The composite SmBa2Cu3O7-δ (Sm-123), obtained by the substitution of the ion Y
for Sm in the very well known and studied YBa2Cu3O7-δ (Y-123), is potentially attractive for
better understanding superconductivity mechanisms and for its applications as electronic
devices. Sm-123 samples show higher critical temperatures than Y-123 ones do and a larger
solubility of Sm in Ba-Cu-O solvent, which makes their growth process faster. When oxygen
is present interstitially, it strongly affects the physical properties of the material. The
dynamics of oxygen can be investigated by anelastic spectroscopy measurements, a powerful
technique for the precise determination of the oscillation frequency and the internal friction
when atomic jumps are possible. Anelastic spectroscopy allows determining the elasticity
modulus (related to the oscillation frequency) and the elastic energy loss (related to the
internal friction) as a function of the temperature. The sample was also investigated by X-ray
diffraction (XRD), scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), and electric resistivity. The
results obtained show a thermally activated relaxation structure composed by at least 3
relaxation processes. These processes may be attributed to the jumps of oxygen atoms
present of the Cu-O plane in the orthorhombic phase.