Influence of Undercooling and Nd4Ba2Cu2O10 Content on the Growth Rate of Large-Grain Bulk Nd-Ba-Cu-O Superconductor |
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| Authors: | Nadendla Hari Babu Wai Lo David A Cardwell |
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| Affiliation: | IRC in Superconductivity, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0HE, United Kingdom |
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| Abstract: | The dependence of growth rate on isothermal undercooling and composition has been investigated for Nd-Ba-Cu-O single grains containing various amounts of nonsuperconducting Nd4Ba2Cu2O10 (Nd-422) phase inclusions and fabricated under a 1% O2 in N2 atmosphere using a top seeded melt growth technique. The growth rate along the crystallographic c -direction is observed to exceed that along the a / b direction at all undercooling temperatures and exhibits a maximum for a Nd-422 content of ～10 mol%. The samples have been examined by optical microscopy and the results interpreted within an established planar solidification model. |
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| Keywords: | superconductors grains neodymium |
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