SM and ND Substiturions in YBCO Films Produced through Metal Organic Deposition (Postprint).

摘要

Epitaxial YBa2Cu3O7-x (YBCO) films were produced on non-buffered (100) single crystal LaAlO3 using the metal organic deposition (MOD) method with fluorinated metal acetates. In an effort to enhance the in-field performance of the films, Sm and Nd acetates were fractionally substituted for Y acetate in a series of precursor solutions to incorporate an array of nanoscale flux pinning centers in the post-annealed films. From measurements taken in the non-optimized films a 50%-150% improvement in critical current density at 77K in fields up to IT were found for films with a 1/3 substitution of the Rare Earth elements, with farther improvements at 40K. Furthermore, a study of the microstructure of the films by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) reveals the presence of nanoparticles on the surfaces of the films.