Transport properties of high-temperature superconductors: Surface vs bulk effect

We investigate surface-related transport properties of high-temperature superconductors. We find the mean vortex velocity under applied transport current determined by the activation energies for vortex penetration and exit through the Bean-Livingston barrier. We determine the current distribution between the surfaces of superconductor and the field and current dependencies of the transport activation energies. For a three-dimensional superconductor the transport activation energy, (Formula presented), is found to decrease with the external field, (Formula presented), and transport current, (Formula presented), as (Formula presented) and (Formula presented), respectively. In the quasi-two-dimensional compounds, (Formula presented) decays logarithmically with field and current. The interplay between the surface and the bulk contributions to the transport properties, such as current-voltage characteristics, is discussed.