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At least 181 records · Page 10
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

Driven responses of periodically patterned superconducting films

Here, we simulate the motion of a commensurate vortex lattice in a periodic lattice of artificial circular pinning sites having different diameters, pinning strengths, and spacings using the time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau formalism. Above some critical DC current density J c , the vortices depin, and the resulting steady-state motion then induces an oscillatory electric field E (t) with a defect "hopping" frequency f 0 , which depends on the applied current density and the pinning landscape characteristics. The frequency generated can be locked to an applied AC current density over some range of frequencies, which depends on the amplitude of the DC as well as the AC current densities. Both synchronous and asynchronous collective hopping behaviors are studied as a function of the supercell size of the simulated system and the (asymptotic) synchronization threshold current densities determined.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2024

Analysis of thermal grooving effects on vortex penetration in vapor-diffused Nb 3 Sn

While Nb 3 Sn theoretically offers better superconducting radio-frequency (RF) cavity performance (Q 0 and E acc ) to Nb at any given temperature, peak RF magnetic fields consistently fall short of the ~400 mT prediction. The relatively rough topography of vapor-diffused Nb 3 Sn is widely conjectured to be one of the factors that limit the attainable performance of Nb 3 Sn-coated Nb cavities prepared via Sn vapor diffusion. Here we investigate the effect of coating duration on the topography of vapor-diffused Nb 3 Sn on Nb and calculate the associated magnetic field enhancement and superheating field suppression factors using atomic force microscopy topographies. It is shown that the thermally grooved grain boundaries are major defects which may contribute to a substantial decrease in the achievable accelerating field. Further, the severity of these grooves increases with total coating duration due to the deepening of thermal grooves during the coating process.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2024

Vortex-induced anomalies in the superconducting quantum interference patterns of topological insulator Josephson junctions

The superconducting quantum interference (SQI) patterns of Josephson junctions fabricated from hybrid structures that interface an s-wave superconductor with a topological insulator can be used to detect signatures of novel quasiparticle states. Here, we compare calculated and experimental SQI patterns obtained from hybrid junctions fabricated on cadmium arsenide, a two-dimensional topological insulator. The calculations account for the effects of Abrikosov (anti-) vortices in the superconducting contacts. They describe the experimentally observed deviations of the SQI from an ideal Fraunhofer pattern, including anomalous phase shifts, node lifting, even/odd modulations of the lobes, irregular lobe spacing, and an asymmetry in the positive/negative magnetic field. We also show that under a current bias, these vortices enter the electrodes even if there is no intentionally applied external magnetic field. The results show that Abrikosov vortices in the electrodes of the junctions can explain many of the observed anomalies in the SQI patterns of topological insulator Josephson junctions.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2024

Quadrupling the depairing current density in the iron-based superconductor SmFeAsO1–xHx

Abstract Iron-based 1111-type superconductors display high critical temperatures and relatively high critical current densities J c . The typical approach to increasing J c is to introduce defects to control dissipative vortex motion. However, when optimized, this approach is theoretically predicted to be limited to achieving a maximum J c of only ∼30% of the depairing current density J d , which depends on the coherence length and the penetration depth. Here we dramatically boost J c in SmFeAsO 1– x H x films using a thermodynamic approach aimed at increasing J d and incorporating vortex pinning centres. Specifically, we reduce the penetration depth, coherence length and critical field anisotropy by increasing the carrier density through high electron doping using H substitution. Remarkably, the quadrupled J d reaches 415 MA cm –2 , a value comparable to cuprates. Finally, by introducing defects using proton irradiation, we obtain high J c values in fields up to 25 T. We apply this method to other iron-based superconductors and achieve a similar enhancement of current densities.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2021

