Alpha irradiation effects on the superconductivity of YBa2Cu3O7−x: Microwave absorption investigations

✍ Scribed by M.D. Sastry; V. Natarajan; A.G.I. Dalvi; R.M. Iyer

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1989
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 320 KB
• Volume: 160
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0921-4534
• DOI: 10.1016/0921-4534(89)90454-1

✦ Synopsis

The alpha irradiation effects on the superconducting behaviour of YBa,Cu,O,_, are studied by monitoring the microwave absorption signal at zero field at 77 K in YBa&u@_, mixed with alpha-active 239Pu02. It is observed that on exposure to 5.15

MeV alpha particles with an average flux of 45 x 1 OS particles/ (cm' min ), the superconducting fraction substantially decreases sharply after a cumulative dose of -1.3 x IO"' particles/cm*.

Beyond this exposure, the signal was found to level off smoothly. Further the EPR signals due to O,-ions are found to build up with increasing alpha-dose suggesting that the destruction of superconducting region is associated with the corresponding increase in the density of localised 'hole' centres in YBa#&O,_,.