Searcharxiv⌕ Search
Home/Archive/arXiv

arXiv · cond-mat/0302530

Effect of nano-carbon particle doping on the flux pinning properties of MgB2 superconductor

S. Soltanian·J. Horvat·X. L. Wang·P. Munroe·S. X. Dou
View original source ↗Read source document ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

Polycrystalline MgB2-xCx samples with x=0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 nano-particle carbon powder were prepared using an in-situ reaction method under well controlled conditions to limit the extent of C substitution. The phases, lattice parameters, microstructures, superconductivity and flux pinning were characterized by XRD, TEM, and magnetic measurements. It was found that both the a-axis lattice parameter and the Tc decreased monotonically with increasing doping level. For the sample doped with the highest nominal composition of x=0.4 the Tc dropped only 2.7K. The nano-C-doped samples showed an improved field dependence of the Jc compared with the undoped sample over a wide temperature range. The enhancement by C-doping is similar to that of Si-doping but not as strong as for nano-SiC doped MgB2. X-ray diffraction results indicate that C reacted with Mg to form nano-size Mg2C3 and MgB2C2 particles. Nano-particle inclusions and substitution, both observed by transmission electron microscopy, are proposed to be responsible for the enhancement of flux pinning in high fields.

Explore related subjects

cond-mat.supr-con

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

S. Soltanian, J. Horvat, X. L. Wang, P. Munroe, S. X. Dou. 2003-02-26. Effect of nano-carbon particle doping on the flux pinning properties of MgB2 superconductor. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0921-4534(03)00960-2

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

arXiv2026

Same-spin correlation screens the exchange peak of the electron gas near 2kF

Exchange alone gives the electron gas a local field factor with a sharp peak just below 2kF. Quantum Monte Carlo finds none. Both spin channels are computed here from their lowest diagrams with a dynamically screened interaction and no fitting. Parallel spin correlation is the negative image of exchange and removes about half the peak; the calculated spin-resolved factors account for the QMC data at rs = 1 and 2, and at q = 0 for the compressibility and spin susceptibility obtained from the ground-state energy. The two classes of diagrams are the two terms of the kernel of Hedin's vertex equation, of which the second is routinely dropped.

cond-mat.supr-con↗
arXiv2026

Local Josephson response near nonmagnetic impurities and vortices in a two-orbital $s_{\pm}$ superconductor

We study the local Josephson response near nonmagnetic impurities and vortices in a self-consistent two-orbital $s_{\pm}$ superconductor. For a local $s$-wave tip that couples equally to the two orbitals, anomalous spectral contributions of opposite sign nearly cancel in the clean sample. Nonmagnetic impurities redistribute these contributions and can reverse the local coupling without a corresponding $π$ phase shift of the bond pair fields. Negative coupling appears at off-center sites at weaker impurity potentials than at the impurity site. The impurity-induced change is concentrated at lower quasiparticle energies, while states over a broader energy range contribute to the total clean and impurity couplings. In zero field, the coupling also changes sign as the tip gap is varied, and increasing the tunneling strength can reverse the $m=1$ sine component of the current without changing the sample state. At the chosen coherence-peak energy, increasing impurity strength mainly changes the relative intensities of existing quasiparticle-interference features. In a self-consistent two-vortex state, the Josephson response develops a spatially varying phase relative to the condensate. The response and condensate share the winding close to each core, while larger loops enclose additional winding of the Josephson response. The local Josephson sign and phase reflect the anomalous spectrum and the tip--sample coupling.

cond-mat.supr-con↗
arXiv2026

Thermalization-Controlled Superconducting Diode-Like Transport in Disordered Molybdenum and NbN Thin Films

Superconducting diode effects are characterized by direction-dependent critical currents in the superconducting state. Here, we investigate diode-like transport in 128-nm-thick Mo thin film deposited on Si_SiO2 substrate by DC magnetron sputtering. The thin film exhibit a superconducting transition temperature TC of 5.8 K. Pronounced current-direction asymmetry and hysteresis are observed in current-voltage characteristics measured in a closed-cycle refrigerator. In contrast, the same thin film exhibits a substantially more symmetric response in a 14T cryogenic system with improved sample thermalization. We attribute this strong dependence on the measurement environment to electrothermal effects arising from current-induced Joule heating and finite thermal relaxation. As the current approaches the superconducting-to-resistive switching condition, the emergence of a resistive component leads to a rapid increase in Joule heating, raising the sample temperature and modifying the switching condition. Conversely, during the resistive-to-superconducting transition, residual heating and finite thermal relaxation reduce the switching current. Since P is equal to I2R it is independent of current polarity, the observed asymmetry is not associated with polarity-dependent Joule heating but with the interplay of thermal relaxation, sweep history, and thermal boundary conditions. The suppression of the asymmetry under improved thermalization, together with similar behavior observed in NbN reference films, indicates that the apparent diode-like response is strongly influenced by electrothermal effects. These results highlight the need to distinguish thermal switching and hysteresis from intrinsic nonreciprocal superconductivity when identifying superconducting diode effects in transport measurements.

cond-mat.supr-con↗