Pinning Landscape Analysis in YBCO Films With Epitaxial and/or Non-Coherent BZO Nanoparticles

The effect of different kind of BaZrO₃ (BZO) nanoparticles on the pinning landscape of YBCO thin films have been investigated. We have correlated the microstrain of the YBCO nanocomposites with the presence of non-coherent and epitaxial BZO nanoparticles. Isotropic and anisotropic pinning contributions have been analyzed by means of angular transport critical current measurements. We show that very high enhancement of isotropic Jc is obtained due to the presence of non-coherent BZO nanoparticles, which can be correlated with an enhancement of the microstrain and a reduction of the anisotropy. Moreover, the contribution of epitaxial interfacial nanoparticles, which enhances the anisotropic Jc component along the c-axis have been also identified.