HIGH MAGNETIC-FLUX TRAPPING BY MELT-GROWN YBACUO SUPERCONDUCTORS

Trapped magnetic flux density of melt-grown YBaCuO bulk superconductors was evaluated. A single-grained disc-shaped bulk sample with a size of 45 mm-phi x 15 mm trapped very high magnetic flux density after field cooling. One disc trapped a maximum surface flux density of 0.72 T, while the maximum of double-piled discs was 1.35 T after 100 seconds. A polygrained sample showed a much lower maximum. The pinning potential of this single-grained disc was 0.17 eV, and the overall critical current density estimated from the trapped flux density was about 7 x 10(3) A/cm2. Since these values are lower than those of a small-sized sample, weak links are still expected to exist even in the single-grained sample. Domain structure within a grain is a strong candidate for this weak link.