Bean-Livingston surface barriers for flux penetration in Bi 2Sr 2CaCu 2O 8+δ single crystals near the transition temperature

Abstract

The first field for magnetic flux penetration H p in Bi 2Sr 2CaCu 2O 8+δ (Bi-2212) single crystals near the critical temperature T c was investigated from the local magnetic hysteresis loops registered for different magnetic field H sweeping rates by using a scanning Hall probe microscope (SHPM) with ∼1 μm effective spatial resolution. Evidences for a significant role of the surface barrier were obtained: the asymmetric shape of the magnetization loops and an anomalous change in the slope of H p(T) close to T c. © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.