Current-Induced Superconductor-Insulator Transition in Granular High-T_c Superconductors

Abstract

In this work we report a systematic study of electrical current effects on superconducting properties of granular Y${}_{1-x}$Pr${}_x$Ba${}_2$Cu${}_3$O${}_{7-\delta }$ samples with x close to the critical Pr concentration above which the superconductivity vanishes. The results indicate the occurrence of superconductor-insulator quantum phase transition (SIT) driven by the applied electrical current, and suggest that the current-induced SIT can be considered as the dynamical counterpart of the magnetic-field- tuned SIT.