Li and Ce doping of melt-textured YBCO: Improved jc at medium fields

Abstract

The top seeded melt textured growth method was applied to a Ce doped YBCO material with a partial substitution of Cu with Li. The amount of Li in the samples varied from 0.25 to 0.05 at% relative to the copper atoms. The change of T c and j c compared to a reference sample was measured using SQUID magnetometer. Field induced pinning was indicated by elevated j c in the j c( B) curve. The peak effect at 77 K appeared in the moderate field region around 0.5 T. Optimal lithium content was determined to be at 0.05 at%. Final Li content in textured bulk material was verified with atomic absorption.