FLUX-LATTICE MELTING, ANISOTROPY, AND THE ROLE OF INTERLAYER COUPLING IN BI-SR-CA-CU-O SINGLE-CRYSTALS

We have used the high-Q mechanical-oscillator technique to probe the vortex-lattice structure in high-quality Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O single crystals over a wide range of magnetic fields (200 Oe to 40 kOe), and relative orientations-theta between the magnetic field and the crystalline c axis. In addition to the large softening and dissipation peak previously observed and interpreted as due to flux-lattice melting, another distinctly different peak at higher temperatures is seen. The temperatures where the dissipation peaks take place are solely defined by the parallel component of the field B cos-theta, while the restoring force on the oscillator is due to both field components. We suggest that the two peaks are due to the softening of interplanar coupling at the low-temperature peak, and melting or depinning of the two-dimensional pancake vortices at the higher-temperature peak.