Direct evidence of the anisotropic structure of vortices interacting with columnar defects in high-temperature superconductors through the analysis of Lorentz images

Two types of Fresnel contrasts of superconducting vortices in a Lorentz micrograph, corresponding to pinned and unpinned vortices, were obtained by a newly developed 1 MV field-emission transmission electron microscope on a Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+delta (Bi-2212) thin specimen containing tilted linear columnar defects introduced by heavy ion irradiation. The main features of the Fresnel contrasts could be consistently interpreted by assuming that the vortices are pinned along the tilted Columnar defects and by using a layered or an anisotropic model to calculate the phase shift of the electron wave. The confirmed validity of both models strongly indicates that superconducting vortices in high-critical temperature (high-T-c) layered materials have an anisotropic structure.