Effect of Ag addition on the microstructures and superconducting properties of bulk YBCO fabricated by Directionally Solidified Preform Optimized Infiltration Growth Process

•Fabrication of YBCO and YBCO/Ag bulk superconductors in short time durations.•YBCO & YBCO/Ag bulk superconductors fabricated by Directionally Solidified POIGP.•Effect of introducing Ag through liquid phase source, in YBCO is studied.•Good refinement in the size of Y-211 and Ag particles achieved.•Samples showed irreversibility fields better than 5 T at 77 K.

A bulk YBa2Cu3O7−δ (YBCO)/Ag superconducting composite with a homogenous distribution of fine and spherical particles of metallic Ag and Y2BaCuO5 (Y-211) has been fabricated by employing Directionally Solidified Preform Optimized Infiltration Growth Process (DS-POIGP). The effect of adding Ag into the liquid phase source (YBa2Cu3O7−δ) placed above the Y-211 preform on the microstructures and current densities is investigated. The addition of Ag led to a significant refinement of Y-211 particle size and, hence, enabled the enhancement of current densities at low fields.