Liquid phase grown YbBa2Cu3O7−δ crystal for low temperature processing

Abstract

Abstract A YbBa 2 Cu 3 O 7− δ (YbBCO) crystal can be grown from BaO–CuO–BaF 2 –Ag solution at low temperature of 845 °C by the liquid phase epitaxy. However, it is not confirmed whether the grown YbBCO crystal is formed as a primary crystallization phase from the solution. The difficulty of the YbBCO growth is understood by the narrow temperature between the decomposition of YbBCO and the eutectic of the solution and by the narrow composition range for the primary crystallization. The lowest melting temperature of the Yb containing solution is 790 °C, which is the same as that of Y containing solution. BaZrO 3 crucible, used in this experiment to prevent from rare earth element substitution for Yb, soaks up the liquid phase formed during the heating process and causes composition deviation of the solution. After special attentions are paid, BaZrO 3 crucible can contain the reactive solution for long time enough to growth rare earth substituted oxide superconductors.