Robustness of vortex-bound Majorana zero modes against correlated disorder

Here, we investigate the effect of correlated disorder on Majorana zero modes (MZMs) bound to magnetic vortices in two-dimensional topological superconductors. By starting from a lattice model of interacting fermions with a p x ±ip y superconducting ground state in the disorder-free limit, we use perturbation theory to describe the enhancement of the Majorana localization length at weak disorder and a self-consistent numerical solution to understand the breakdown of the MZMs at strong disorder. We find that correlated disorder has a much stronger effect on the MZMs than uncorrelated disorder and that it is most detrimental if the disorder correlation length ℓ is on the same order as the superconducting coherence length ξ. In contrast, MZMs can survive stronger disorder for ℓ $\ll$ξ as random variations cancel each other within the length scale of ξ, while an MZM may survive up to very strong disorder for ℓ$\gg$ξ if it is located in a favorable domain of the given disorder realization.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2023

Theory of the Little-Parks effect in spin-triplet superconductors

The celebrated Little-Parks effect in mesoscopic superconducting rings has recently gained great attention due to its potential to probe half-quantum vortices in spin-triplet superconductors. However, despite the large number of works reporting anomalous Little-Parks measurements attributed to unconventional superconductivity, the general signatures of spin-triplet pairing in the Little-Parks effect have been less systematically investigated. Here we use Ginzburg-Landau theory to study the Little-Parks effect in a spin-triplet superconducting ring that supports half-quantum vortices; we calculate the field-induced Little-Parks oscillations of both the critical temperature itself and the residual resistance resulting from thermal vortex tunneling below the critical temperature. Here we observe two separate critical temperatures with a single-spin superconducting state in between and find that due to the existence of half-quantum vortices, each minimum in the upper critical temperature splits into two minima for the lower critical temperature. From a rigorous calculation of the residual resistance, we confirm that these two minima in the lower critical temperature translate into two maxima in the residual resistance below and establish the general conditions under which the two maxima can be practically resolved. In particular, we identify a fundamental trade-off between sharpening each maximum and keeping the overall magnitude of the resistance large. Our results will guide experimental efforts in designing mesoscopic ring geometries for probing half-quantum vortices in spin-triplet candidate materials on the device scale.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2021

Flexosensitive polarization vortices in thin ferroelectric films

In this work, we present a theoretical study on the influence of the flexoelectric coupling on the spatial distribution and temperature behavior of the spontaneous polarization for several types of stable domain structure in thin ferroelectric films, such as stripe domains and vortices. Finite-element modeling (FEM) for BaTiO 3 films and analytical calculations within the Landau-Ginzburg-Devonshire approach reveals that an out-of-plane polarization component can be very sensitive to the flexoelectric coupling for periodic quasi-2D stripe domains and 3D vortex-antivortex structures. However, the influence is rather different for these structures. The flexoelectric coupling increases significantly the amplitude of a small out-of-plane polarization component in the stripe domains, and the “up” or “down” direction of the component is defined by the sign of the flexoelectric coefficients. Concerning the vortex-antivortex pairs, their antivortices with in-plane antiсirculation have smooth wide dipolar cores through the entire film, whose shape and other features are almost insensitive to the coupling. The vortices with in-plane vorticity have spikelike cores with an out-of-plane quadrupolar moment induced by the flexoelectric coupling. The cores are located near the film–dead-layer interfaces. FEM results corroborated by analytical calculations prove that a change of the flexoelectric coefficient sign leads to a reorientation of the core axial polarization, making the flexosensitive 3D vortices similar to the recently introduced “flexons” in cylindrical nanoparticles. The relatively wide temperature range (from 200 to 400 K) of the flexosensitive vortices' existence gives us confidence that they can be observed experimentally in thin ferroelectric films by scanning-probe and nonlinear optical microscopy methods.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2021

