Metastable states of the 2223 phase in the Bi(Pb)SrCaCuO system

By the magnetically modulated microwave absorption method (MAMMA) we observed the modifications induced by different calcination temperatures (between 830°C and 870°C) on the 2223 phase formed in a system sintered at (855±5)°C with the starting composition Bi_1.7Pb_0.3Sr₂Ca₂Cu₃O _y . The presence of the 2223 phase in almost distinct states (consequently, multiple 2223 phases) in the same sample was observed. As the calcination temperature was increased up to 850°C, the highest temperature state of the 2223 phase intensified. Higher calcination temperatures resulted in the enhancement of other lower-temperature states. The homogeneity of the 2223 phase was greatly improved by annealing the samples at, 800°C for 5 min in a flowing nitrogen atmosphere. We labeled as metastable the lower-temperature states having excess oxygen, which, by easily losing the supplementary oxygen under the above annealing procedure, were shifted to higher temperatures.     

Observation of weakly adsorbed oxygen on Y5Ba6Cu11Oy

We observed, for the first time, adsorption of weakly bonded oxygen at low temperature (<-250°C) by a Y₅Ba₆Cu₁₁O _y sample, using thermogravimetric analysis. The resulting oxygen enriched phase in the surface layers may be attributed to the observation of a superconductivity-like transition at above 200 K.     

Effect of Bi/Pb ratio and annealing temperature onTc and formation of high-Tc phase in Bi-Pb-Sr-Ca-Cu-O superconductor

We studied the effect of Bi/Pb ratio and annealing temperature onT _c and formation of the high-T _c ; phase in Bi-Pb-Sr-Ca-Cu-O superconductor by the three-step reaction process. The optimum Bi/Pb ratio is about 1.80.3 and the optimum annealing temperature is about 845–855°C. It is found that a variate high-T _c phase existed at the higher annealing temperature. The zero-resistance temperature of the variate high-T _c phase decreased when the annealing temperature increased, although the phase is isostructural with the 110 K phase.     

Successful fabrication of bicrystal Si substrates for YBa2Cu3O7 − y Josephson junctions

Bicrystal Si(BiSi) substrates for grain boundary (GB) Josephson junctions (GBJJs) have been fabricated by a direct bonding technique using a hot press method. The fracture strength and structure of the bonding interfaces were investigated to obtain substrates suitable for the junctions. It was found that an increase in the pressure of the hot press improves the reproducibility of the GBJJs. YBa₂Cu₃O_{7 − y} GBJJs were successfully fabricated on Bi-Si substrates with a misorientation angle of 15 ° bonded under a pressure of 90 kgf cm⁻² at 1200 °C in a vacuum of ≈10⁻³ Pa. These junctions showed typical I-V curves described by the RSJ model. The Shapiro steps induced by millimetre wave irradiation of 101 GHz were clearly observed in the I-V curves up to 3 mV, corresponding to at least 1.5 THz (, where e is the unit charge, V the voltage and h Planck's constant).     

Film thickness dependence of critical current density for YBa2Cu3O7 films post-annealed at a low oxygen partial pressure

The variation of critical current density at 77 K as a function of film thickness was studied for YBa₂Cu₃O₇ films on (100) LaAlO₃ substrates. Film thicknesses were in the range 0.2–1.6m. The films were deposited by co-evaporation and post-annealed under conditions which have previously resulted in high-quality films (750°C and an oxygen partial pressure of 29 Pa). The critical current density at 77 K exceeds 1 MA cm^–2 for the thinner films, and decreases with increasing film thickness in excess of about 0.4m. The decrease is in rough agreement with a switch fromc-axis toa-axis growth at about this critical thickness. A good anticorrelation was found between room temperature resistivity and critical current density at 77 K. The results are compared to those obtained before by post-annealing at 850°C in 1 atm of oxygen.     

Growth and characterization of Bi2Sr2Ca1Cu2O8+x single crystals

High-quality single crystals are well suited to the investigation of some intrinsic material properties. A modified Bridgman method using a sharp temperature gradient (300°C/cm) was used to grow Bi₂Sr₂Ca₁Cu₂O_8+x single crystals. Although the samples were contained in alumina ampoules, no aluminium contamination of the samples was detected. Blade-shaped crystals up to 7–8 mm length and 3–4 mm width could be grown by this method, although extraction from the matrix was difficult. Electron diffraction patterns of the [001] zone axis revealed a high degree of crystallinity. The narrowness of the superconducting transition temperature, as determined by ac susceptibility, also suggests the existence of well-formed crystalline domains. In order to determine the relative orientation of the crystalline domains, electron channeling patterns were recorded from several consecutive growth steps from a fracture surface. The poor contrast of these and Kikuchi patterns suggests the presence of a stacking structure. The results showed a [100] growth direction and (001) cleavage plane. Reversible oxygen loss at the peritectic decomposition temperature of 863°C was observed. Knoop indentation measurements showed that the crystals were quite soft, having a microhardness of 0.44 GPa.     

