A new seeding approach to the melt texture growth of a large YBCO single domain withdiameter above 53 mm

Abstract

A new approach for growing large size single domains of Y–Ba–Cu–O by a top-seededmelt-textured growth (TSMTG) process is reported. Contrary to the commonly used TSMTGmethod using a small seed crystal that has been difficult to use to grow well-textured singledomains with diameters above 50 mm, we adopt a large well-textured SmBCO bulk with a size of14 × 14 mm2 as a seed to grow YBCO single domains. Experimental results show that this new approachcan not only quicken the growth rate of the bulk, but also result in a better texturedstructure. By using this method, large YBCO single domains of up to 53 mm indiameter have been successfully produced and 75 mm diameter samples can also begrown. Microstructure analysis of these as-grown YBCO bulks shows a goodc-axis orientation in crystallization, and magnetic levitation force measurements show thatthe bulks 53 mm in diameter have excellent magnetic levitation performance, withlevitation force of up to 334 N (77 K, 0.5 T), corresponding to a force density of 15.2 N cm−2.