YBa2Cu3O7 melt textured thick films grown by infiltration process on YSZ substrate prepared by sol–gel method

Polycrystalline yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) compacts with a relative density of 97% were prepared by the two-step sol–gel synthesis from zirconium (IV)-propoxide and yttrium chloride. The obtained YSZ compacts were used as polycrystalline substrates for melt-textured YBa2Cu3O7 (YBCO) films. The dense YSZ substrates show a limited reactivity against the highly corrosive Ba/Cu melt and a formation of interlayers with limited thickness between the superconducting film and the substrate can be observed. Crack-free YBCO films with a thickness of about 50 μm were prepared by melt infiltration of Ba/Cu melt into the deposited Y2BaCuO5 (2 1 1) layer. Since no seeds were used, spherulitic microstructure was formed. The AC magnetization measurements results indicate that the samples are without noticeable weak intergrain links, however, they contain areas with weaker superconducting properties.