Process Technology and Superconducting Properties of Bulk HTS With Multi-RE Elements

A series of REBa₂Cu₃O_y (RE123)/Ag bulk superconductors with multi-RE elements at the RE site, were prepared by top-seeded melt growth. By employing the differential thermal analysis, we carefully adjusted the peritectic decomposition temperature (T_p) by changing the ratio of the two RE123 compositions to meet the requirements of the cold-seeding process. The superconducting properties, T_c, J_c and the flux trapping performance were evaluated after achieving the growth of the single grains. The microstructure was also observed. A relatively low growth temperature range depressed the LRE-Ba substitution, which was effective to suppress the probable RE211 coarsening. By employing ZrO₂ chemical doping, the flux pinning property was further improved under both zero-field and in-field, and the J_c was enhanced without reducing T_c.