An electron microscopy study of Pb-doped (Bi1−xPbx)2Sr2Ca2Cu3O10

Pb-doped (Bi1 − xPbx)2Sr2Ca2Cu3O10 (2223) compounds with x = 0, 0.05, 0.10, 0.15, 0.20, 0.25 have been studied by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. It is found that the size of the lamella crystals increases significantly as the Pb-doping level increases. The 2223 phase, which appears as intergrowths among the Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 (2212) phase in undoped and slightly doped samples, grows at the expense of the 2212 phase as x increases. With x = 0.20, single phase 2223 is obtained. Pb-doping also changes the modulation of the superconducting phases.