• Progress in Superconductivity
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.87-92
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• 2006

The effects of Ba and Ce addition has been investigated in YBCO prepared by trifluoroacetate(TFA) metalorganic depostition(MOD) method. Precursor solutions with cation ratios of Y:Ba:Cu:Ce=1:2+x:3:x(x=0, 0.05, 0.1 and 1.5) have been prepared by adding an excess amount of cerium and barium. Coated film was calcined at lower temperature under a moisture-containing oxygen atmosphere. Superconducting YBCO films have been obtained by performing conversion heat treatment at temperature of $780{\sim}810^{\circ}C$ under a moisture-containing Ar(1,000 ppm oxygen) atmosphere. It has been shown that the critical current($I_c$) of YBCO film was degraded by doping of Ba and Ce atoms. But $I_c$ was increased as the amount of doped Ba and Ce content increased from 5% to 15 %. It was observed that there was little increase of a flux pinning force with Ba and Ce addition in YBCO film prepared by TFA-MOD process.

• Progress in Superconductivity
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.167-172
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• 2008

We fabricated $YBa_2Cu_3O_{7-x}$(YBCO) films on (00l) $LaAlO_3$ substrates prepared by metal organic deposition(MOD) method using trifluoroacetate(TFA) solution. The films with various thicknesses were prepared by repeating the dip-coating and calcining processes. The effects of film thickness on phase formation, microstructures, and critical properties were evaluated by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The microstructure and resultant critical current($I_C$) and critical current density($J_C$) varied remarkably with film thickness: The ($I_C$) value increased from 39 to 160 A/cm-width as the number of coatings increased from one to four, while the corresponding $J_C$ was measured to be in the range of $0.84-1.21\;MA/cm^2$. Both the $I_C$ and $J_C$ decreased when an additional coating was applied due to microstructural degradation, indicating that the optimum thickness is in the range of $1.1-1.8\;{\mu}m$. The possible cause for the decrease in the $I_C$ and $J_C$ value for film thicker than $1.8\;{\mu}m$ include non-uniform thickness, increased surface roughness, and the poor formability of the YBCO phase and texture arising from the insufficient heat treatment time with respect to the increased thickness.

• Progress in Superconductivity
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.65-70
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• 2006

We fabricated $YBa_2Cu_33O_{7-x}$(YBCO) films on(00l) $LaAlO_3$ substrates prepared by metal organic deposition(MOD) method using trifluoroacetate(TFA) solution and evaluated the effects of the humidity on the microstructure, phase purity, and critical properties. The films calcined at $430^{\circ}C$ were fired at $775^{\circ}C$ at 0%, 4.2%, 12.1%, and 20.0% humidified As gas mixed with 0.1% $O_2$. We observed that the amount of $BaF_2$ phase was effectively reduced and that a sharp and strong biaxial texture formed under a humidified atmosphere, leading to increased critical properties. For the films fired at 0% humidity, the $T_c\;and\;I_c$ were undetectably small. When the humidity was increased to 4.2%, the corresponding $T_c$(onset) and $I_c$ were increased to 90.5 K and 8 A/cm-width, respectively. For the films at the humidity range of 12.1-20.0%, the $I_c$ was found to be 35 A/cm-width. According to the results of the XRD, pole-figure, and SEM, these improved critical properties are probably attributed to the formation of a purer YBCO phase, larger grain size, and stronger c-axis orientation.