Fluxiod jumps coupled high critical current density of nano-Co3O4 doped MgB2

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that nano-Co3O4 doping in MgB2 enhances its critical current density and induces fluxoid jumps, revealing intrinsic flux dynamics associated with high Jc superconductivity.

Contribution

It introduces nano-Co3O4 doping as a method to significantly increase Jc and induce fluxoid jumps in MgB2, a novel observation in this context.

Findings

Jc increases nearly tenfold at 2-4% doping

Fluxoid jumps occur only in high Jc samples

Doped samples show PME and high pinning centers

Abstract

Polycrystalline MgB2 samples with 0, 2, 4 and 6 percent added nano-Co3O4 being synthesized by vacuum (10-5 Torr) annealing at 750 0C for three hours each are found to be nearly single phase with presence of only a small quantity of Mg/MgO in pristine sample and in addition the Co2O3 in doped compounds. All the samples exhibited clear and sharp diamagnetic transitions at around 38 K, in Zero-field-cooled (ZFC) magnetic susceptibility measurements with sizeable signal. The Field cooled (FC) measurements though having sharp transitions, but showed a very small signal, indicating high level of pinning centers in these samples. Further some of the doped samples exhibited Paramagnetic-Meissner-Effect (PME) in applied field of 5 Oe. The critical current density (Jc), being estimated by invoking Bean model for the pristine compound increase by nearly an order of magnitude for 2 and 4 percent nano-Co3O4 doping and later the same decreases sharply for 6 percent sample at nearly all studied temperatures and applied fields. Further the increased Jc (~ 10^8 A/cm2) is coupled with fluxiod jumps (T = 20 K and H = 1 T). Fluxiod Jumps are not seen in relatively low Jc pristine or 6 percent sample. This means the fluxiod-jumps are intrinsic only to the high Jc samples.