Characterization of Spatial Distribution of Local Critical Current Density in a Co-Doped BaFe₂As₂ Film Based on Magnetic Microscopy

We have investigated spatial distribution of local critical current density (J _c ) in a Co-doped BaFe ₂ As ₂ (Ba122:Co) film based on scanning Hall-probe microscopy (SHPM). In-plane J _c distribution was derived from the magnetic field distribution. Thanks to the high-resolution characterization, local obstacle can be detected clearly, as well as a local spot with extremely high J _c over 7 MA/cm ² , which is among the highest value at remanent state reported for this series of films so far. The SHPM allows us to separate the influence of current blocking obstacles and intrinsic flux pinning properties on J _c . Validity of the J _c analysis was checked by a magnetization measurement based on a SQUID magnetometer. Moreover, we investigated the J _c distributions at different temperatures by SHPM and studied their probability distribution functions (PDFs). PDFs are found to be scaled by a Weibull function with the same shape parameter, while J _c s are decreasing with higher temperature. These results indicate that the intrinsic in-plane pinning is controlled by the same mechanism.