Josephson junction decoupling is the main origin of AC resistivity in the superconducting state

Abstract

The origin of AC resistivity in the high Tc superconductors is not addressed adequately in literature. We found out, Josephson Junction (JJ) decoupling is the main origin of the AC resistivity in high Tc superconductors. We have measured the AC resistivity in the superconductors in the low frequency range by measuring the complex AC impedance of superconducting YBa2Cu3O7 (YBCO) polycrystalline samples. Our data shows that under certain conditions when the number density of Josephson Junctions (JJ) present in the sample and the JJ critical current crosses a threshold value, AC resistivity in the superconducting state keeps on increasing with lowering temperature. The underlying mechanism is an interesting interplay of JJ coupling energy, amplitude of the supply AC voltage and the current applied to the superconducting sample. The effect of the applied AC current of different frequencies and the variation of temperature were studied in detail. To find out the exact relation between the JJ coupling energy, JJ number density, applied AC frequency, the amplitude of AC current and the AC resistivity in the superconductors, we have studied samples of different grain sizes, pressurized with different pressure and sintered at different physical situations. These results have important implications for the understanding of the origin of AC resistivity and characterization of superconducting samples. In this paper we also extend the capability of the AC impedance studies in superconductors for the characterization of materials for device applications.