Condensation of collective polar vortex modes

The dynamics of extended objects such as domain walls, domain bubbles, vortex structures, etc., can be described by their equations of motion associated with their effective mass and spring constant. Here we analytically derive the equations of motion for the polarization dynamics and elastodynamics for the structural responses of ferroelectric polar vortices, and theoretically extract their effective mass, spring constant, and mode frequencies. We demonstrate two subterahertz phonon modes and predicted their frequencies, both consistent with our recent experimental measurements and phase-field simulations. We show that elastic modulation of the energy function and spring constants leads to a condensation of a collective mode upon a second-order structural transition from symmetric to asymmetric vortices at a critical strain, analogous to the ferroelectric soft phonon mode at a ferroelectric transition. Furthermore, the present work offers a theoretical framework for predicting and manipulating the ultrafast collective dynamics of polar nanostructures.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2023

Transferring orbital angular momentum to an electron beam reveals toroidal and chiral order

Orbital angular momentum (OAM) and torque transfer play central roles in a wide range of magnetic textures and devices including skyrmions and spin-torque electronics. Analogous topological structures are now also being explored in ferroelectrics, including polarization vortex arrays in ferroelectric/dielectric superlattices. Unlike magnetic toroidal order, electric toroidal order does not couple directly to linear external fields. Instead, we find that the presence of an electric toroidal moment in a ferrorotational phase transfers measurable torque and OAM to a localized electron beam in the ballistic limit. We record these torque transfers from a high-energy electron beam using a momentum-resolved detector. This approach provides a high-sensitivity method to detect polarization fields and their more complex order parameters and topologies. In addition to toroidal order, we also demonstrate high-precision measurements of vorticity and chirality for polar vortexlike phases.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2025

Effects of Pressure on Superconducting Properties and Vortex Pinning of CaKFe 4 As 4 Single Crystals

Measurements of low field magnetization, trapped flux magnetization and 5 K flux creep in single crystal of CaKFe 4 As 4 under pressure up to 7.5 GPa in a diamond pressure cell are presented. Further, the observed evolution of the temperature dependence of the self-field critical current and slowing down of the base temperature flux creep rate are explained within the two sources of pinning hypothesis involving presence of CaFe 2 As 2 intergrowths suggested in the literature. Above the half collapsed tetragonal structural transition under pressure, where superconductivity is non-bulk or absent, critically diminished or no diamagnetism and flux trapped magnetization were observed.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2022

Preferred Spin Excitations in the Bilayer Iron-Based Superconductor $CaK(Fe_{0.96}Ni_{0.04})_4As_4$ with Spin-Vortex Crystal Order

Spin-orbit coupling (SOC) is a key to understand the magnetically driven superconductivity in iron-based superconductors, where both local and itinerant electrons are present and the orbital angular momentum is not completely quenched. Here, we report a neutron scattering study on the bilayer compound CaK(Fe 0.96 Ni 0.04 ) 4 As 4 with superconductivity coexisting with a noncollinear spin-vortex crystal magnetic order that preserves the tetragonal symmetry of the Fe-Fe plane. In the superconducting state, two spin resonance modes with odd and even L symmetries due to the bilayer coupling are found similar to the undoped compound CaKFe 4 As 4 but at lower energies. Polarization analysis reveals that the odd mode is c-axis polarized, and the low-energy spin anisotropy can persist to the paramagnetic phase at high temperature, which closely resembles other systems with in-plane collinear and c-axis biaxial magnetic orders. Overall, these results provide the missing piece of the puzzle on the SOC effect in iron-pnictide superconductors, and also establish a common picture of c-axis preferred magnetic excitations below T c regardless of the details of magnetic pattern or lattice symmetry.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2021

Development and characterization of Nb3Sn/Al2O3 superconducting multilayers for particle accelerators

