Preparation of high quality single domain SmBCO bulks by modified TSIG method in air with new solid phase of Sm2O3Â +Â xBaCuO2

In this article, high-quality single domain SmBCO bulks have been successfully produced in the air by top seeded infiltration and growth (TSIG) method, with a new solid phase of (Sm2O3 + xBaCuO2) and liquid phase of (Y2O3 + 6CuO + 10BaCuO2), x = 0.9, 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 and 1.4. The results show that the onset critical temperature (Tc-onset) of the SmBCO bulks increases with the increasing of x, because the substitution of Sm on Ba site in Sm1+xBa2−xCu3O7 crystal is reduced by the BaCuO2 addition; the Tc-onset have reached 96 K when x = 1.4. The amount and the size of Sm211 particles of the single domain SmBCO bulks decreases with the increasing of BaCuO2 addition x. All of the critical current density (Jc), levitation force and trapped field of the samples are increasing from 1.08 × 105 A/cm2, 38.47 N and 0.2330 T to 1.66 × 105 A/cm2, 44.34 N and 0.2680 T when x increases from 0.9 to 1.2, and then decreases to 0.83 × 105 A/cm2, 37.94 N and 0.2085 T with the increasing of x from 1.2 to 1.4 respectively, the largest Jc of 1.66 × 105 A/cm2, levitation force of 44.34 N and trapped field of 0.2680 T are reached at the optimal value of x = 1.2. This result provides a very important way to fabricate high-quality single domain SmBCO bulks in air.