Critical current measurements on extruded YBa2Cu3O y wires

The successful extrusion of short lengths of brittle wires of YBa₂Cu₃O _y that are superconducting above 77 K is reported. Detailed critical current measurements are presented on wires having undergone different physical treatments. The highest critical current obtained from V-I data is ⋍ 90 A/cm², but this particular wire shows clear evidence of flux-pinning forces corresponding to ⋍ 130 A/cm².     

Oxygen stability in YBa2Cu3O7−x

The highT _c superconductor YBa₂Cu₃O_7?x has been found to lose appreciable amount of oxygen in a surprisingly low temperature range (～425–630 K), which drastically degrades the superconducting property. Accompanying this oxygen loss, the resistance behaviour has also been found to change from metallic to semiconducting.     

YBa2Cu3O7−y composites for improved fabricability

Composites of YBa₂Cu₃O_7−y with silver powder have been investigated for their fabricability and superconductivity. Silver does not react with the oxide powder. The composites can be easily rolled into thin strips. There is no appreciable degradation inT _c either during sintering or rolling.     

Influence of powder processing procedure on the superconducting behaviour of YBa2Cu3O7−y ceramics

In order to synthesize YBa₂Cu₃O_7−y powder, we first coprecipitate yttrium and barium by adding ammonium carbonate to a solution of barium and yttrium chlorides mixed in the 2:1 ratio at the molar level. Ceramics, prepared from powders obtained by calcining the coprecipitated powder with copper oxide, exhibits a very sharp drop in resistivity near 110 K with T _c ^midpoint of 107 K and a resistivity anomaly at 260 K.     

Disordering effects in the atomic structure of fine-crystalline HTSC YBa2Cu3O y

The atomic structure of YBa₂Cu₃O _y fine-crystalline HTSC samples with various average crystallite sizes ??D?? ranging from 0.4 to 2 ??m and an oxygen concentration y close to the optimal value for superconductivity (y ?? 6.93) is investigated by the neutron diffraction technique. We have found some effects associated with the redistribution of cations and oxygen atoms and with variations in the positions of atomic layers in the unit cell, which are not observed in macrocrystalline samples. In all probability, these effects appear due to nonequilibrium conditions of synthesis required for obtaining this compound in the fine-crystalline state. The results have made it possible to explain the peculiar physical properties of fine-crystalline YBa₂Cu₃O _y samples (in particular, the coexistence of high superconducting transition temperatures T _c and noticeably lower values of magnetization in strong magnetic fields for T < T _c ). It is shown that a nanoscale structural inhomogeneity exists in fine-crystalline YBa₂Cu₃O _y samples with the optimal oxygen content and changes the fundamental superconducting parameters, viz., the magnetic field penetration depth and the coherence length.     

On the origin of orthorhombic deformations in YBa2Cu3O7−y

It is shown that orthorhombic deformations (ODs) in YBa₂Cu₃O_7?y agree with the hypothesis of the proper ferroelastic transition in the praphase when the value of y decreases from 0.65 to 0.07. For 0.07<y<0.45, ODs are probably of the improper ferroelastic type.     

A muon spin rotation study of hydrogen in YBa2Cu3O y

Superconducting YBa₂Cu₃O _y samples were doped with hydrogen and investigated by the muon spin rotation technique. For hydrogen concentrations above a thresholdx, which depends on the oxygen stoichiometry, we find a well defined precession signal in zero external field. This is a clear indication of magnetic ordering in these samples. In samples with a smaller hydrogen content no magnetic ordering was found. For these samples however, the depolarization rate σ(T→0) as measured in a transverse external field depends strongly on the hydrogen content. Our data are consistent with the assumption that hydrogen acts as an electron donor, filling the hole states in YBa₂Cu₃O _y .     

Cu nuclear spin-spin relaxation in YBa2Cu3O6.98 and YBa2Cu4O8

We have measured the temperature (T) dependence of the transverse relaxation rate (T _G ^–1 ) of the Cu(1) nuclear spin in YBa₂Cu₃O_6.98 (T _c=92 K) and YBa₂Cu₄O₈ (T _c=82 K). From the scaling ratio ofT _G ^–2 (Cu1) toT _G ^–2 (Cu2), we have estimated the strength of a covalent bonding between the CuO₂ plane and the CuO chain to be B0.38×A _zz. The experimentalT _G ^–1 (Cu1) in YBa₂Cu₄O₈ was of the same order of magnitude as the estimated one fromT _G ^–1 (Cu2). These results appear to indicate that the electrons in the CuO₂ plane fairly spread out of the plane in both compounds.     

Geometry effect on the nonlinear magnetic response of YBa2Cu3O7−y

Results are presented for study of nonlinear magnetization of a sintered YBa₂Cu₃O_7−y pellet of different thickness of a sample subjected to very low magnetic field. On cooling the sample belowT _c in zero field a change, in the oscillatory structure of harmonics in increasing dc field is observed in very low ac magnetic field. The effect of finiteness of the sample on the oscillatory structure and on the hysteresis of harmonics is also studied. The results are explained qualitatively.     

