Materials analysis of yttrium-barium-copper-oxide by micro-Raman spectroscopy and optical microscopy

Optical microscopy has proven to be a useful technique for obtaining genera l, qualitative information from the entire surface of YBa2Cu3O7-x samples. Micro-Raman spectroscopy is well suited for routine microstructural analysi s of YBCO superconductors. We demonstrate the complementary use of both tec hniques for the analysis of polycrystalline YBCO. Observed colors of polari zation on YBCO were correlated with information provided by Raman spectrosc opy on individual grains to deduce microstructural characteristics across t he whole surface of a sample.