Oxygen ion irradiation of Tl2Ca2Ba2Cu3O10 superconductors

Abstract
The superconducting transport properties of polycrystalline Tl2Ca2Ba2Cu3O10 thin films irradiated with 740 keV oxygen ions were monitored as a function of fluence. Both the transition temperature (Tc ) and the critical current density (Jc ) decreased rapidly with fluence; however, the transition temperature onset remained constant. A fluence of 2×1014 O/cm2 (0.028 dpa) was sufficient to eliminate superconductivity in the films. Jc at 76 K decreased from 25 000 A/cm2 in the unirradiated sample to 2000 A/cm2 after a fluence of 2.1×1013 O/cm2. A room‐temperature anneal caused both Tc and the normal‐state resistivity to recover slightly after low‐fluence irradiations.