Degradation of thin films of YBa2Cu3O7 by annealing in air and in vacuum

The degradation of epitaxial thin films of YBa₂Cu₃O₇ has been studied as a function of annealing temperature in air and in vacuum; some samples had an evaporated overlayer of CaF₂. Degradation was monitored by the measurement of electrical properties after consecutive 30-min annealing treatments. The room-temperature resistance registered significant increases for all samples after annealing at temperatures above about 200°C; the critical current density at 77 K was degraded for annealing temperatures 400°C in air, and 200–250°C in vacuum. By annealing in oxygen at 550°C, electrical properties were restored in degraded bare YBCO samples annealed in vacuum, but not for those annealed in air.     

Ideal Gas Thermodynamic Properties of Propyl tert-Butyl Ethers from Density Functional Theory Results Combined with Experimental Data

Ideal gas thermodynamic properties, S°(T), C _p°(, T), H°(T)–H°(0), _f H°(T), and _f G°(T), are obtained on the basis of density functional B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) and B3LYP/6-311 + G(3df,2p) calculations for two propyl tert-butyl ethers. All torsional motions about C–C and C–O bonds were treated as hindered internal rotations using the independent-rotor model. An empirical approximation was assumed to account for the effect of the coupling of rotor potentials. The correction for rotor–rotor coupling was found by fitting to entropy values determined from calorimetric measurements. Enthalpies of formation were calculated using isodesmic reactions.     

Growth and Characterization of PrBa2Cu3O7?x Thin Film Used as Template Layer on SrTiO3 Substrate

We have grown PrBa₂Cu³O_7–x (PBCO) thin films on (100) SrTiO₃ substrates using pulsed laser deposition (PLD). X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies indicate that the orientation of PBCO films varied with increasing deposition temperature: b axis oriented films can be grown at 680°C, and a axis oriented films at the temperature between 692°C and 705°C. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) reveals that a good flatness of the films was obtained with surface mean roughness of less than 24 Å, indicating that it is suitable for use as template layers in a axis oriented epitaxial YBa₂Cu₃O_7–y /PBCO and YBCO/tetragonal–YBCO/PBCO multilayer structures.     

Mean polarizabilities and second and third virial coefficients of the gases C2H4, C2H6, and SF6

Mean polarizabilities ₀(₀, T) as well as second and third virial coefficients B(T) and C(T) of the equation of state of the gases C₂H₄, C₂H₆, and SF₆ have been determined from refractive index measurements with a Michelson interferometer for wavelength ₀=632.99 nm in the overall ranges 250 KT 340 K and 0p3 MPa of temperature T and pressure p. Some negative C(T) values at low temperatures have been obtained. The C(T) data could be fitted satisfactorily to the simple three-parameter function C(T)= a(T–T ₀) exp[ –b(T–T ₀)], with the maximum near the critical temperature T _c. A possible correlation between C(T) and the vapor pressure p _v(T) is discussed.     

Effect of Nb,Mo, V contents on oxidation resistance of Ti3Al based alloys

In the present paper, the effect of the contents of Nb, Mo, V on the oxidation properties (700°C, in air) of Ti₃Al based alloys has been studied. It has been shown that the alloys were oxidized rapidly as exposed at 700°C in the air. After 100 h exposure, oxygen-affected alloy surface layer of about 10 thickness has been formed on account of the poor protection of the oxide film. An addition of (11–13%)¹ Nb enhanced the oxidation resistance. The addition of Mo and V in the Ti₃Al–Nb system alloy reduced the oxidation resistance significantly.     

