Top-seeded melt growth of Y-Ba-Cu-O superconductor with multiseeding

Abstract

Y-Ba-Cu-O superconductors were prepared by the top-seeded melt growth process with multiseeding technique. By using several seeds at the same time, large samples could be fabricated in a short time with simple heat treatment. However, the samples fabricated by the normal multiseeding technique show a rapid decrease of trapped magnetic field value across the grain boundaries because of the residual liquid layer. To remove the residual liquid layer, various types of multiseeding were newly suggested. The optimum result was obtained when the seeds were arranged without spacing. The individual grains were combined as a single domain and did not show any deterioration of magnetic properties at the boundary. The formation mechanism of a well-combined single domain by the multiseeding technique is discussed.