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A study of the electrical characteristics of proton and electron irradiated YBa2Cu3O7-delta is presented. The study was conducted to determine an alternative technique for creating high quality Josephson junctions without the limitation imposed by the serial nature of the Focused Electron Beam Irradiation technique. The results indicate the existence of a strong proximity effect when the irradiated material has a finite critical temperature.

There are approximately 6.6 million dwellings in the UK built before 1919, predominantly constructed with suspended timber ground floors whose thermal performance has not been extensively investigated. The results are presented from an in-situ heat-flow measuring campaign conducted at 27 locations on a suspended timber ground floor, and the estimated whole-floor U-value compared with modelled results. Findings highlight a significant variability in heat flow, with increased heat loss near the external perimeter. In-situ measured-point U-values ranged from 0.54 ± 0.09 Wm−2 K−1, when away from the external wall perimeter, to nearly four times as high (2.04 ± 0.21 Wm−2 K−1) when near the perimeter. The results highlight the fact that observing only a few measurements is likely to bias any attempts to derive a whole-floor U-value, which was estimated to be 1.04 ± 0.12 Wm−2 K−1 and nearly twice that derived from current models. This raises questions about the validity of using such models in housing stock models to inform retrofit decision-making and space-heating-reduction interventions. If this disparity between models and measurements exists in the wider stock, a reappraisal of the performance of suspended timber ground floors and heat-loss-reduction potential through this element will be required to support the UK’s carbon-emission-reduction targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses the electrical properties of electron and ion beam irradiated yttrium barium copper oxide thin films. Focused electron beam irradiation thin film fabrication; Whole film ion irradiation; Proximity effect on the resistivity of short barriers.