Crystal growth of a high-Tc SmBCO superconductor in 1 atm oxygen pressure

Y Q Cai, X Yao, A Hu, X J Wu, M Jirsa, S Xu, G Jin
2006 Superconductors Science and Technology  
Sm 1+x Ba 2−x Cu 3 O z (SmBCOss) single crystals with T c = 95 K and a sharp transition were grown by top-seeded solution growth in 1 atm oxygen pressure. Compositional analysis by the inductively coupled plasma (ICP) technique and T c measurement with a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) indicate that a nearly stoichiometric SmBCO phase with a high T c value can be reached in a rather wide range of liquid compositions and oxygen partial pressures. Specific features of the
more » ... system phase diagram were elucidated that explain why the SmBCO single crystals grow more easily than YBa 2 Cu 3 O z (YBCO) or Nd 1+x Ba 2−x Cu 3 O z (NdBCO) ones. The surface morphology of nanostripes was investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The nanostripes were thought to act as an effective pinning medium, due to the comparable scale with the vortex core. Furthermore, two SmBCO samples with typical T c values were analysed by energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and the composition fluctuations along their stripes were studied.
doi:10.1088/0953-2048/19/7/s16 fatcat:n5iurmes5bablmrcf4d4btfceq