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Super-hard Superconductivity

D. P. Young·M. Modovan·R. Prozorov·P. W. Adams
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Abstract

We present a study of the magnetic response of Type-II superconductivity in the extreme pinning limit, where screening currents within an order of magnitude of the Ginzburg-Landau depairing critical current density develop upon the application of a magnetic field. We show that this "super-hard" limit is well approximated in highly disordered, cold drawn, Nb and V wires whose magnetization response is characterized by a cascade of Meissner-like phases, each terminated by a catastrophic collapse of the magnetization. Direct magneto-optic measurements of the flux penetration depth in the virgin magnetization branch are in excellent agreement with the exponential model in which J_c(B)=J_co exp(-B/B_o), where J_co~5x10^6 A/cm^2 for Nb. The implications for the fundamental limiting hardness of a superconductor are discussed.

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D. P. Young, M. Modovan, R. Prozorov, P. W. Adams. 2004-10-13. Super-hard Superconductivity. https://doi.org/10.1088/0953-2048%2F18%2F5%2F034

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