Microstructure and stopped growth mechanism of Y123 bulk fabricated by directional infiltration and growth

The infiltration-growth process was used as an alternative to conventional melt processing techniques for the preparation of bulk YBa2Cu3O7–x(Y123) with finely dispersed small size Y2BaCuO5(Y211) particles. Bulk YBCO superconductors with uniformly distributed particles of micron-sized Y211 were prepared by the directional infiltration and growth(DIG). The microstructure changes of the Y211 particles at various stages of processing were studied. About 70% of Y211 particles are under 1 μm in the final sample. The different stopped growth mechanism of this material along the c axis and ab plane was discussed. Undercooling and viscosity lead to tanglesome thick boundary layer. So the Y123 growth along c axis is stopped. Yttrium lack in front of the ab plane is the main reason why the growth stops at this direction.