Ultra-fast vortex motion in dirty Nb-C superconductor with a close-to-perfect edge barrier

Autor: Dobrovolskiy, O. V., Vodolazov, D. Yu., Porrati, F., Sachser, R., Bevz, V. M., Mikhailov, M. Yu., Chumak, A. V., Huth, M.
Rok vydání: 2020
Předmět:
Zdroj: Nature Communications 11, 3291 (2020)
Druh dokumentu: Working Paper
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-16987-y
Popis: The ultra-fast dynamics of superconducting vortices harbors rich physics generic to nonequilibrium collective systems. The phenomenon of flux-flow instability (FFI), however, prevents its exploration and sets practical limits for the use of vortices in various applications. To suppress the FFI, a superconductor should exhibit a rarely achieved combination of properties: weak volume pinning, close-to-depairing critical current, and fast heat removal from heated electrons. Here, we demonstrate experimentally ultra-fast vortex motion at velocities of 10-15 km/s in a directly written Nb-C superconductor in which a close-to-perfect edge barrier orders the vortex motion at large current values. The spatial evolution of the FFI is described using the edge-controlled FFI model, implying a chain of FFI nucleation points along the sample edge and their development into self-organized Josephson-like junctions (vortex rivers). In addition, our results offer insights into the applicability of widely used FFI models and suggest Nb-C to be a good candidate material for fast single-photon detectors.
Comment: 12 pages, 7 pages
Databáze: arXiv