Imaging ac losses in superconducting films via scanning Hall probe microscopy

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a method using scanning Hall probe microscopy to quantitatively image and reconstruct current density and electric fields in superconducting films under ac current, enabling detailed local analysis.

Contribution

It introduces a novel numerical approach for reconstructing both current and electric fields in superconducting films from magnetic images, including new methods for electric field determination.

Findings

Successful reconstruction of current density and electric fields in YBCO films

High spatial (1 micron) and temporal (25 microsecond) resolution imaging

Quantitative analysis of local E-J curves and power losses

Abstract

Various local probes have been applied to understanding current flow through superconducting films, which are often surprisingly inhomogeneous. Here we show that magnetic imaging allows quantitative reconstruction of both current density, J, and electric field, E, resolved in time and space, in a film carrying subcritical ac current. Current reconstruction entails inversion of the Biot-Savart law, while electric fields are reconstructed using Faraday's law. We describe the corresponding numerical procedures, largely adapting existing work to the case of a strip carrying ac current, but including new methods of obtaining the complete electric field from the inductive portion determined by Faraday's law. We also delineate the physical requirements behind the mathematical transformations. We then apply the procedures to images of a strip of YBa2Cu3O7 (YBCO) carrying an ac current at 400 Hz. Our scanning Hall probe microscope produces a time-series of magnetic images of the strip with 1 micron spatial resolution and 25 microsecond time resolution. Combining the reconstructed J and E, we obtain a complete characterization including local critical current density, E-J curves, and power losses. This analysis has a range of applications from fundamental studies of vortex dynamics to practical coated conductor development.