Superconductor-Insulator Transitions and Insulators with Localized Pairs

Abstract

Two experiments are described which are related to the problem of localized Cooper pairs. Magnetic-field-tuned superconductor-insulator transition was studied in amorphous In--O films with onset of the superconducting transition in zero field near 2 K. Experiments performed in the temperature range T>0.3 K indicate that at the critical field, B=B_c, the first derivative of the resistance dR/dT is non-zero at T=0 and hence the scaling relations should be written in more general form. Study of the magnetotransport of high-resistance metastable alloy Cd-Sb on the insulating side of the superconductor-insulator transition revealed below 0.1 K a shunting condiction mechanism in addition to usual one-particle hopping. Possibility of pair hopping is discussed.