Reproducibility of the disordered vortex structure in twinned single crystals of YBCO

Abstract

Bitter decorations of the vortices in twinned single crystal YBCO have been obtained to study the disordered structure formed on successive cooldowns of the sample under the same conditions of field and temperature. Between succesive decorations, the iron dots could be removed completely, giving a surface clean enough for further decoration. It was found that successive realizations of the disordered vortex state were very similar at long range, and differed mostly on short scales, compared to the average vortex separation. We have quantified the correlation between successive structures, and double sided decorations have been also performed to compare with the extent of spatial correlation in the applied field direction. The coincidence of the position of the vortices in successive realizations of the structure, is unexpected, and indicates an unusual behavior for a glassy system. Our technique makes it possible to image the position of the vortices in detail and repeatedly, providing us with a model amorphous system in which to study the reproducibility of the disordered structure.