Single crystal growth of RE-123 superconductor and its superconductive properties

Abstract

Single crystals of Nd 1+xBa 2−xCu 3O 7±δ (Nd123) have been successfully grown by the top-seeded solution-growth (TSSG) method. BaOCuO solvent was used in a Nd 2O 3 crucible. Furthermore, compositions of 123 compounds could be controlled using two different methods which were the oxygen partial pressure control of the atmosphere during growth and controlling liquid composition. Using the BaOCuO solvent with 3/5 of Ba/Cu ratio, the almost stoichimetric Nd123 single crystals were grown under low oxygen partial pressure atmosphere (P(O 2)=0.01 atm). In the air atmosphere, the Ba enriched liquid with Ba/Cu ratio of 0.78 was used to obtain the almost stoichimetric Nd123 single crystal. Moreover, to investigate whether for Nd123 the anomalous peak effect in J c-H curve is an intrinsic property or not, different series of heat treatment were performed using almost stoichiometric Nd123 single crystals grown by the above-mentioned TSSG method.