Flux pinning by 211 precipitates in melt-processed YBa(2)Cu(3)O(x)

• Published in: IEEE transactions on applied superconductivity Vol. 3; no. 1; pp. 1034 - 1036
• Main Authors: Shi, D, Sengupta, S, Smith, M, Wang, Z, Biondo, A C, Balachandran, U, Goretta, K C
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.03.1993
• ISSN: 1051-8223
• DOI: 10.1109/77.233875

Magnetic hysteresis data have been taken at 4.2 and 50 K over a wide range of magnetic fields on melt-textured (MT) and quench-melt-growth-processed (QMGP) YBa(2)Cu(3)O(x ) samples with 6 vol.% of Y(2)BaCuO(x) (211). In order to obtain accurate comparisons of the intragranular critical current densities, the magnetization measurements were performed on finely powdered samples, the average particle size of which was less than the grain size of the original sample. The QMGP samples exhibited substantially larger hysteresis, indicating significantly enhanced flux pinning at these temperatures. At 4.2 K and 5 T, < e1 > J < /e1 > (c), critical current density, increased from 4x10(4) A/cm(2) in the MT sample to 5.5x10(5) A/cm(2 ) in the QMGP sample. A possible pinning mechanism related to the observed hysteretic behavior is discussed