A SIMPLE MAGNETIZATION TECHNIQUE FOR DETERMINING CRITICAL CURRENTS IN SUPERCONDUCTING THIN-FILMS

We demonstrate a simple for determining the critical density (J(c)) of superconducting thin films from remanent magnetization measurements. The technique provides a rapid, non-destructive measurement of J(c) for films of arbitrary size. J(c) values of both in-situ grown high-temperature superconducting thin films were determined with this technique. These J(c)'s were compared to direct measurements on microbridges patterned on the same film. For homogeneous films, the J(c) values obtained by the two techniques agree to within a factor of 2.