Lucía Mulas, María LuisaSánchez Quesada, FranciscoSantamaría Sánchez-Barriga, JacoboSefrioui, ZouhairArias Serna, DiegoLoos, G.Navacerrada, M.A.2023-06-202023-06-202000-05-290003-695110.1063/1.126609https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/59333© American Institute of Physics. G.L. thanks the SAB1995-0685 to Ministerio de Educación y Cultura. Financial support from CICYT grant MAT970675/96-7054 is also acknowledged. Implantation experiments have been carried out at the CAI of Universidad Complutense.We have studied the effect of He+ irradiation with doses in the range 10(12)-2x10(15) cm(-2) on two high-temperature superconducting structures: YBa2Cu3O7-x (YBCO) films and YBa2Cu3O7-x/PrBa2Cu3O7 (YBCO/PBCO) superlattices. In particular we have focused on superlattices [YBCON/PBCOM](1000 Angstrom) with N=1, 8 unit cells of YBCO, and M=5 unit cells of PBCO, with a total thickness of 1000 Angstrom. The analysis is presented in terms of depression of the critical temperature (T-c) and modification of the crystalline structure using X ray refinement technique. Single films show a systematic increase in the c-lattice parameter upon irradiation, which is not observed in thin one unit cell YBCO layers in superlattice structures. However, T-c depression resulting from irradiation is deeper in superlattices. These results are explained considering the strained nature of the as-grown [YBCON/PBCO5](1000 Angstrom) superlattices with low values of N. Both structures show persistent photoconductivity, indicating that defects are related to oxygen displacements in the Cu-O chains.engjournal articlehttp://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.126609http://scitation.aip.org/open access537Thin-FilmsColumnar DefectsEnhancementSuperconductivityCrystals.ElectricidadElectrónica (Física)2202.03 Electricidad