Magnetic Field and Frequency Dependent AC Susceptibility of High-Tc YBCO Single Crystal

Abstract

The temperature dependence of AC susceptibility (ACS) has been measured for a very high-quality plate-like slightly overdoped YBCO single crystal for different frequencies and AC magnetic field amplitudes. Frequency dependence of the ACS is weak irrespective of the magnetic field orientation but significant effects of field orientation with respect to the CuO2 planes and field magnitude on real and imaginary components of fundamental ACS were observed. The height of the loss peak saturates as full penetration of magnetic field is achieved. The peak temperature, Tp, in \c{hi}" shifts to lower temperatures with increasing magnetic field amplitude for both HIIc and HIIab. The value of Tp depends on the orientation of the magnetic field with respect to the crystallographic axes, illustrating the anisotropy in the magnetic flux dynamics. The superconducting transition width increases weakly with increasing magnetic field. The Cole-Cole plot [\c{hi}"(\c{hi}')] shows qualitatively and quantitatively identical features for HIIc and HIIab, independent of the orientation of the magnetic field with respect to the sample geometry and shielding current paths. The general features of \c{hi}"(\c{hi}') implies that, there is no flux creep for the range of frequencies and AC fields employed in this investigation. The maximum value of the loss peak and its position with respect to \c{hi}' in the Cole-Cole plot are largely consistent with the Bean critical state model. Slightly increased peak value in comparison to the predicted peak value within the Bean critical state model is probably due to a weak field dependence of Jc. The results obtained here are compared with various theoretical models and experimental findings. Prominent differences are noted and discussed in details in this study.