FABRICATION OF CRYSTALLOGRAPHICALLY ORIENTED SUPERCONDUCTING OXIDES BY A LOW TEMPERATURE SOLUTION PHASE REACTION

THERE IS PRESENTLY A NEED TO INCREASE THE CURRENT CARRYING CAPABILITIES OF THE NEW HIGH TEMPERATURE, CERAMIC SUPERCONDUCTORS. UNLESS HIGHER CRITICAL CURRENTS ARE ACHIEVED IN BULK SUPERCONDUCTING MATERIALS, THE PRESENT CLASS OF MATERIALS WILL NOT MEET THE REQUIREMENTS OF MANY ANTICIPATED APPLICATIONS. THE GOAL OF THE PHASE I PROGRAM IS THE SYNTHESIS OF A CRYSTALLOGRAPHICALLY ORIENTED YBA(2)CU(3)O(7-X) SUPERCONDUCTOR FROM AN ISOSTRUCTURAL PRECURSOR. THE PRECURSOR WILL BE PREPARED FROM REACTION OF A SOLUBLE CU-O-CU-O POLYMER WITH APPROPRIATE BA AND Y COMPLEXES IN AN ORGANIC SOLVENT. THE PRECURSOR IS EXPECTED TO CONTAIN TWO-DIMENSIONAL CU-O-CU-O CHAINS THAT WILL ALIGN ALONG THE A-AXIS OF THE YBA(2)CU(3)O(7-X) SUPERCONDUCTOR. CONVERSION OF THE PRECURSOR TO THE YBA(2)CU(3)O(7-X) WILL RESULT IN A HIGH DEGREE OF CRYSTALLOGRAPHIC ORIENTATION AND AN EXTENDED MICROSTRUCTURE RESULTING IN A SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT IN THE CRITICAL CURRENTS. THE PROPOSED TECHNIQUE FOR THE SYNTHESIS OF YBA(2)CU(3)O(7-X) SUPERCONDUCTORS WILL BE ADAPTABLE TO THE FABRICATION OF FILMS AND FILAMENTS IN ADDITION TO BULK MATERIAL. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SYNTHETIC PROCEDURE INTO A GENERAL PROCESS FOR THE PREPARATION OF THE SUPERCONDUCTORS WILL BE THE GOAL OF THE PHASE II PROGRAM.