Heavy ion irradiation of high-temperature-superconductors: Material modifications and influence on pinning mechanisms

Many properties of HTSC's show a strong dependence on preparation induced defects as well as on the structure related anisotropy. The examination of the influence of artificially created defects on these properties can help to provide a better understanding of the relations between the structural and the superconducting parameters. In this contribution we present results of irradiation experiments performed on epitaxial YBa2Cu3O7-δ (Y-123) thin films (using various projectiles) to study effects on critical temperature T c, resistivity ϱ and critical current density jc , and on Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x (Bi-2212) single crystals (using 500 MeV I ions) to study effects on the behaviour of this compound in the mixed state.