MICROWAVE RESPONSE OF ANISOTROPIC HIGH-TEMPERATURE-SUPERCONDUCTOR CRYSTALS

Microwave penetration and losses are derived for the anisotropic normal and superconducting states of single crystals in the shape of thin platelets oriented parallel and perpendicular to the oscillating electromagnetic field. For platelet crystals with the microwave field parallel to the major flat faces, the large anisotropy in the -normal state can result in dissipation dominated by microwave field penetration through the thin edges rather than across the main faces. The influence of the extreme anisotropy is also considered for the superconducting state and can account for an anomalous peak in microwave loss below T(c) sometimes observed in Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O crystals. When crystals are mounted with their flat faces perpendicular to the microwave field, the losses in both the normal and superconducting states are shown to be strongly peaked towards the outer perimeter of the crystals. This makes critical demands on the degree of perfection of such regions, if the microwave measurements are not to be complicated by nonintrinsic effects associated with local imperfections.