PULSED CURRENT MEASUREMENT OF THE RESISTIVE TRANSITION AND CRITICAL CURRENT IN HIGH-TC SUPERCONDUCTORS

A pulsed current technique for measuring the critical transport properties of superconductors as a continuous function of current or temperature is described. Greatly reduced sample heating permits investigation of both the "weak link" and intrinsic properties of granular superconductors. Results obtained for various high Tc oxide superconductors provide an example of the technique's application. Both intergranular and intragranular critical current densities are extracted from the data. Current-voltage measurements using the pulse method are corroborated by traditional dc measurements.