Vortex pinning properties of –Ba–Cu–O and –Ba–Cu–O superconducting bulks

We have studied the effect of a small amount of Y-site substitution by La or Pr ions on the vortex pinning in the Y–Ba–Cu–O system. (Y_1-xLa_x)–Ba–Cu–O and (Y_1-xPr_x)–Ba–Cu–O bulks were fabricated by the melt-textured growth, in which x was varied from 0 to 0.01. The critical current density J_c at 77 K is improved in magnetic fields parallel to the c-axis above 2–4.5 T and the corresponding irreversibility field, H_irr, shifts to the higher value in both bulks.