FORMATION OF LAYERED MICROSTRUCTURE IN THE Y-BA-CU-O AND BI-SR-CA-CU-O SUPERCONDUCTORS

The layered grain microstructure is essential for overcoming the weak link problem and ensuring high transport critical currents in the cuprate superconductors. In this paper we discuss the processing and the mechanisms for layer information in Y-Ba-Cu-O and Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O. In melt-processed Y-Ba-Cu-O, sympathetic nucleation on previously nucleated YBa2Cu3O7-delta plates during solidification appears to be dominant mechanism for the formation of parallel plate-shaped grains. In the Y-Ba-Cu-O and Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O ribbons, the interface reaction between the superconductor layer and the silvers substrate seems to be the main mechanism for the c-axis texturing of the layered grains. The drastically different critical current behavior in the c-axis textured Y-Ba-Cu-O and Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O ribbons is discussed in terms of possible differences in the nature of the twist and tilt grain boundaries.