Difference in anisotropic vortex pinning in pristine and proton-irradiated (Ca0.85La0.15)10(Pt3As8)(Fe2As2)5 single crystals

Abstract

We measured the in-plane electrical resistivity of pristine and irradiated (Ca0.85La0.15)10(Pt3As8)(Fe2As2)5 single crystals in B//c and B//ab up to B = 13 T to study the difference between in-plane and out-of-plane vortex pinning and the effect of proton irradiation on these pinning. The crystal structure analyzed by the selected area electron diffraction was monoclinic in these two samples. Protons incident along the c-axis caused an expansion of the lattice constants a and b. The expansion of the lattice constants significantly increased the c-axis coherence length ξc. The vortex pinning in B//ab is well understood by an intrinsic pinning mechanism, which was attenuated by proton irradiation. On the other hand, the vortex pinning in B//c is well understood by the plastic creep theory due to point defects that are enhanced by proton irradiation.

Keywords

• Vortex dynamics
• Proton irradiation
• Thermally activated flux motion
• Vortex pinning anisotropy