Vortex dynamics in the high temperature superconductors YBa2Cu3O7 and Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ in low and high dissipative transport measurements

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Since their discovery in 1986, high-temperature superconductors (HTSC) have been recognized for their intriguing physical properties and potential technical applications. A crucial aspect to understand is the mechanism of power dissipation, primarily influenced by vortex dynamics—the movement of magnetic flux lines when a transport current is applied. This work investigates vortex dynamics in two prominent HTSC materials, YBa2Cu3O7 (YBCO) and Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+d (BSCCO), across low and high current densities. The applied current density and material dimensionality significantly affect the dynamic response. In the low current limit for BSCCO, the focus is on the impact of oxygen stoichiometry, while for YBCO, it examines a vortex glass phase that signifies a true superconducting state with zero linear resistivity. In the high current limit, this research reveals a vortex instability in BSCCO, seemingly originating from a fluid phase, and a similar phenomenon in YBCO, which correlates the high-dissipative instability with the low-dissipative vortex glass phase. The author, Patrick Voss-de Haan, hails from Hamburg, Germany, and studied physics at Stanford University and the University of Mainz, transitioning from atomic physics and laser spectroscopy to solid-state physics and superconductors for his Ph.D. thesis.