Defects in high-Tc superconductors after ion irradiation

Abstract Many irradiation experiments have been performed on high- T m superconductors (HTS) in order to study the influence of various defect topologies on superconducting properties. In most experiments columnar defects have been generated via the electronic energy loss. While the effects of these defects on flux pinning in HTS have been studied extensively, only little has been done to understand the mechanisms by which these defects are created. Some selected experimental observations that can provide valuable insight into these mechanisms will be presented and a short description of the most successful approach to model the defect formation in HTS, the ‘thermal-spike’ model will be given