arXiv subjects

E. E. Hellstrom

Publications and source records attributed to E. E. Hellstrom.

43 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2005

Improved Hc2 in Bulk-Form Magnesium Diboride by Mechanical Alloying With Carbon

High energy milling of MgB2 pre-reacted powder renders the material largely amorphous through extreme mechanical deformation and is suitable for mechanically alloying MgB2 with dopants including carbon. Bulk samples of milled C and MgB2 powders subjected to hot isostatic pressing and Mg vapor annealing have achieved critical fields in excess of 32T and critical current density approaching 10^6 A/cm^2.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2003

Very high upper critical fields in MgB2 produced by selective tuning of impurity scattering

We report a significant enhancement of the upper critical field $H_{c2}$ of different $MgB_2$ samples alloyed with nonmagnetic impurities. By studying films and bulk polycrystals with different resistivities $ρ$, we show a clear trend of $H_{c2}$ increase as $ρ$ increases. One particular high resistivity film had zero-temperature $H_{c2}(0)$ well above the $H_{c2}$ values of competing non-cuprate superconductors such as $Nb_3Sn$ and Nb-Ti. Our high-field transport measurements give record values $H_{c2}^\perp (0) \approx 34T$ and $H_{c2}\|(0) \approx 49 T$ for high resistivity films and $H_{c2}(0)\approx 29 T$ for untextured bulk polycrystals. The highest $H_{c2}$ film also exhibits a significant upward curvature of $H_{c2}(T)$, and temperature dependence of the anisotropy parameter $γ(T) = H_{c2}\|/ H_{c2}^\perp$ opposite to that of single crystals: $γ(T)$ decreases as the temperature decreases, from $γ(T_c) \approx 2$ to $γ(0) \approx 1.5$. This remarkable $H_{c2}$ enhancement and its anomalous temperature dependence are a consequence of the two-gap superconductivity in $MgB_2$, which offers special opportunities for further $H_{c2}$ increase by tuning of the impurity scattering by selective alloying on Mg and B sites. Our experimental results can be explained by a theory of two-gap superconductivity in the dirty limit. The very high values of $H_{c2}(T)$ observed suggest that $MgB_2$ can be made into a versatile, competitive high-field superconductor.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2002

Local Measurement of Current Density by Magneto-Optical Current Reconstruction in Normally and Overpressure Processed Bi-2223 Tapes

Magneto-optical current reconstruction has been used for detailed analysis of the local critical current density (Jc) variation in monocore Bi-2223 tapes. We find, even in high quality tapes with bulk transport Jc ~ 40 kA/cm^2 (77K, 0T), that there exist local regions which possess current densities of more than 200 kA/cm^2. Overpressure processing at 148 bar significantly improved Jc to 48 kA/cm^2 by improving the connectivity. For the overpressure-processed sample we find that the current distribution is more uniform and that the maximum local current density at 77 K is increased almost to 300 kA/cm^2.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2002

Synthesis and Properties of c-axis Oriented Epitaxial MgB2 Thin Films

We report the growth and properties of epitaxial MgB2 thin films on (0001) Al2O3 substrates. The MgB2 thin films were prepared by depositing boron films via RF magnetron sputtering, followed by a post-deposition anneal at 850C in magnesium vapor. X-ray diffraction and cross-sectional TEM reveal that the epitaxial MgB2 films are oriented with their c-axis normal to the (0001) Al2O3 substrate and a 30 degree rotation in the ab-plane with respect to the substrate. The critical temperature was found to be 35 K and the anisotropy ratio, Hc2(parallel to the film) / Hc2(pendicular to the film), about 3 at 25K. The critical current densities at 4.2 K and 20 K (at 1 T perpendicular magnetic field) are 5x10E6 A/cm2 and 1x10E6 A/cm2, respectively. The controlled growth of epitaxial MgB2 thin films opens a new avenue in both understanding superconductivity in MgB2 and technological applications.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2001

Electronic anisotropy, magnetic field-temperature phase diagram and their dependence on resistivity in c-axis oriented MgB2 thin films

An important predicted, but so far uncharacterized, property of the new superconductor MgB2 is electronic anisotropy arising from its layered crystal structure. Here we report on three c-axis oriented thin films, showing that the upper critical field anisotropy ratio Hc2par/Hc2perp is 1.8 to 2.0, the ratio increasing with higher resistivity. Measurements of the magnetic field-temperature phase diagram show that flux pinning disappears at H* ~ 0.8Hc2perp(T) in untextured samples. Hc2par(0) is strongly enhanced by alloying to 39 T for the highest resistivity film, more than twice that seen in bulk samples.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2001

Thin Film Magnesium Boride Superconductor with Very High Critical Current Density and Enhanced Irreversibility Field

The discovery of superconductivity at 39 K in magnesium diboride offers the possibility of a new class of low-cost, high-performance superconducting materials for magnets and electronic applications. With twice the critical temperature of Nb_3Sn and four times that of Nb-Ti alloy, MgB_2 has the potential to reach much higher fields and current densities than either of these technological superconductors. A vital prerequisite, strongly linked current flow, has already been demonstrated even at this early stage. One possible drawback is the observation that the field at which superconductivity is destroyed is modest. Further, the field which limits the range of practical applications, the irreversibility field H*(T), is ~7 T at liquid helium temperature (4.2 K), significantly lower than ~10 T for Nb-Ti and ~20 T for Nb_3Sn. Here we show that MgB_2 thin films can exhibit a much steeper temperature dependence of H*(T) than is observed in bulk materials, yielding H*(4.2 K) above 14 T. In addition, very high critical current densities at 4.2 K, 1 MA/cm_2 at 1 T and 10_5 A/cm_2 at 10 T, are possible. These data demonstrate that MgB_2 has credible potential for high-field superconducting applications.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2001

Strongly linked current flow in polycrystalline forms of the new superconductor MgB2

The discovery of superconductivity at 39 K in MgB2[1] raises many issues. One of the central questions is whether this new superconductor resembles a high-temperature-cuprate superconductor or a low-temperature metallic superconductor in terms of its current carrying characteristics in applied magnetic fields. In spite of the very high transition temperatures of the cuprate superconductors, their performance in magnetic fields has several drawbacks[2]. Their large anisotropy restricts high bulk current densities to much less than the full magnetic field-temperature (H-T) space over which superconductivity is found. Further, weak coupling across grain boundaries makes transport current densities in untextured polycrystalline forms low and strongly magnetic field sensitive[3,4]. These studies of MgB2 address both issues. In spite of the multi-phase, untextured, nano-scale sub-divided nature of our samples, supercurrents flow throughout without the strong sensitivity to weak magnetic fields characteristic of Josephson-coupled grains[3]. Magnetization measurements over nearly all of the superconducting H-T plane show good temperature scaling of the flux pinning force, suggestive of a current density determined by flux pinning. At least two length scales are suggested by the magnetization and magneto optical (MO) analysis but the cause of this seems to be phase inhomogeneity, porosity, and minority insulating phase such as MgO rather than by weakly coupled grain boundaries. Our results suggest that polycrystalline ceramics of this new class of superconductor will not be compromised by the weak link problems of the high temperature superconductors, a conclusion with enormous significance for applications if higher temperature analogs of this compound can be discovered.

cond-mat.supr-con↗