Yttrium enrichment and improved magnetic properties in partially melted Y-Ba-Cu-O materials

Abstract

Samples of Y-Ba-Cu-O materials with the formulation Y:Ba:Cu = x:2:3 and values of x ranging between 1 and 3 were prepared by partial melting at a maximum temperature of 1045 °C. Measurements of magnetic susceptibility and maximum (low-field) as well as remanent magnetization show highest values for x = 2. XRD and SEM/EDX analyses show that the corresponding structure involves numerous small crystals of Y₂BaCuO₅ (211) embedded in highly ordered assemblages of continuous YBa₂Cu₃O_7−y (123) layers. The presence of these impurity sites is correlated with flux pinning capacity. Other impurity phases include CuO, a minor phase which shows an increase in amount when x increases, BaCuO₃, a possibly detrimental minor phase which vanishes when x is raised from 1 to 2, and zones of intermediate composition between the 211 grains and the 123 layers, which are formed from the residual liquid upon cooling. These intermediate regions, like the 211 grains themselves, become gradually more important when x is increased from 1 to 3.