Abstract Superconducting radio-frequency (SRF) resonator cavities provide extremely high quality factors > 10 10 at 1–2 GHz and 2 K in large linear accelerators of high-energy particles. The maximum accelerating field of SRF cavities is limited by penetration of vortices into the superconductor. Present state-of-the-art Nb cavities can withstand up to 50 MV/m accelerating gradients and magnetic fields of 200–240 mT which destroy the low-dissipative Meissner state. Achieving higher accelerating gradients requires superconductors with higher thermodynamic critical fields, of which Nb 3 Sn has emerged as a leading material for the next generation accelerators. To overcome the problem of low vortex penetration field in Nb 3 Sn, it has been proposed to coat Nb cavities with thin film Nb 3 Sn multilayers with dielectric interlayers. Here, we report the growth and multi-technique characterization of stoichiometric Nb 3 Sn/Al 2 O 3 multilayers with good superconducting and RF properties. We developed an adsorption-controlled growth process by co-sputtering Nb and Sn at high temperatures with a high overpressure of Sn. The cross-sectional scanning electron transmission microscope images show no interdiffusion between Al 2 O 3 and Nb 3 Sn. Low-field RF measurements suggest that our multilayers have quality factor comparable with cavity-grade Nb at 4.2 K. These results provide a materials platform for the development and optimization of high-performance SIS multilayers which could overcome the intrinsic limits of the Nb cavity technology.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2021

Transient heat transfer of superfluid He 4 in nonhomogeneous geometries: Second sound, rarefaction, and thermal layer

Transient heat transfer in superfluid 4 He (He II) is a complex process that involves the interplay of the unique counterflow heat-transfer mode, the emission of second-sound waves, and the creation of quantized vortices. Many past researches focused on homogeneous heat transfer of He II in a uniform channel driven by a planar heater. Here, we report our systematic study of He II transient heat transfer in nonhomogeneous geometries that are pertinent to emergent applications. By solving the He II two-fluid equations of motion coupled with Vinen's equation for vortex-line density, we examine and compare the characteristics of transient heat transfer from planar, cylindrical, and spherical heaters in He II. Our results show that as the heater turns on, an outgoing second-sound pulse emerges, within which the vortex-line density grows rapidly. These vortices attenuate the second sound and result in a heated He II layer in front of the heater, i.e., the thermal layer. In the planar case where the vortices are created throughout the space, the second-sound pulse is continuously attenuated, leading to a thick thermal layer that diffusely spreads following the heat pulse. On the contrary, in the cylindrical and the spherical heater cases, vortices are created mainly in a thin thermal layer near the heater surface. As the heat pulse ends, a rarefaction tail develops following the second-sound pulse, in which the temperature drops. This rarefaction tail can promptly suppress the thermal layer and take away the deposited thermal energy. The effects of the heater size, heat flux, pulse duration, and temperature on the thermal-layer dynamics are discussed. We also show how the peak heat flux for the onset of boiling in He II can be studied in our model.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2021

Majorana zero modes in impurity-assisted vortex of LiFeAs superconductor

The iron-based superconductor is emerging as a promising platform for Majorana zero mode, which can be used to implement topological quantum computation. One of the most significant advances of this platform is the appearance of large vortex level spacing that strongly protects Majorana zero mode from other low-lying quasiparticles. Despite the advantages in the context of physics research, the inhomogeneity of various aspects hampers the practical construction of topological qubits in the compounds studied so far. Here we show that the stoichiometric superconductor LiFeAs is a good candidate to overcome this obstacle. By using scanning tunneling microscopy, we discover that the Majorana zero modes, which are absent on the natural clean surface, can appear in vortices influenced by native impurities. Our detailed analysis reveals a new mechanism for the emergence of those Majorana zero modes, i.e. native tuning of bulk Dirac fermions. The discovery of Majorana zero modes in this homogeneous material, with a promise of tunability, offers an ideal material platform for manipulating and braiding Majorana zero modes, pushing one step forward towards topological quantum computation.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Squeezing quantum states in three-dimensional twisted crystals

Bloch's theorem provides a conventional starting point for describing wave propagation in periodic media, but in ordered materials where competing spatial periods coexist it is rendered ineffective, often with dramatic consequences. Here we develop an alternate approach that uses coherent free-particle vortex states to study quantum states in supertwisted crystals: three-dimensional stacks of atomically thin two-dimensional layers. Here, this formalism leads naturally to the representation of the spectrum using squeezed coherent states, and it reveals the crucial role of a Coriolis coupling in the equations of motion. This identifies an underlying noncommutative geometry and novel edge state structure in a family of complex ordered structures.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Topological control of magnetic textures

