Eur. Phys. J. B 28, 3-7 (2002)
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjb/e2002-00194-9

Interplay between structural anisotropy and order parameter symmetry effects in transport properties of YBa₂Cu₃O_7-δ grain boundary Josephson junctions

¹ INFM - COHERENTIA - Dip. Scienze Fisiche, Università di Napoli Federico II, Napoli, Italy
² Gruppo collegato INFM-Dip. Ingegneria dell'Informazione, Seconda Università di Napoli, Aversa (CE), Italy
³ Istituto di Cibernetica del CNR Arco Felice (NA), Italy
⁴ DIMSAT, Università di Cassino, Cassino (Fr), Italy

Corresponding author: ^a tafuri@na.infn.it

Received: 15 February 2002
Published online: 9 July 2002

Abstract

We have designed an experiment that could allow to investigate, on the same sample, the interplay between the morphological anisotropy of high critical temperature superconductors and the effects related to the order parameter symmetry. To this aim we have employed c-axis tilt biepitaxial grain boundary YBa₂Cu₃O_7-δ Josephson junctions and measured the junction properties for different junction interface orientations. The results give evidence of the possibility to tune normal state resistance and critical current density of a Josephson junction almost independently of each other. We interpret the results of this experiment as an indication that Cooper pairs and quasi-particles transport properties may be ruled by different mechanisms. Measurements apparently give evidence of the possibility to determine to some extent the presence of “-loops” and “0” loops along the same grain boundary line.