10 years of crystal growth of the 123- and 124- high T c superconductors: From Al 2O 3 to BaZrO 3 progress in crystal growth and sample quality and its impact on physics

Abstract

With the development of the BaZrO 3 crucibles in Geneva a new class of single crystals has become available, the purity of which reaches now semiconductor grade (99.995 at. %), giving way to new findings and basic understanding of the physics of high Tc superconductivity.