Onset of decoupling at the melting field of the vortex lattice in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 from microwave dissipation

Abstract

We have measured the microwave dissipation at 10 GHz in a Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 single crystal, between 75 and 50 K, as a function of the static magnetic field applied parallel to the c axis. We observe a clear-cut onset in the dissipation precisely at the melting field Hm(T), that we identify in the same sample by a step in the static magnetization. We show that this onset can be assigned to the c-axis resistivity becoming finite in our whole temperature range, whereas the in-plane resistivity displays a thermally activated behavior. This suggests that pinning is efficient even at 10 GHz. The normal state dissipation is recovered at field much higher than the melting field, implying that decoupling develops mostly gradually over a large field range.