arXiv subjects

Johannes D. Pedarnig

Publications and source records attributed to Johannes D. Pedarnig.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Systematic Investigation and Suppression of Fluorescence in High-Sensitivity Cavity-Enhanced Raman Gas Sensing

Raman spectroscopy enables broadband, multi-species gas analysis by providing access to an entire vibrational spectrum in a single measurement. However, the sensitivity of gas-phase Raman sensing is often limited by weak signals and fluorescence background from various optical elements that constrain the achievable signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) through signal-dependent noise contributions (e.g. shot noise). Here, we present a cavity-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (CERS) gas sensor employing a 500 mW, 532 nm continuous wave (CW) laser and a simple, non-resonant two-mirror multi-pass cavity (MPC) operated at ambient pressure and near the concentric condition, providing up to 45 internal reflections. To quantitatively capture the impact of fluorescence on performance, a CCD-specific noise model was developed that links fluorescenceinduced baseline levels to measurement noise. Complementary optical simulations were employed to assess the signal collection efficiency in the MPC. Through a systematic analysis of fluorescence sources, the background was reduced substantially by step-wise elimination of fluorescent optics. The fluorescence-minimized setup resolves weak Raman signatures in ambient-air spectra, including CO2 peaks, O2 and N2 overtones, and ambient CH4 (2 ppm). Calibration measurements for O2 (diluted in N2), N2 (in O2) and H2 (in N2) demonstrate detection limits of 11 ppm, 5 ppm and 3 ppm, respectively, with a 180 s measurement time. The results highlight fluorescence mitigation as a key design lever for robust, field-oriented CERS instrumentation for trace gas sensing.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2025

Enhanced superconducting properties of Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+x}$ films with sub-50-nm thickness

Few-unit cell thick Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+x}$ (Bi-2212) layers have recently attracted much interest due to their extreme anisotropy and two-dimensional superconductivity, although they are typically susceptible to ambient conditions. In this study, we report on thin films approximately 13 unit cells thick that are stable in air, exhibit high anisotropy, and demonstrate extraordinarily high critical currents. By examining the superconducting transition under magnetic fields applied in both out-of-plane and in-plane orientations, we estimate key parameters such as pinning potentials, coherence lengths, London penetration depth, anisotropy factor, and the Ginzburg-Landau parameter. The volume pinning force is better described by a model incorporating an exponential decay term attributed to pronounced thermally-assisted flux flow. The Hall effect in the Bi-2212 films exhibits an extensive anomaly with a double sign change that may challenge existing theoretical explanations for this poorly understood phenomenon in copper-oxide superconductors.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2024

Temporal Evolution of Defects and Related Electric Properties in He-Irradiated YBa$_{2}$Cu$_{3}$O$_{7-δ}$ Thin Films

Thin films of the superconductor YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-δ}$ (YBCO) were modified by low-energy light-ion irradiation employing collimated or focused He$^+$ beams, and the long-term stability of irradiation-induced defects was investigated. For films irradiated with collimated beams, the resistance was measured in situ during and after irradiation and analyzed using a phenomenological model. The formation and stability of irradiation-induced defects are highly influenced by temperature. Thermal annealing experiments conducted in an Ar atmosphere at various temperatures demonstrated a decrease in resistivity and allowed us to determine diffusion coefficients and the activation energy $ΔE = (0.31 \pm 0.03)$ eV for diffusive oxygen rearrangement within the YBCO unit cell basal plane. Additionally, thin YBCO films, nanostructured by focused He$^+$-beam irradiation into vortex pinning arrays, displayed significant commensurability effects in magnetic fields. Despite the strong modulation of defect densities in these pinning arrays, oxygen diffusion during room-temperature annealing over almost six years did not compromise the signatures of vortex matching, which remained precisely at their magnetic fields predicted by the pattern geometry. Moreover, the critical current increased substantially within the entire magnetic field range after long-term storage in dry air. These findings underscore the potential of ion irradiation in tailoring the superconducting properties of thin YBCO films.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2023

Phase purity and surface morphology of high-Jc superconducting Bi2Sr2Ca1Cu2O8+δ thin films

Bi2Sr2Ca1Cu2O8+d (Bi-2212) thin films with thicknesses less than 50 nm (<20 unit cells) are grown by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) onto (001) LaAlO3 (LAO) single crystal substrates. Phase-pure and smooth c-axis oriented Bi-2212 films with optimal oxygen doping, critical temperature Tc0 up to 86 K, and critical current density Jc(60 K) above 1 MA/cm2 are obtained for samples that are annealed in situ at temperatures below 700 °C. At higher temperature Bi-2212 films on LAO substrates partially decompose to non-superconducting impurity phases, while films on MgO and SrTiO3 substrates are stable. The broadening of Tc of the metal-to-superconductor resistive phase transition in magnetic fields is much larger for thin films of Bi-2212 as compared to YBa2Cu3O7. The magnetic field-induced suppression of Tc0 is stronger for Bi-2212 films containing impurity phases as compared to the phase-pure Bi-2212 films. The degradation of LAO substrate crystals after several steps of deposition and chemical removal of the Bi-2212 layer is investigated. New, commercially prepared substrates provide Bi-2212 films with smallest surface roughness (3 nm) and strong out-of-plane texture. However, thin films of almost the same quality are obtained on re-used LAO substrates that are mechanically polished after the chemical etching.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2021

