Abstract
A fully oxygenated stoichiometric SmBa 2Cu 3O y sample showed a weak but distinct peak effect in the magnetization versus applied magnetic field curve at 40 K. The peak was located at about 2 T. The oxygen content of this sample was determined at y=7.01±0.05. Thus, it is unlikely that the peak observed for this sample was caused by ordering of oxygen atoms. When the sample was pulverized and annealed in oxygen gas at 800°C, part of SmBa 2Cu 3O y apparently decomposed into BaCuO 2 and CuO in the part of thin surface layer (less that ∼30 nm thickness) of the powder grains, according to TEM observations and EDX analyses. This would mean that the concentration of Sm became higher than the stoichiometric value in the interior of the grain to form Sm-rich region. The observed weak peak effect may be caused by the Sm-rich region inside the grains, since some Sm-rich Sm 1+ x Ba 2− x Cu 3O y samples prepared by an oxygen controlled melt growth (OCMG) process were reported to show a peak effect.
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