IMPROVEMENT OF THE CATION-DISTRIBUTION IN THE POLYCRYSTALLINE HIGH-TEMPERATURE SUPERCONDUCTOR LASRCUO

Results obtained by high resolution EDX measurements which demonstrate that polycrystalline samples of the LaSrCuO-system prepared by means of a refined wet-chemical preparation method exhibit a much better hom ogeneity of the cation distribution than samples prepared by standard ceramic routes. Other characteristic properties like FC flux expulsion , phase purity and behaviour of resistivity are at least preserved. Th e proposed wet-chemical method is similar to several spray-drying tech niques described in the literature but easier to handle and optimized for LSCO. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science S.A.