1210.7232 (N. Pompeo et al.)

Directional vortex pinning at microwave frequency in
YBa$_{2}$Cu$_3$O$_{7-x}$ thin films with BaZrO$_3$ nanorods    [PDF]

N. Pompeo, K. Torokhtii, A. Augieri, G. Celentano, V. Galluzzi, E. Silva

We investigate the effect of the anisotropy and of the directional pinning in YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-x}$ films grown by pulsed laser ablation from targets containing BaZrO$_3$ at 5% mol. BaZrO$_3$ inclusions self-assemble to give nanorods oriented along the c-axis, thus giving a preferential direction for vortex pinning. The directionality of vortex response is studied at high ac frequency with the complex microwave response at 48 GHz, as a function of the applied field and of the angle $\theta$ between the field and the c-axis. The complex microwave response does not exhibit any angular scaling, suggesting that the structural anisotropy of YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-x}$ is supplemented by at least another preferred orientation. The pinning parameter $r$ shows evidence of directional pinning, effective in a wide range of angles around the c-axis (thus ascribed to BZO nanocolumns).

View original: http://arxiv.org/abs/1210.7232