Here, a micromagnetic study is carried out on the role of using topology to stabilize different magnetic textures, such as a vortex or an antivortex state, in a magnetic heterostructure consisting of a permalloy disk coupled to a set of nanomagnetic bars. The topological boundary condition is set by the stray field contributions of the nanomagnet bars and thus by their magnetization configuration, and can be described by a discretized winding number that will be matched by the winding number of the topological state set in the disk. The lowest number of nanomagnets that defines a suitable boundary is 4, and we identify a critical internanomagnet angle of 225 ° between two nanomagnets, at which the boundary fails because the winding number of the nanomagnet configuration no longer controls that of the disk magnetization. The boundary also fails when the disk-nanomagnets separation is >50 nm and for disk diameters >480 nm. Finally, we provide preliminary experimental evidence from magnetic force microscopy studies in which we demonstrate that an energetically unstable, antivortex-like structure can indeed be stabilized in a permalloy disk, provided that the appropriate topological conditions are set.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2023

Antiferromagnetic order and its interplay with superconductivity in CaK(Fe$_{1-x}$Mn$_x$) 4 As 4

The magnetic order for several compositions of CaK(Fe$_{1-x}$Mn$_x$) 4 As 4 has been studied by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), Mössbauer spectroscopy, and neutron diffraction. Our observations for the Mn-doped 1144 compound are consistent with the hedgehog spin vortex crystal (hSVC) order which has previously been found for Ni-doped CaKFe 4 As 4 . The hSVC state is characterized by the stripe-type propagation vectors $(\pi\,0)$ and $(0\,\pi)$ just as in the doped 122 compounds. The hSVC state preserves tetragonal symmetry at the Fe site, and only this SVC motif with simple antiferromagnetic (AFM) stacking along $\ c$ is consistent with all our observations using NMR Mössbauer spectroscopy, and neutron diffraction. We find that the hSVC state in the Mn-doped 1144 compound coexists with superconductivity (SC), and by combining the neutron scattering and Mössbauer spectroscopy data we can infer a quantum phase transition, hidden under the superconducting dome, associated with the suppression of the AFM transition temperature ($T_N$) to zero for $x$ ≈ 0.01. In addition, unlike several 122 compounds and Ni-doped 1144, the ordered magnetic moment is not observed to decrease at temperatures below the superconducting transition temperature ($T_c$).

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2020

Magnetism and its coexistence with superconductivity in CaK(Fe 0.949 Ni 0.051 ) 4 As 4 : Muon spin rotation/relaxation studies

Here, the magnetic response of Ca K ( Fe 0.949 Ni 0.051 ) 4 As 4 was investigated by means of the muon spin rotation/relaxation. The long-range commensurate magnetic order sets in below the Néel temperature T N = 50.0 ( 5 ) K. The density-functional theory calculations have identified three possible muon stopping sites. The experimental data were found to be consistent with only one type of magnetic structure, namely, the long-range magnetic spin-vortex-crystal order with the hedgehog motif within the a b plane and the antiferromagnetic stacking along the c direction. The value of the ordered magnetic moment at T ≈ 3 K was estimated to be m Fe = 0.38 ( 11 ) μ B ( μ B is the Bohr magneton). A microscopic coexistence of magnetic and superconducting phases accompanied by a reduction of the magnetic order parameter below the superconducting transition temperature T c ≃ 9 K is observed. Comparison with 11, 122, and 1144 families of Fe-based pnictides points to existence of correlation between the reduction of the magnetic order parameter at T → 0 and the ratio of the transition temperatures T c / T N . Such correlations were found to be described by Machida's model for coexistence of itinerant spin-density-wave magnetism and superconductivity [K. Machida, J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. 50 , 2195 (1981) ; S. L. Bud'ko et al. , Phys. Rev. B 98 , 144520 (2018) ].

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