Effect of low-temperature annealing on the critical parameters of highly textured YBa2Cu3O y

The effect of treatment at a temperature of 200°C and the natural aging on the critical parameters of a highly textured yttrium barium cuprate YBa₂Cu₃O_6.9 has been investigated. It has been shown that non-superconducting (at T = 77 K) particles precipitated during phase decomposition of this compound are effective pinning centers. At 200°C, the YBa₂Cu₃O _y compound interacts with atmospheric moisture. This inter-action results in the formation of stacking faults, which also provide pinning of magnetic vortices. The structural changes occurring during low-temperature annealing and natural aging of the compound lead to an increase in the critical current density and the first critical field. The presence of pinning centers of different nature in the structure causes a synergistic effect, which significantly increases the current-carrying capacity of materials, including those in strong magnetic fields.     

Ac-Josephson effect in YBa2Cu3O7/YBa2Cu3O7 point contact junctions

The ac-Josephson effect could be demonstrated up to dc voltages of 20 mV on the I–V characteristic of adjustable YBa₂Cu₃O₇/YBa₂Cu₃O₇ point contacts at 4.2 K. A detailed analysis of the rf power dependence of the size of microwave-induced constant voltage steps is given for microwave frequencies of 70 and 90 GHz. The results prove that electron pairing is responsible for the superconductivity in YBa₂Cu₃O₇.     

63Cu and17O NMR studies on the magnetic and superconducting properties of YBa2Cu3O7−y

Results of⁶³Cu and¹⁷O NMR experiments in YBa₂Cu₃O₇ and YBa₂Cu₃O_6.63 are reviewed. The normal state data revealed two important aspects of the magnetic properties of these materials, namely, the temperature dependent antiferromagnetic Cu spin correlations and the spin gap behavior, the latter being observed in the reduced oxygen material. These features appear to be the general properties of many high-T _c cuprates. Anomalous temperature dependence of the anisotropy of the Cu relaxation rate was found in the superconducting state of YBa₂Cu₃O₇, which can be explained by a d-wave pairing model.     

Vortex glass phase and flux creep in YBa2Cu3O y epitaxial film

Nonlinear I–V characteristics of YBa₂Cu₃O _y epitaxial film at different temperatures in a magnetic field of up to 5T and angles between the direction of the field and the a–b plane of 0°, 30°, 45°, 60°, and 90° were measured. We find that there are the vortex glass phase and vortex liquid phase in the mixed state. The flux creep exists in the vortex glass phase, and it obviously appears in the area around the boundary between the vortex glass phase and the vortex liquid phase.     

Theoretical study ofμ + site in YBa2Cu3O x site in YBa2Cu3O x

The muon is a useful probe of magnetic fields in superconductors, but knowing the field seen by the muon is often of limited value until we know where the muon is in the crystal lattice. Here we employ two independent theoretical methods to search for candidate muon sites:the potential energy field method, which seeks the minimum of the electrostatic potential of theμ ⁺, and themagnetic dipolar field method, which compares the calculated magnetic field (due to host electronic or nuclear dipolar fields) with the observed local fields at the muon. Work supported by Canadian NRC and NSERC.     

Obtaining YBa2Cu3O y crystals via YO1.5-BaO-CuO x melt electrolysis

Mass transfer during the melt electrolysis of Y_0.02Ba_0.30Cu_0.70O _y and Y_0.02Ba_0.25Cu_0.75O _y samples is investigated at a temperature of 950°C (0.5 h) and a current of 5–10⁵⁰ A in a cell. Crystal deposits of YBa₂CVu₃O_{6 + δ} tetragonal oxide (123) are grown, and their cation composition and structure are investigated by means of X-ray phase analysis, electron diffraction, elemental analysis, and high resolution on a transmission electron microscope. Deviation of the cation composition of oxide (123) from the stoichiometric ratio and its nanostructured state at nanocrystallite sizes of 2–5 nm are observed. The temperature dependence of magnetic susceptibility after oxygen annealing (450°C, 1 h) has four curve bends, indicating there are four superconducting phases with T _s = 45, 52, 75, and 86 K.     

Superconductor-to-insulator transition and transport properties of underdoped YBa2Cu3O(y) crystals

The carrier-concentration-driven superconductor-to-insulator (SI) transition as well as transport properties in underdoped YBa2Cu3O(y) twinned crystals is studied. The SI transition takes place at y approximately 6.3, carrier concentration n(SI)H approximately 3x10(20) cm(-3), anisotropy rho(c)/rho(ab) approximately 10(3), and the threshold resistivity rho(SI)ab approximately 0.8 mOmega cm which corresponds to a critical sheet resistance h/4e2 approximately 6.5 kOmega per CuO2 bilayer. The evolution of a carrier, nH infiniti y - 6.2, is clearly observed in the underdoped region. The resistivity and Hall coefficient abruptly acquire strong temperature dependence at y approximately 6.5 indicating a radical change in the electronic state.