YBCO bulk superconductor, prepared by top-seed floating zone under microwave heating

Many processes were utilized in order to produce YBa2Cu3O7−δ (YBCO) bar samples, but up to now, the alignment of single domains with the bar axis was not optimized for power applications. A new process was elaborated to synthesise samples with optimized alignment: the Microwave Top Seeding Floating Zone (MTSFZ). The CeO2 and SnO2 doping YBCO composition was selected for its high superconducting properties. Samples of good quality were produced by MTSFZ in very short time thanks to a seed that initiated successfully the correct alignment. The superconducting properties evaluated by SQUID measurements were similar to the ones obtained with other texturing process: critical temperature near to 91 K and critical current density at 77 K in self field of 42 kA cm−2.