INFLUENCE OF KCL ON THE GROWTH OF YBA2CU3O6-TEMPERATURE SOLUTIONS(DELTA FROM HIGH)

The addition of 2-5 wt% KCl to BaCuO2 powder used as a solvent to grow YBa2Cu3O6+delta crystals by top seeded solution growth (TSSG) was fou nd to reduce the crystallization temperature from 990 to 935 degrees C , to promote growth along the c-axis, to reduce secondary nucleation, flux adhesion and defects in the crystals as revealed by scanning elec tron microscopy (SEM) investigations. Large crystals of superconductin g Sm- and NdBa2Cu3O6+delta could be grown by using the same flux, in a lower temperature range of 950-930 degrees C. The superconducting pro perties were not affected by the presence of KCI, The SmBa2Cu3O6+delta crystals exhibit a superconducting transition at 91 K with a width of 10 K after annealing in oxygen for 155 h.