Effect of particle-induced displacements on the critical temperature of YBa2Cu3O7−δ

Abstract

The particle‐induced depression of the superconducting critical temperature T_c of YBa₂Cu₃O_7−δ is shown to be directly proportional, over seven orders of magnitude, to the nonionizing energy deposited in the lattice by primary knock‐on atoms displaced by incident electrons, protons, and heavy ions. It is concluded that ΔT_c is proportional only to the average number of defects produced and can therefore be predicted for any particle, energy, and fluence from a calculation of the nonionizing energy loss.