Macrosegregation of Y2Ba1Cu1O5 (Y211) particles was observed in Pt-added Y1Ba2Cu3O7−δ (Y123) crystals grown by an undercooling method. It was found that the macrosegregation of Y211 particles depended on the growth direction and the growth rate (R) as a function of undercooling (ΔT). The amount of Y211 particles in Y123 crystals grown at large R was larger than at small R. Also, the amount of Y211 in Y123 growing along the a-direction was larger than that along the c-direction. Further, it was noted that the smaller Y211 particles in size were distributed in Y123 grown at large R. These phenomena could be at least qualitatively explained by the prevalent trapping/pushing theory. In the direct observation of magnetic flux with the Faraday effect of iron garnet film, the flux pinning force was found to be in good agreement with the macrosegregation of Y211 particles.

We report the effect of mixing three rare-earth (RE) elements in the RE site on the superconducting properties of melt-processed REBa 2 Cu 3 O y , in which RE elements are selected from the group of Nd, Sm, Eu and Gd. The heat treatment profiles for melt processing were determined according to the peritectic decomposition temperatures obtained from the thermal analysis measurements. Microstructural observations and compositional analysis showed that the main phase was (R1 0.33 R2 0.33 R3 0.33 )Ba 2 Cu 3 O y , in which the ratio of three RE elements (R1, R2, R3) was equal to that of the nominal composition, indicating that mixing of RE elements was uniform. All the samples showed relatively high T c in the range 93.1-95.3 K and exhibited the secondary peak effect in the magnetization curves at 77 K with the irreversibility field higher than that of melt-processed Y-Ba-Cu-O. A high J c value of 50 000 A cm −2 at 77 K and 2 T was achieved in (Nd, Eu, Gd)Ba 2 Cu 3 O y for field parallel to the c-axis.

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Y1Ba2Cu307−x (Y123) crystals were grown by two different methods, the constant undercooling solidification and the continual cooling method, with top seeding by Sm123 seed crystals in order to investigate a relationship between undercooling (ΔT) and a growth rate (R). The crystals of Y123 with a sharp faceted interface, which consisted of {100} and {001} faces, grew epitaxially from the seed. It was found that the growth rates of {100} face (Ra) and that of {001} face (Rc) showed an increasing trend with increasing ΔT, and Rc was faster than Ra within these experimental conditions, ΔT < 20 K. The relation between R and ΔT follows the parabolic equation, viz. Ra ∝ ΔT1.9 and Rc ∝ ΔT1.3 for {100} and {001} faces, respectively. The simulated crystal size using the R and ΔT relations obtained from the constant undercooling method showed good agreement with experimental data by the continual cooling.

The fabrication of large single-grain RE-Ba-Cu-O (RE denotes rare earth elements) is essential for bulk applications. In the present study, we report on a hot-seeding method for growing Nd-Ba-Cu-O with Nd123 seed crystals. We made an arrangement, in which the Nd123 seed crystal can be transported to the centre of the furnace with a rod through a hole in a rubber cork and insulating stopper. The seed was placed in a small dip made in the rod, which can be turned to drop the seed on the sample. The advantage of this method is that perturbation in the growth conditions such as temperature and oxygen partial pressure can be minimized. Using this method we could grow large single-domain c-axis-oriented samples with the surface area larger than 3 cm × 3 cm.

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