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Systematic studies of synthesizing behaviors of sol-gel YBa2Cu3O7− x samples in flowing oxygen atmosphere and their superconductivity have been performed. A set of high temperature ρ-T curves has been obtained for the whole synthesizing process. After four rounds of synthesizing, the resistivity of the sample was around ρ=1.00×10−3Ω · cm at room temperature. The ρ-T curve of the fourth round shows that the orthorhombic to tetragonal phase transformation of the sample occurs around 600 °C, which is lower than that of the YBa2Cu3O7− x sample prepared by conventional solid-state reaction method. Other measurements, such as X-ray diffraction, SEM measurement and low temperature R-T and M-T measurement, were also performed. And the R-T and M-T measurement results suggest that during the synthesizing process, there exist some state at which the sample has better superconductivity than the other states. Moreover, we found screw dislocations presenting on the sample broken surface from the SEM images. This will change the concept that the screw dislocations can only grow on the surface of the YBCO thin films and single crystals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-density MgB2 (HD-MgB2) superconducting samples ( D ⩾ 2.2 g/cm3), using different sources of magnesium powder as raw material, were synthesized in ambient pressure in a rich Mg environment. The magnesium powders used in the fabrication process include nanometer-sized magnesium particles, powders from Alfa Aesar, ordinary off-the-shelf powder, and magnesium chip. The fabrication procedure involved a double-sintering process in a rich-Mg environment. A transition temperature T c of 39 K was observed. Samples with the equally high density and matching superconducting properties were obtained as well by a triple sintering process of the MgB2 powder directly from Alfa Aesar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Superconducting MgB2 thick film has been prepared via hybrid physical-chemical vapor deposition method on Al2O3 (0001) substrate by using B2H6 and magnesium ingot as raw materials reacted from 730 to 830°C for 40 min under 20 to 30 kPa. Its thickness is about 40 µm. The MgB2 thick film shows Tc (onset) = 39.0 K and Tc (0) = 37.2 K. X-ray diffraction pattern shows that the film grown along (101) direction has small amount of impurities of Mg and MgO. Scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy indicated that these impurities existed indeed and were Mg rich. The MgO film was formed on the surface of the MgB2 thick film to further protect the sample from oxidation. We presented a new mechanism for the formation of the thick film. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thick MgB2 (magnesium diborate) films, ∼10 μm, with T c (onset) = 39.4 K and T c (zero) = 39.2 K have been successfully grown on a stainless steel substrate using a technique called hybrid physical-chemical deposition (HPCVD). The deposition rate is high, ∼6.7 nm/s. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) indicates that it is highly (101) and c-axis oriented. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) images demonstrate that the film grown is in “island-mode”. The uniform superconducting phase in the film is shown by the M-T measurement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]