Optimum processing conditions for the fabrication of large, single grain Ag-doped YBCO bulk superconductors

A pseudo Time-Temperature-Transformation (TTT) diagram has been constructed for the optimum melt processing conditions for the fabrication of large, single grain Ag-doped Y-Ba-Cu-O (YBCO/Ag) bulk superconductors. The thermal conditions for the formation of homogeneous nuclei have been investigated and the boundary between this region and that for no grain nucleation has been mapped as a function of holding time. YBCO/Ag bulk samples grow typically in the form of single grains when the processing temperature profile lies within the 'no nucleation' region of the pseudo TTT diagram. However, by studying the YBCO/Ag growth process, some samples have been grown in the form of single grains by employing a temperature profile within the homogeneous grain nucleation region of the phase diagram. Such growth may be achieved when the YBCO/Ag phase constitutes the majority of the volume of the pellet before the growth temperature reaches that at the nucleation boundary. A large, single YBCO/Ag grain of diameter 30 mm has been fabricated successfully based on these studies by both cold-seeding and seeded infiltration growth techniques.