Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 February 2011
The appropriate fluence of 2.0 MeV H1 ions has been shown previously to enhance the critical current density Jc by a factor of two at a magnetic field of 0.9 tesla in 1000 Å thick epitaxial films of YBa2Cu3O7-δ grown by the ex situ BaF2 process. The as-grown films exhibit single crystal-like behavior in both atomic ordering and Jc versus temperature and magnetic field. TRIM simulations suggest that H+ irradiation generates mainly point delects throughout the crystal structure. We show here that such defects result in an even greater enhancement of Jc for fields above 1 tesla plus a significant increase in the apparent vortex pinning potential deduced from magnetization relaxation data.