arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to M. Konczykowski.
We identify a new regime of decay of the irreversible magnetization in clean Bi$_{2}$Sr$_{2}$CaCu$_{2}$O$_{8}$ crystals, at induction values close to the ``second peak field'' at which the bulk critical current density steeply increases. A time window is identified during which the decay of the induction is controlled by the slow propagation of the phase transformation front across the sample.
Time resolved magneto-optical images show hysteresis associated with the transition at the so-called ``second magnetization peak'' at B_sp in single-crystalline Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_8+d. By rapid quenching of the high-field phase, it can be made to persist metastably in the sample down to fields that are nearly half B_sp.
The angular dependence of the first-order phase transition (FOT) in the vortex lattice in Bi$_{2}$Sr$_{2}$CaCu$_{2}$O$_{8}$ crystals was investigated by a low frequency AC shielding technique (with the AC field $\parallel c$), in which the static-field component parallel to $c$- ($H_{\perp}$) was varied with the in-plane field $H_{\parallel}$ held constant. The linear decrease of the FOT field $H_{\perp}^{FOT}$ with increasing $H_{\parallel}$ ends at a temperature--dependent critical value of $H_{\parallel}$. A new transition, marked by the abrupt drop of the $ab$-plane shielding current, appears at this point. We draw a new phase diagram with $H_{\parallel}$ and $H_{\perp}$ field components as coordinates; this features at least two distinct regions in the vortex solid phase, that are determined by the different interplay between the pancake vortex-- and Josephson vortex lattice.
Time-resolved local induction measurements near to the vortex lattice order-disorder transition in optimally doped Bi$_{2}$Sr$_{2}$CaCu$_{2}$O$_{8+δ}$ single crystals shows that the high-field, disordered phase can be quenched to fields as low as half the transition field. Over an important range of fields, the electrodynamical behavior of the vortex system is governed by the co-existence of the two phases in the sample. We interpret the results in terms of supercooling of the high-field phase and the possible first order nature of the order-disorder transition at the ``second peak''.
From magneto-optical imaging performed on heavy-ion irradiated YBaCuO single crystals, it is found that at fields and temperatures where strong single vortex pinning by individual irradiation-induced amorphous columnar defects is to be expected, vortex motion is limited by the nucleation of vortex kinks at the specimen surface rather than by half-loop nucleation in the bulk. In the material bulk, vortex motion occurs through (easy) kink sliding. Depinning in the bulk determines the screening current only at fields comparable to or larger than the matching field, at which the majority of moving vortices is not trapped by an ion track.
Dynamic and thermodynamic magnetization experiments on heavy-ion irradiated single crystalline Bi_{2}Sr_{2}CaCu_{2}O_{8+δ} are correlated in order to clarify the nature of the mixed state phase diagram. It is shown that whereas the entropy contribution to the free energy in the London regime plays a minor role in unirradiated crystals and irradiated crystals at fields close to or above the matching field $B_ϕ$, it becomes very important at low fields in irradiated crystals with high $B_ϕ$. The direct determination of the entropy contribution to the free energy from the reversible magnetization allows one to determine not only the correct values of the pinning energy, but also to extract quite detailed information on pancake vortex alignment. The characteristic field $H_{int} \sim {1/6} B_ϕ$ at which intervortex repulsion begins to determine the vortex arrangement and the reversible magnetization is shown to coincide with a sharp increase in the irreversibility field $H_{irr}(T)$ and with the recoupling transition found in Josephson Plasma Resonance. Above $H_{int}$, the repulsive interaction between vortices cause both the vortex mobility to decrease and pancake alignement to increase. At higher fields $\gtrsim {1/3}B_ϕ\gg B_{c1}$, free vortices outnumber those that are trapped on a columnar defect. This causes the decrease of c-axis resistivity and a second crossover of the irreversibility field, to a regime where it is determined by plastic creep.
Using dynamic and thermodynamic magnetization measurements, we analyze the phase diagram of Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_8delta single crystals containing amorphous columnar defects created by heavy-ion irradiation. Reversible magnetization experiments yield the respective magnitudes of the pinning energy and entropy contributions to the free energy of the vortex lattice. It appears that the entropy contribution in the London regime is relatively minor in both unirradiated and irradiated crystals, except in the case of high density of columns and inductions B that are smaller than the interaction field H_int ~ B_phi / 6. The dependence of the entropy contribution on vortex- and defect density correlates well with measurements of the irreversibility line H_irr, which shows a sharp increase at H_int.
We report on measurements of the angular dependence of the irreversibility temperature $T_{irr}(θ) $ in $YBa_2Cu_3O_{7-δ}$ thin films, defined by the onset of a third harmonic signal and measured by a miniature Hall probe. From the functional form of $T_{irr}(θ)$ we conclude that the origin of the irreversibility line in unirradiated films is a dynamic crossover from an unpinned to a pinned vortex liquid. In irradiated films the irreversibility temperature is determined by the trapping angle.