Intergranular flux pinning in underdoped and overdoped R1−xCaxBa2Cu3Oz (R = Y, Gd; x = 0, 0.2) samples

The temperature dependences of AC magnetic susceptibility at different magnetic field amplitudes and frequencies are investigated for underdoped and overdoped R(1−x)CaxBa2Cu3Oz (R = Y; Gd and x = 0, 0.2) polycrystalline samples. The activation energy, Ea, for thermally assisted flux flow (TAFF) in intergranular region is determined. It was established that a correlation exists between the intergranular critical current and flux pinning activation energy. In underdoped samples the intergranular current shows S–I–S behaviour and the activation energy is small, while in overdoped samples the intergranular current is changed to S–N–S type and the activation energy increases. 2D pancake vortices are characteristic of underdoped samples, while 3D vortex system exists in overdoped samples. In fact we demonstrate that Ca substitution not only increases carrier concentration, but also improves intergranular activation energy for TAFF.