Polymer-assisted surface decoration for critical current enhancement in YBa2Cu3O7−x films

In this study, chemically decorated surfaces are employed as tools for Artificial Pinning Centres (APC) introduction in superconducting YBa2Cu3O7−x (YBCO) films. Self-assembled oxide nanostructures are grown on crystalline substrates via a very versatile and low-cost chemical technique called Polymer Assisted Deposition (PAD). Such decorated templates are used, in a second step, as substrates for YBCO film growth via Metal Organic Decomposition (MOD) or Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD). The aim of the structures is to produce in the superconducting matrix strain and/or defects that should act as APCs and therefore enhance the transport properties of the samples. The oxides selected for the decoration are commonly used for the introduction of artificial pinning centres in YBCO: BaZrO3 and ZrO2. The decorated surfaces are analyzed via Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). YBCO films have been characterized via SEM, X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), DC resistivity and critical current measurements. The results show that the nanostructures are stable and that they can efficiently introduce strain and stacking faults in the film. This causes an increase in the value of the critical current density Jc and better in-field behaviour in all the investigated field range, compared to the analogous film grown on a standard substrate, especially for chemically derived YBCO. Also Jc angular dependence measurements, Jc(θ), show an isotropic enhancement of the critical current for every angle of application of the field.