ABSTRACT
In this paper, the authors present studies on YBCO BSS alloyed with cerium, also in combination with rare earth elements (RE) for inducing chemical pining, which were prepared in their research laboratories or in a commercial company CAN superconductor using top-seeded melt-growth (TSMG) or top-seeded infiltration-growth processes. The relationship between the local microstructure and the superconducting properties of the commercially produced TSMG YBCO BSS with the addition of CeO2 was investigated. It is important to have cerium distributed homogeneously in the starting pellet of the pressed powders to grow single-grain YBCO to ensure cerium activity on the micrometer scale. Knowledge of the relationship of local microstructure and superconducting properties in a broad temperature range will be useful in practical applications of Y123 bulk superconductors. Micro structural analysis showed that Y211 particles were in-homogeneously arranged within the commercially prepared Y123 single-grain bulk.
