The influence of slow cooling on Y211 size and content in single-grain YBCO bulk superconductor through the infiltration-growth process

Highly textured YBa2Cu3O7-δ (Y123) superconductors were produced using modified Textured Top Seeded Infiltration Growth (TSIG) process. The liquid source is made of only Y123 powder whereas the solid source is composed of Y2BaCuO5 (Y211) powder. We aim to control the amount of liquid that infiltrates the solid pellet, which in turn controls the final amount of Y2BaCuO5 particles in Y123 matrix. The effect of the slow cooling kinetics on sample morphology, on grain growth and on final microstructure was too investigated. It is shown that appropriate slow cooling time may also contribute to the control of the amount of Y211 inclusions in the final structure of Y123 bulk. We report herein the Y211 particle size and density distribution in the whole Y123 matrix. The present work proves that finest Y211 particles locate under the seed and that their size and density increase with distance from the seed.