Depairing current density of Nd2-xCexCuO4-delta superconducting films

We report a measurement of the depairing critical current density in the electron-doped Nd2-xCexCuO4-? cuprate superconductor. Resistance-versus-temperature transition curves measured at high pulsed current densities show the classic proportionality between the transition-temperature shift and the two-thirds power of the applied current. The measurement provides an alternative method for obtaining the penetration depth purely through transport measurements that is not affected by the large paramagnetic background that arises from the Nd3+ ions, which affects inductive investigations of this quantity.