Bulk thermal expansion studies of BiCaSrCu2O x and Bi2CaSr2Cu2O x

The compounds BiCaSrCu₂O _x and Bi₂CaSr₂Cu₂O _x were prepared by ceramic techniques and characterized by X-ray powder diffractometry (XRD) and microthermogravimetry (TG) and their bulk thermal expansion measurements were carried out using dilatometry in the temperature range 298T1073 K in air. The results have been analyzed and are compared with those obtained earlier for YBa₂Cu₃O₇. The XRD analysis shows that both BiCaSrCu₂O _x and Bi₂CaSr₂Cu₂O _x are single phase in nature, having an orthorhombic symmetry. The TG analysis carried out in oxygen, air, and nitrogen shows negligible weight loss (R~0.1%) on heating to 1073 K, indicating that these two compounds, unlike YBa₂Cu₃O₇, are quite stable. The analysis of bulk thermal expansion data reveals that the average linear thermal expansion coefficient ( ₁) for both BiCaSrCu₂O _x and Bi₂CaSr₂Cu₂O _x is almost the same ( ₁ 10.5×10^–6 K^–1) and is found to be nearly half of that for YBa₂Cu₃O₇ ( ₁ 18×10^–6 K^–1), suggesting that the interatomic bonding in both BiCaSrCu₂O _x and Bi₂CaSr₂Cu₂O _x is stronger as compared to YBa₂Cu₃O₇.     

Dielectric and electrostrictive properties of PMNT near MPB

The dielectric constant (ε_r), dielectric loss (tan δ) and strain induced by electric field in lead magnesium niobate–lead titanate (PMN-PT/PMNT) solid solutions in the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) region at different sintering temperatures have been studied. ε_r and tan δ increase, whereas Curie phase transition range decreases with the increase in sintering temperature. Strain levels in the range of 0.07–0.2% were obtained. A high saturated strain% 0.19, a high d₃₃ coefficient 320 pm/V and a low strain hysteresis% 3.5 in PMNT 68/32 composition sintered at 1200 °C indicate its suitability for actuator applications.     

Magnetic behavior of weak links in bulk superconducting YBa2Cu3O7?x: Ag composite

The magnetization of a polycrystalline composite YBa₂Cu₃O_7–x :Ag_0.1 in the superconducting state is measured in the presence of a small a.c. magnetic field. With increase in field amplitude, the magnetizationM(t) changes its shape from nearly sinusoidal to square-wave like and then to a two-peak structure. A similar behavior of the magnetizationM(t), calculated from the critical-state model with intergranular critical currentJ _c =c[(H ₀ +¦H¦)]^–1 is obtained. A very good fit is found between the theoretical and experimental results, and the parameters of the model are estimated.     

Mixed state odd Hall effect in YBa2Cu3O7−δ with unidirectional twins

We have studied the mixed state Hall effect in YBa₂Cu₃O_7– single crystals with unidirectional twins: _xy=f(H). An analysis of the Hall conductivity _xy in free flux flow regime reveals that _xy can be successfully described by two terms which are related to the quasiparticle excitations and the motion of free vortices respectively. We have discovered the strong twin dependence of the Hall conductivity _xy in the pinning (TAFF) regime and detected the sign reverse of the Hall conductivity _xy at changing angle (+45 °–45 °) between current and twin plane that indicated the presence of backflow of vortices. We have observed that _xy tends to - while approaching the melting line. These results provide the evidence of strong planar pinning influence on the Hall conductivity.     

Stability of the low-temperature tetragonal phase in La2?xBaxCuO4 and related compounds

In La_2–x Ba _x CuO₄ (LBCO), the structural transition to a low-temperature tetragonal phase below 60 K and suppression of superconductivity are observed when the carrier density isp 1 /8 per copper. The replacement by divalent ions smaller than Ba²⁺ suppresses the static deformation of the lattice. We have found that the variationsT _d2 and superconducting transition temperatureT _c are quantitatively characterized by the averaged ionic radius at the La site or lattice parameters. This aspect of substitution could be regarded as the effect of chemical pressure, since similar variations have been reported on applying hydrostatic pressure. In La_2–x–y Nd _y (Ba, Sr) _x CuO₄,T _d2 increases with increasingy in a wide range ofp whileT _c is suppressed only at p l /8. The structural transition atT _d2 here should be ascribed mainly to the crystallochemical origin.     

Superconducting behavior of high-Tc YBa2Cu3O7 thin films with BaO impurity produced by pulsed laser deposition

We have investigated the superconducting behavior of high-T _c YBa₂Cu₃O₇ (YBCO) thin films containing BaO impure phase produced by pulsed laser deposition. The thin films were characterized by the standard four-probe method, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). XRD showed that all these thin films contained BaO impurity, with thec-axis normal to the surface of the substrates. The presence of impurity existed from substrate temperatureT _s of 727 to 796°C. When these thin films with BaO impurity were measured under the magnetic fields, it was found that the critical current densityJ _c increased slightly with increase in magnetic fieldB within the range ofB500 G, in the case ofB perpendicular to thec-axis of the film.