Heavy-ion irradiation of UBe13 superconductors

TL;DR

This study investigates the effects of high-energy heavy-ion irradiation on UBe13 superconductors, revealing that such irradiation suppresses superconducting transitions without creating amorphous columnar defects, differing from other superconductors.

Contribution

It provides new insights into how heavy-ion irradiation affects heavy fermion superconductors, showing a unique damage response compared to high-temperature superconductors.

Findings

Irradiation suppresses superconducting transitions in UBe13.

No amorphous columnar defects are formed by heavy-ion irradiation.

Damage affects heat capacity and magnetization less than in other superconductors.

Abstract

We irradiate the heavy fermion superconductors (U,Th)Be_13 with high-energy heavy ions. Damage from the ions affects both heat capacity and magnetization measurements, although much less dramatically than in other superconductors. From these data and from direct imaging, we conclude that the irradiation does not create the amorphous columnar defects observed in high-temperature superconductors and other materials. We also find that the damage suppresses the two superconducting transitions of U_0.97Th_0.03Be_13 by comparable amounts, unlike their response to other types of defects.