This paper summarizes recent measurements of the penetration depth and
surface resistance of YBCO, with particular emphasis on the asymptoti
c behaviour at low temperatures and its dependence on hole doping and
cation substitution. A complete set of measurements of the penetration
depth tenser indicates that lambda(T) has a predominantly linear temp
erature dependence in both the a and b directions at low temperatures,
but the c-axis penetration depth is much flatter, without a clear lin
ear term. Ni and Ca substitution are found to have little effect on th
e linear behaviour of lambda(T), but Zn impurities alter the behaviour
; from T linear to T-2 and then to a non-monotonic temperature depende
nce at a Zn concentration of 1%. The surface resistance in the ab-plan
e also seems to vary linearly with temperature at low temperatures, ex
cept when the sample is doped with Zn. Substitution of Zn for Cu leads
to upturns in the surface resistance below 4 K that are seen at 3.8 G
Hz, but not at 35 GHz, suggesting impurity effects at a very low energ
y scale.