Measuring the superconducting coherence length in thin films using a two-coil experiment

We present measurements of the superconducting coherence length [xi] in thin (d < or = 100 - [Angstrom]) films of MoGe and Nb using a combination of linear and nonlinear mutual inductance techniques. As the alternating current in the drive coil is increased at a fixed temperature, we see a crosso...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review. B, Condensed matter and materials physics Condensed matter and materials physics, 2013-10, Vol.88 (13), Article 134516
Main Authors: Draskovic, John, Lemberger, Thomas R., Peters, Brian, Yang, Fengyuan, Ku, Jaseung, Bezryadin, Alexey, Wang, Song
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Coherence
Condensed matter
Fluid flow
Inductance
Mathematical analysis
Nonlinearity
Superconductivity
Thin films
Vortices
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:We present measurements of the superconducting coherence length [xi] in thin (d < or = 100 - [Angstrom]) films of MoGe and Nb using a combination of linear and nonlinear mutual inductance techniques. As the alternating current in the drive coil is increased at a fixed temperature, we see a crossover from linear to nonlinear coupling to the pickup coil, consistent with the unbinding of vortex-antivortex pairs as the peak pair momentum nears h/[xi] and the unbinding barrier vanishes. We compare measurements of [xi] performed by this mutual inductance technique to values determined from the films' upper critical fields, thereby confirming the applicability of a recent calculation of the upper limit on a vortex-free state in our experiment.
ISSN:1098-0121
1550-235X
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevB.88.134516