Strain Dependence of Critical Fields—Studied on Piezoelectric Substrates

$\hbox{La}_{{\kern-.5pt}1{\kern-.5pt}.{\kern-.5pt}85}{\kern-.5pt}\hbox{Sr}_{{\kern-.5pt} 0{\kern-.5pt}.{\kern-.5pt}15}{\kern-.5pt}\hbox{CuO}_{{\kern-.5pt}4}$ , $\hbox{BaFe}_{{\kern-.5pt}1{\kern-.5pt}.{\kern-.5pt}8}{\kern-.5pt}\hbox{Co}_{{\kern-.5pt} 0{\kern-.5pt}.{\kern-.5pt}2}{\kern-.5pt}\hbox{As}_{{\kern-.5pt}2}$ and $\hbox{FeSe}_{{\kern-.5pt}0{\kern-.5pt}.{\kern-.5pt}5}{\kern-.5pt}\hbox{Te}_{{\kern-.5pt}0.5}$ thin films have been prepared on piezoelectric (001) $\hbox{Pb}(\hbox{Mg}_{1/3}\hbox{Nb}_{2/3})_{0.72}\hbox{Ti}_{0.28}\hbox{O}_{3}$ substrates. By the use of the inverse piezoelectric effect, biaxial strain was induced into the films by applying an electric field to the sample. The strain sensitivity of the upper critical field and of the irreversibility line was determined by the analysis of the resistive transition. A biaxial compression in the order of 0.02% results in a shift of these fields. A consistent description of the field dependence is possible taking into account a strain dependent transition temperature. No influence of the strain state on the anisotropy of the upper critical field was found in first approximation.