Anisotropy of the In-Plane and Out-of-Plane Resistivity and the Hall Effect in the Normal State of Vicinal-Grown YBa$_{2}$Cu$_{3}$O$_{7-δ}$ Thin Films

The resistivity and the Hall effect in the copper-oxide high-temperature superconductor YBa$_{2}$Cu$_{3}$O$_{7-δ}$ (YBCO) are remarkably anisotropic. Using a thin film of YBCO grown on an off-axis cut SrTiO$_3$ substrate allows one to investigate these anisotropic transport properties in a planar and well-defined sample geometry employing a homogeneous current density. In the normal state, the Hall voltage probed parallel to the copper-oxide layers is positive and strongly temperature dependent, whereas the out-of-plane Hall voltage is negative and almost temperature independent. The results confirm previous measurements on single crystals by an entirely different measurement method and demonstrate that vicinal thin films might be also useful for investigations of other layered nanomaterials.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2020

Angular magnetic-field dependence of vortex matching in pinning lattices fabricated by focused or masked helium ion beam irradiation of superconducting YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-δ}$ thin films

The angular dependence of magnetic-field commensurability effects in thin films of the cuprate high-critical-temperature superconductor YBa$_{2}$Cu$_{3}$O$_{7-δ}$ (YBCO) with an artificial pinning landscape is investigated. Columns of point defects are fabricated by two different methods of ion irradiation -- scanning the focused 30 keV ion beam in a helium ion microscope or employing the wide-field 75 keV He$^+$ beam of an ion implanter through a stencil mask. Simulations of the ion-target interactions and the resulting collision cascades reveal that with both methods square arrays of defect columns with sub-$μ$m spacings can be created. They consist of dense point-defect clusters, which act as pinning centers for Abrikosov vortices. This is verified by the measurement of commensurable peaks of the critical current and related minima of the flux-flow resistance vs magnetic field at the matching fields. In oblique magnetic fields the matching features are exclusively governed by the component of the magnetic field parallel to the axes of the columnar defects, which confirms that the magnetic flux is penetrated along the defect columns. We demonstrate that the latter dominate the pinning landscape despite of the strong intrinsic pinning in thin YBCO films.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2019

Ultradense Tailored Vortex Pinning Arrays in Superconducting YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-δ}$ Thin Films Created by Focused He Ion Beam Irradiation for Fluxonics Applications

Magnetic fields penetrate a type-II superconductor as magnetic flux quanta, called vortices. In a clean superconductor they arrange in a hexagonal lattice, while by adding periodic artificial pinning centers many other arrangements can be realized. Using the focused beam of a helium ion microscope we have fabricated periodic patterns of dense pinning centers with spacings as small as 70 nm in thin films of the cuprate superconductor YBa$_{2}$Cu$_{3}$O$_{7-δ}$. In these ultradense kagomé-like patterns, the voids lead to magnetic caging of vortices, resulting in unconventional commensurability effects that manifest themselves as peaks in the critical current and minima in the resistance versus applied magnetic field up to $\sim 0.4\,$T. The various vortex patterns at different magnetic fields are analyzed by molecular dynamics simulations of vortex motion, and the magnetic field dependence of the critical current is confirmed. These findings open the way for a controlled manipulation of vortices in cuprate superconductors by artificial sub-100 nm pinning landscapes.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2018

Transverse vortex commensurability effect and sign change of the Hall voltage in superconducting YBa$_{2}$Cu$_{3}$O$_{7-δ}$ thin films with a nanoscale periodic pinning landscape

The transverse (Hall) voltage in thin films of the high-temperature superconductor YBa$_{2}$Cu$_{3}$O$_{7-δ}$ with an artificial periodic pinning array is investigated. Columnar defect regions along the crystallographic $c$ axis, in which superconductivity is suppressed, are created by irradiation with He$^+$ ions through a silicon stencil mask. The commensurate arrangement of magnetic flux quanta with the artificial defect lattice is confirmed by maxima of the critical current and minima of the resistance, respectively. The magnetic field dependence of the transverse voltage reveals a commensurability effect characterized by a narrow peak of the Hall coefficient with reversed polarity compared to the background signal. This signature of vortex matching disappears at larger vortex velocities substantiating its close connection with enhanced pinning of vortices at the periodic pinning landscape.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2018

Unconventional critical state in YBa$_{2}$Cu$_{3}$O$_{7-δ}$ thin films with a vortex-pin lattice fabricated by masked He$^+$ ion beam irradiation

Thin superconducting YBa$_{2}$Cu$_{3}$O$_{7-δ}$ films are patterned with a vortex-pin lattice consisting of columnar defect regions (CDs) with 180 nm diameter and 300 nm spacing. They are fabricated by irradiation with 75 keV He$^+$ ions through a stencil mask. Peaks of the critical current reveal the commensurate trapping of vortices in domains near the edges of the sample. Upon ramping an external magnetic field, the positions of the critical current peaks are shifted from their equilibrium values to lower magnetic fields in virgin and to higher fields in field-saturated down-sweep curves, respectively. Based on previous theoretical predictions, this irreversibility is interpreted as a nonuniform, terrace-like critical state, in which individual domains are occupied by a constant number of vortices per pinning site. The magnetoresistance, probed at low current densities, is hysteretic and angle dependent and exhibits minima that correspond to the peaks of the critical current. The minima's positions scale with the component of the magnetic field parallel to the axes of the CDs, as long as the tilted vortices can be accommodated within the CDs. This behavior, different from unirradiated films, confirms that the CDs dominate the pinning.

cond-mat.supr-con↗