Influence of planar and point defects on the basal-plane conductivity of HoBaCuO single crystals

The resistivity along and across twin boundaries in HoBa2Cu3O7-δ single crystals is investigated in the temperature range Tc-300Tc-300 K. It is revealed that the twin boundaries enhance inhomogeneity of the oxygen distribution, whereby regions near them are depleted in oxygen. The normal-state conductivity is determined by scattering of electrons on phonons and defects both along and across the twin boundaries. Near TcTc, the electrical conductivity can be described within the framework of the 3D Aslamazov-Larkin fluctuation model. It is found that the twin boundaries increase the intensity of the electron-phonon scattering and reduce the transverse coherence length ξc(0)ξc(0). Publisher statement: NOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Physica C: Superconductivity and its Applications. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Physica C: Superconductivity and its Applications [Vol 516 (2015)] DOI: 10.1016/j.physc.2015.06.011 . © 2015, Elsevier. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/