High-temperature resistivity measurements of YBa2Cu3O7-delta doped with sulphur

The diffusion of sulphur into YBa2Cu3O7-delta using an open tube technique operating between 450 and 650 degrees C is demonstrated. The resulting mate rial has unchanged low-temperature characteristics but high-temperature res istivity measurements indicate that the sulphur plays a role in suppressing the out-diffusion of oxygen prior to the transition between the orthorhomb ic and tetragonal phases. This diffusion technique and the inclusion of sul phur generally may have a use in widening the super conductor processing te mperature range without a phase change and in reducing the out-diffusion of oxygen which can be a problem in device structure fabrication. (C) 1999 El sevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.