Effects of grain boundaries on the levitation force and trapped magnetic field of the multi-seeded melt growth processed YBCO superconductors

Various YBCO grain boundary junctions were prepared by a top-seeded melt gr owth process using two seeds and the grain boundary properties were investi gated. The results of the levitation forces and trapped magnetic fields for the top surfaces of the samples showed that the (110)/(110) grain junction was more strongly connected than other grain boundaries. We discussed the connectivity of the grain boundaries in terms of the wetting angle of a mel t at the boundaries. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.