Correlation of surface topography and flux pinning in superconducting YBaCuO films

The surface topography of YBa2Cu3O7 thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition is studied by atomic force microscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy. The possible contributions from observed structural features to the critical current density Jc are discussed. It is shown that the contribution of the screw dislocations associated with some structures can be either repulsive or attractive, depending on the dominant pinning mechanism. At low magnetic fields (to about 0.25 kOe) these dislocations can account for the observed critical current density values (Jc≳1011 A/m2) while for larger fields the higher-density steplike growth structures can account for significant values of Jc. It is shown that the pinning strength associated with pinning at steps varies inversely with thickness.