Abstract
The crystal growth of high-temperature oxide superconductors has been hampered by the complexities of these materials and the lack of knowledge of corresponding phase diagrams. The most common crystal growth technique adopted for these materials is the so-called “Flux” method. This method, however, suffers from several drawbacks: (i) crystals are often crucible and flux contaminated; (ii) crystals are difficult to detach from solidified melt; and (iii) crystals are rather small. In most cases, these drawbacks can be overcome by the crucible-free floating zone method. Moreover, this technique is suitable for crystal growth of incongruently melting compounds, and has been thus successfully used to make large single crystals of Bi2Sr2Ca2Cu3Oy superconductor. In this review, the authors summarize the published and their own growth efforts as well as detailed characterization of as-grown and post-growth annealed samples. The optimal growth conditions that allowed one to obtain the large-size, almost single phase and homogeneous in composition Bi2Sr2Ca2Cu3Oy single crystals are presented. The effect of long lasting post-growth heat treatment on both crystal quality and superconducting properties has also been demonstrated.
Highlights
Since the discovery of high-temperature superconductivity (SC) in cuprates by NobelPrize winners J.G
This technique is suitable for crystal growth of incongruently melting compounds, and has been successfully used to make large single crystals of Bi2 Sr2 Ca2 Cu3 Oy superconductor
0.04–0.05 mm/h are necessary for the floating zone (FZ) growth of Bi-2223 crystals [15] compared with other Bi-based superconductors
Summary
Since the discovery of high-temperature (high-Tc ) superconductivity (SC) in cuprates by Nobel. The atomic positions in real crystals structures are well shifted from the “ideal” ones that lead to incommensurate, quasi one-dimensional structural modulations in all Bi-based compounds All together, it makes the superconducting properties of single crystals highly sensitive to the history of samples preparation. Bi-2223 compound is nowadaysdue believed be of thehigh most promising large-scale the Pb-doped Bi-2223 compound is nowadays believed to be the most promising material for applications of high-Tc superconductivity at liquid nitrogen temperature, and has been the subject of large-scale applications of high-Tc superconductivity at liquid nitrogen temperature, and has been tremendous studies in the past 20 years. It is worth mentioning that pinning properties play the key role in all possible commercial quality single crystalline samples.
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