Irradiation Defect Structures In YBa2Cu3O7-xand their Correlation with Superconducting Properties

Abstract

ABSTRACTWe review our work on irradiation effects in single crystal YBa2Cu3O7-x. Transmission electron microscopy has been employed to study the defect microstructures produced by irradiations with fast neutrons, MeV ions (Kr, Ne and p), and electrons. The atomic structure within defect cascades was investigated using 50 keV Kr and Xe ion irradiations to low doses. Evidence is shown for an amorphous structure with some incoherent recrystallization within individual cascades. Correlation with enhancements in critical current density produced by neutron irradiations suggest that this cascade structure effectively pins magnetic flux lines.At sufficiently high fluences of fast neutrons or MeV Kr and Ne ions, a cellular microstructure is found. This structure consists of cells or microcrystallites of good crystalline and superconducting material (in the case of neutron irradiation), with cell walls of amorphous material. Full amorphization proceeds with the growth of cell wall volume. The formation of this microstructure coincides with a decrease in criticaltransportcurrent, but is not observed by magnetization measurements.Increases in critical current density under proton irradiation, comparable to those produced by neutron irradiation, have been reported. The defect structure produced by proton irradiations is examined here and found to differ from that of neutron irradiations. The structure is suggested to be consistent with the clustering of mobile defects (at 300 K) produced by the lower energy recoils which dominate in proton irradiations. In both the proton and fast neutron irradiations, to fluences producing the maximum enhancements in critical current densities, the degradations in critical temperature are not severe, <10 K.Our most recent measurements of changes in critical temperature and current density, and defect microstructure following electron irradiations will be described