Peak-effect, a new phenomenon observed at microwave frequencies in high T_c superconductor thin films

Abstract

Measurements of microwave surface resistance in magnetic fields (parallel to c-axis), ranging between 0.2 and 0.9 T, of high quality epitaxial DyBa₂Cu₃O_7-y and YBa₂Cu₃O_7-y superconducting thin films show a pronounced peak near the superconducting transition temperature. It is more pronounced at a frequency of 9.55 GHz as compared to 4.88 GHz. The exact nature of the peak is somewhat sample-dependent thereby indicating that the nature and distribution of defects in the films or the pinning sites determine the nature of the peaks; however, it follows the general trend that as the magnetic field is increased the peak shifts towards the lower temperature and is absent when the field is zero. The temperature and field dependence of the peak suggests that this peak could be associated with the order–disorder transition of the flux-line lattice. The peak-effect shows strong frequency dependence close to the depinning frequency of the flux line lattice. We explain our data in terms of the temperature dependence of the Labusch parameter within the collective pinning scenario in type II superconductors.