Effect of Proton Irradiation on Thin-Film YBa2Cu3O7−δ Superconductor

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

9-1-2024

Publication Source

Materials

Volume Number

17

Issue Number

18

E-ISSN

19961944

Article Number

4601

Abstract

We investigated the effect of 0.6 MeV proton irradiation on the superconducting and normal-state properties of thin-film (Formula presented.) superconductors. A thin-film YBCO superconductor (≈567 nm thick) was subject to a series of proton irradiations with a total fluence of (Formula presented.)   (Formula presented.). Upon irradiation, (Formula presented.) was drastically decreased from 89.3 K towards zero with a corresponding increase in the normal-state resistivity above (Formula presented.). This increase in resistivity, which indicates an increase in defects inside the thin-film sample, can be converted to the dimensionless scattering rate. We found that the relation between (Formula presented.) and the dimensionless scattering rate obtained during proton irradiation approximates the generalized d-wave Abrikosov–Gor’kov theory better than the previous results obtained from electron irradiations. This is an unexpected result, since the electron irradiation is known to be most effective to suppress superconductivity over other heavier ion irradiations such as proton irradiation. In comparison with the previous irradiation studies, we found that the result can be explained by two facts. First, the dominant defects created by 0.6 MeV protons can be point-like when the implantation depth is much longer than the sample thickness. Second, the presence of defects on all element sites is important to effectively suppress (Formula presented.).

Keywords

Abrikosov–Gor’kov theory, cuprates, d-wave, disorders, high-temperature superconductor, proton irradiation, resistivity, scattering rate, thin film, YBCO

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