Enhancing the Flux Pinning of High Temperature
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ENHANCING THE FLUX PINNING OF HIGH TEMPERATURE SUPERCONDUCTING YTTRIUM BARIUM COPPER OXIDE THIN FILMS Dissertation Submitted to The School of Engineering of the UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for The Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering By Mary Ann Patricia Sebastian, M.S. UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON Dayton, OH August 2017 i ENHANCING THE FLUX PINNING OF HIGH TEMPERATURE SUPERCONDUCTING YTTRIUM BARIUM COPPER OXIDE THIN FILMS Name: Sebastian, Mary Ann Patricia APPROVED BY: ______________________________ ______________________________ P. Terrence Murray, Ph.D. Timothy J. Haugan, Ph.D. Advisory Committee Chair Committee Member Professor Research Physicist Chemical and Materials Engineering AFRL/RQQM ______________________________ ______________________________ Daniel P. Kramer, Ph.D. Christopher Muratore, Ph.D Committee Member Committee Member Professor Professor Chemical and Materials Engineering Chemical and Materials Engineering ______________________________ ______________________________ Robert J. Wilkens, Ph.D., P.E. Eddy M. Rojas, Ph.D., M.A., P.E. Associate Dean for Research and Innovation Dean, School of Engineering Professor School of Engineering ii © Copyright by Mary Ann Patricia Sebastian All rights reserved 2017 iii ABSTRACT ENHANCING THE FLUX PINNING OF HIGH TEMPERATURE SUPERCONDUCTING YTTRIUM BARIUM COPPER OXIDE THIN FILMS Name: Sebastian, Mary Ann Patricia University of Dayton Advisor: Dr. P. Terrence Murray, Ph.D. Superconductors’ unique properties of zero resistance to direct current at their critical temperatures and high current density have led to many applications in communications, electric power infrastructure, medicine, and transportation. Yttrium barium copper oxide, YBa2Cu3O7-δ, (YBCO) is a Type II superconductor, whose thin film’s high current density results from pinning centers associated with point defects from oxygen vacancies, and with twin and grain boundaries. Addition of second-phase inclusions enhances flux pinning and current density by incorporating additional pinning centers. This research systematically studies the effect of nanoparticle pinning with the addition of an insulating, nonreactive phase of Y2BaCuO5 (Y211). While many previous studies focused on single phase additions, the addition of several phases simultaneously shows promise in improving current density by combining different pinning mechanisms. This research systematically studies the following mixed phase additions to YBCO targets to produce thin films by pulsed laser deposition (PLD): YBCO + BaZrO3 + Y2O3,. iv YBCO + BaHfO3 + Y2O3, YBCO + BaSnO3 + Y2O3, and YBCO + BaSnO3 + Y211. Thin films are prepared by pulsed laser deposition on LaAlO₃ and SrTiO₃ substrates Processing parameters vary the volume percent of dopants present in the target and the deposition temperatures of the films to optimize critical current densities. Results and comparisons of flux pinning mechanisms, current densities, critical temperatures, and microstructures will be presented in detail. In short, the 10 vol. % Y211 doped YBCO films achieved the highest current density, and coincidently also possessed the least amount of lattice mismatch and the least amount of difference of thermal expansion coefficients between the dopant and YBCO. Mathematical modeling will address the strong anisotropic and weak isotropic flux pinning contributions of the doped YBCO films. The Y211 doped YBCO films were the only dopant system studied which increased both the isotropic weak and anisotropic strong flux pinning contributions. This work contributes to a greater understanding for future optimizations of YBCO doped films with pinning landscapes tailored for high current and high field applications at various field orientations. v Dedicated to my family vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my special thanks to my committee chair, Dr. Paul T. Murray, for all of his guidance and encouragement advising me during this dissertation journey. Special thanks are also in order for all of my committee members for their time and dedication: Dr. Timothy Haugan, Dr. Daniel Kramer, and Dr. Christopher Muratore. I also would like to express my appreciation to Dr. Daniel Eylon, whose advice started me on this journey. A big thank you also to Dr. Paul Barnes and Dr. Timothy Haugan, for the opportunity to research superconductors at Air Force Research Laboratory/ RQQM, and to Dr. Haugan for all of his mentorship and wisdom on the subject of superconductivity the past several years. Many thanks also to contractors from UDRI: Mr. Charles Ebbing and Mr. John Murphy, for all of their technical expertise and assistance in keeping the lab running smoothly. Special thanks to my co-workers at AFRL/RQQM, who offered research advice through the years: namely Dr. Thomas Bullard for his superconductivity flux pinning expertise, Dr. Michael Susner for assistance with XRD, and Dr. George Panasyuk for his contribution with the mathematical modeling. I would also like to recognize several groups who aided in the characterization studies for my research: specifically Dr. Haiyan Wang’s research team formerly from Texas A&M University, and now at Purdue University, for the high quality TEM contributions and collaboration (National Science Foundation DMR- 1565822); and from AFRL/RX MCF: Mr. Scott Apt and Mr. John Kelley for their vii training in utilizing the Sirion for SEM, and Ms. Kathleen Shugart for her assistance with the Quanta and EDS analysis. Special thanks is also extended to Dr. Judy Wu from the University of Kansas, for her advice and expertise in the field of superconductivity, and her research team for their collaboration with the angular current density data (ARO contract No. ARO-W911NF-16-1-0029, and NSF contracts Nos. NSF-DMR-1337737 and NSF-DMR-1508494). I would like to recognize that this research was funded by AFRL/ Aerospace Systems Directorate and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (LRIR No. 14RQ08COR). Lastly, but most importantly, I would like to thank God, for the gift of life and all the blessings it has entailed; my parents for instilling in me the love of learning; my husband and love of my life, Mark, for all of his continued support, encouragement and love; and my children for their love and sacrifice of some “mommy time” the last few years. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................. iv DEDICATION .......................................................................................................... vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................... vii LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................. xii LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................. xviii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS / SYMBOLS ............................................................. xx CHAPTER I. PROPOSAL ....................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER II. HISTORY OF SUPERCONDUCTIVITY .......................................... 5 Summary ............................................................................................................ 5 Discovery of Superconductivity ......................................................................... 6 Superconductivity Theory ................................................................................ 11 Quest for New Superconductors ....................................................................... 16 Superconductor Applications ........................................................................... 20 CHAPTER III. THIN FILM BACKGROUND INFORMATION ............................. 28 Summary .......................................................................................................... 28 Thin Film Growth ............................................................................................. 30 Pulsed Laser Deposition ................................................................................... 31 Film Growth Mechanism .................................................................................. 33 Lattice Mismatch .............................................................................................. 35 ix XRD Analysis: Grain Size, Grain Orientation, Film Stresss ........................... 41 Film Strain, Flux Pinning, & Current Density Relationship ............................ 45 CHAPTER IV. SUMMARY OF PAST RESEARCH & BASIS OF FUTURE RESEARCH ......................................................................................... 46 Summary .......................................................................................................... 46 CHAPTER V. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES .......................................................... 53 Summary ........................................................................................................... 53 Target Preparation ............................................................................................ 53 Substrate Preparation ........................................................................................ 57 Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) ........................................................................ 58 Current Density Measurements and Critical Temperatures ............................. 60 Film Characterization ......................................................................................