A simple multi-seeding approach to growth of large YBCO bulk with a diameter above 53Â mm

A successful simple multi-seeding approach to growing large size Y-Ba-C-O (YBCO) bulks is reported. Compared with the common single seeding method, our multi-seeding method is more efficient. By using four SmBa2Cu3O7-δ (Sm-123) seeds cut from a large size Sm-Ba-C-O (SmBCO) single domain, large YBCO samples up to 53 mm in diameter could be produced successfully and 100 mm diameter samples can also be grown. Experimental results show that the processing time can be shortened greatly by using this new approach, and the superconducting properties can also be improved. The Hall probe mapping shows that the trapped field distribution of 53 mm diameter multi-seeded sample is homogeneous and the peak value is up to 0.53 T. The magnetic levitation force density reaches to 14.7 N/cm2 (77 K, 0.5 T).