Chemical engineering of superconductive rare-earth-barium cuprates: Melt solidified ceramics and single crystals

Modern classification of production schemes and current problems in the che mical engineering of bulk high-temperatures superconductors (HTSCs) of rare -earth-barium cuprate are discussed. The problems of manufacturing advanced large-grain melt-solidified ceramics and single crystals originate mostly from highly anisotropic crystallo-physical properties, small coherent lengt h, necessity of artificial pinning center creation and chemical complexity of the HTSCs. The progress in engineering of HTSCs is sustained due to new synthetic techniques, allowing a precise control of the micro-, meso-, nano - and local structures of nonstoichiometric compounds.