellent experimental model for studying questions concerning the concept of commensurability, and the first emphasis of this thesis is on the formation of commensurate states in disordered and quasiperiodic geometries. Measurements of the resistive phase boundary Tc(H)[vert bar]R reveal cusp-like structure signifying the existence of commensurate states at particular values of the applied field. The authors find that sufficient disorder in the tile areas will destroy all commensurate states in any network, and they accurately describe this behavior using the intuitive [open quotes]J[sup 2] model[close quotes] in which one considers only the effects of supercurrents generated to satisfy fluxoid quantization (i.e., the London approximation). However, a disturbance of the local tile ordering destroys only certain types of commensurate states. They find that commensurability is not universally predicated by the presence of inflation symmetry in the lattice, but instead is more closely related to the Fourier transform of the lattice geometry. These experimental results in two dimensions are similar to analytical results for one-dimensional systems. Because the description of the superconducting networks using linearized Ginzburg-Landau theory is identical to a Schroedinger equation, these systems can be used to study the nature of electronic ground states on a two-dimensional lattice in a magnetic field. The second emphasis of this thesis addresses this problem in width-anisotropic square networks. They find that network anisotropy induces localization of the superconducting order parameter in one direction at incommensurate fields while in the perpendicular direction the order parameter remains extended.
- Research Organization:
- Pennsylvania Univ., Philadelphia, PA (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 7156249
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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