Electric transport as a probe to unveil microscopic aspects of oxygen-depleted YBCO - UTU Research Portal

A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal

Electric transport as a probe to unveil microscopic aspects of oxygen-depleted YBCO

Authors: Acha, C.; Camjayi, A.; Vaimala, T.; Huhtinen, H.; Paturi, P.

Publisher: Elsevier BV

Publishing place: LAUSANNE

Publication year: 2025

Journal: Journal of Alloys and Compounds

Journal name in source: Journal of Alloys and Compounds

Journal acronym: J ALLOY COMPD

Article number: 178760

Volume: 1015

Number of pages: 8

ISSN: 0925-8388

eISSN: 1873-4669

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2025.178760

Web address : https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2025.178760

Abstract

We report on the characterization of Pt-YBa2Cu3O7-delta interfaces, focusing on how oxygen vacancies content (delta) affects electrical transport mechanisms. Our study examines four Pt-YBa2Cu3O7-delta samples with varying delta (0.12 <=delta <= 0.56) using voltage-current measurements across a temperature range. We successfully model the electrical behavior using a Poole-Frenkel conduction framework, revealing that oxygen vacancies create potential wells that trap carriers, directly influencing conduction. We observe that the energy of these traps increases as delta rises, in agreement with a peak previously detected in optical conductivity measurements. This result supports earlier interpretations, strengthening the proposed connection between oxygen vacancies and the ionization energy associated with impurity bands in oxygen-depleted YBa2Cu3O7 - (delta).

Funding information in the publication:
We acknowledge very useful discussions with Dr. V. Ferrari and Dr. J. Dilson, as well as financial support by CONICET Grant PIP 11220200101300CO and UBACyT 20020220200062BA (2023–2025). Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation is also acknowledged for financial support.