CONTACT PHENOMENA IN AG-YBCO COMPOSITES

Current transport properties of YBaCuO-Ag composites with different si lver contents have been studied. The pressure response of the resistan ce of a single Ag/YBCO junction has been determined. The experiments r eveal the absence of a dielectric layer in the junction. It has been f ound that the proximity effect does not contribute significantly to th e conductivity of the Ag-YBCO composite for the different ways of intr oduction of the metallic inclusions into the YBCO. For the strip-like samples of Ag-YBCO composite with the Ag content of 15% by volume the resistivity rho was found to be rho = 4.7 x 10(-9) Omega cm at the den sity of measuring current of J = 3 X 10(4) A/cm(2) and magnetic field B = 1 T. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.