Strong enhancement of critical current density in both low & high fields and flux pinning mechanism under hydrostatic pressure in optimally doped (Ba,K)Fe2As2 single crystals

Abstract

Strong pinning depends on the pinning force strength and number density of effective defects. Using hydrostatic pressure method, we demonstrate that hydrostatic pressure up to 1.2 GPa can significantly enhance flux pinning or Jc by a factor of up to 5 especially in both low and high fields in optimally doped Ba0.6K0.4Fe2As2 crystals. Our analysis on the flux pining mechanism indicate that both pinning centre number density (Np) and pinning force (Fp) are greatly increased by the pressure and contribute to strong pinning.