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Quasi-One-Dimensional Intermittent Flux Behavior in Superconducting Films

A. J. Qviller1, V. V. Yurchenko1, Y. M. Galperin1,2,3, J. I. Vestgården1, P. B. Mozhaev4,5, J. B. Hansen4, and T. H. Johansen1,3,6

  • 1Department of Physics, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1048 Blindern, 0316 Oslo, Norway
  • 2Ioffe Physical Technical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 194021 St. Petersburg, Russia
  • 3Centre for Advanced Study at the Academy of Science and Letters, 0271 Oslo, Norway
  • 4Department of Physics, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, DK-2800, Denmark
  • 5Institute of Physics and Technology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 117218, Russia
  • 6Institute for Superconducting and Electronic Materials, University of Wollongong, Northfields Avenue, Wollongong, New South Wales 2522, Australia

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Phys. Rev. X 2, 011007 – Published 27 January, 2012

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.2.011007

Abstract

Intermittent filamentary dynamics of the vortex matter in superconductors is found in films of YBa2Cu3O7−δ deposited on tilted substrates. Deposition of this material on such substrates creates parallel channels of easy flux penetration when a magnetic field is applied perpendicular to the film. As the applied field is gradually increased, magneto-optical imaging reveals that flux penetrates via numerous quasi-one-dimensional jumps. The distribution of flux avalanche sizes follows a power law, and data collapse is obtained by finite-size scaling, with the depth of the flux front used as crossover length. The intermittent behavior shows no threshold value in the applied field, in contrast to conventional flux jumping. The results strongly suggest that the quasi-one-dimensional flux jumps are of a different nature than the thermomagnetic dendritic (branching) avalanches that are commonly found in superconducting films.

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Imagine in a type-II superconductor a tiny tornado of circulating electric current of a radius of tens of nanometers surrounding a normal-state core (where magnetic field lines go through): You have a picture of a vortex. Such a vortex tends to repel another; it can move or become pinned by microscopic defects in the superconductor. When millions of them are generated by a strong magnetic field, vortices can—through an act of balancing the pinning effect and the intervortex repulsion—self-organize into a critical state, from which avalanche events involving the motion of many vortices can occur at the slightest magnetic or thermal trigger. Much has been learned about the critical state of the vortex matter and the dynamics of the associated avalanches, much remains to be explored and made sense of. In this experimental paper, we reveal new types of vortex dynamics through spatially resolved, real-time observations enabled by a state-of-the-art magneto-optical imaging technique.

The superconductors we investigate are thin (200-nm-thick) YBa2Cu3Ox films grown to have a designed multiterraced surface structure. The magneto-optical images we obtain tell a vivid story. Bundles of vortices move along the terrace steps in the form of numerous, intermittent avalanches that grow like needles, some starting at the two film edges perpendicular to the steps and some from the deep interior of the film. Analyzing images of more than 10 000 avalanche events taken at different magnetic fields, we find that the avalanche-like motion of the vortices is essentially one-dimensional, intermittent, and self-similar and that it doesn’t require a threshold field.

What is the mechanism behind this observation? Our suggestion is the following: Linear defects, that exist and run in the direction parallel to the terrace steps, form narrow channels of confinement for the vortices. Traffic jams, or clogging, then occur along the channels in a random fashion as more and more vortices are generated in the channels and pinned by the strong pinning sites. Whenever one of the blocked parts of the channels breaks open due to excessive pressure from the incoming vortices, an avalanche occurs. This mechanism differs from that underlying the thermo-magnetic dendritic avalanches seen in many superconducting films.

This work has relevance for applications of superconducting films, where understanding the stability of vortex matter and achieving it is of crucial importance. Our results also raise fundamental questions about how the approach to the macroscopic critical state, either smooth or intermittent, is related to the physics of individual vortices in superconductors.

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Phys. Rev. X 2, 011007– Published 27 January, 2012
  • Received 16 June 2011
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This article is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.

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