Se. Babcock et Dc. Larbalestier, BICRYSTAL STUDIES OF HIGH TRANSITION-TEMPERATURE SUPERCONDUCTORS, Journal of physics and chemistry of solids, 55(10), 1994, pp. 1125-1136
At the present time, the properties of high angle grain boundaries det
ermine the macroscopic electromagnetic character of all polycrystallin
e high T-c superconducting cuprates and dictate the types of applicati
ons for which these materials can be developed. Understanding and cont
rol of their grain boundary properties thus continues to be a key rese
arch issue. As was emphasized by Prof. Robert W. Balluffi in his work
on internal interfaces, a complete understanding of grain boundary pro
perties requires systematic study of single grain boundaries for which
the structure, crystallography, and properties are investigated in a
coupled manner. It is precisely these kinds of experiments that have y
ielded the most insight into the general properties, the range of prop
erties, and structure-property relationships for grain boundaries in t
he high T-c superconductors. This paper describes the bicrystal studie
s that have been conducted by our groups at the University of Wisconsi
n and their key results.