Analytical approach to the thermal instability of superconducting films under high current densities

Using the Green's function of the three-dimensional (3D) heat equation, we develop an analytical account of the thermal behavior of superconducting films subjected to electrical currents larger than their critical current in the absence of an applied magnetic field. Our model assumes homogeneity of films and current density and, besides thermal coefficients, employs parameters obtained by fitting to experimental electrical-field--current-density characteristics at constant bath temperature. We derive both a tractable dynamic equation for the real temperature of the film up to the supercritical current density J* (the lowest current-density inducing transition to the normal state) and a thermal stability criterion that allows prediction of J*. For two typical YBCO films, J* predictions agree with observations to within 5%. These findings strongly support the hypothesis that a current-induced thermal instability is generally the origin of the breakdown of superconductivity under high electric current densities, at least at temperatures not too far from Tc.