Anisotropy Effects on the Quenching Current of Fe(Se,Te) Thin Films

In a quench event determined by instability of the flux-flow regime, the quenching current I* can be much higher than the critical current I c ; thus, it sets the upper limit to the superconducting operational regime. In iron-based Fe(Se,Te) superconducting thin films, which can be relevant to fabricate conductors for high magnetic field applications, substantial differences between the I c and I* behavior as a function of the applied magnetic field have recently been observed. Both current values are strongly influenced by flux pinning; thus, anisotropy effects are expected to play a role. Here, we report the first study of the angular dependence on the magnetic field orientation of the quenching current in Fe(Se,Te) thin films grown on a CaF 2 substrate, which have already shown a weak anisotropic critical current dependence on the applied magnetic field orientation. The quenching current is found even less sensitive than the critical current with respect to angular variations.