Enhanced performance of GdBCO bulk superconductors by doping a new kind of YGdBa₄CuNbO _y nanoparticles

Abstract

In this work, a new kind of YGdBa4CuNbOy (YGdNb-11411) nano-particles was designed and sintered using a solid-state reaction method, whereas their impact on the performance of GdBCO bulks was investigated for the first time. From the acquired XRD data and SEM imaging results, it was proved that the YGdNb-11411 particles were of excellent chemical stability and did not react with other phases during the crystal growth process. The YGdNb-11411 particles ranged from 80 to 130 nm and they were uniformly distributed in the well-textured GdBCO bulk superconductors. The maximum critical current density (Jc-max) of the samples was enhanced from 3.48 × 104 A/cm2 to 8.63 × 104 A/cm2 (77 K) in the self-field as the doping amount increased from 0wt% to 7wt%. In addition, the GdBCO sample with YGdNb-11411 particles also showed an enhanced flux pinning force density and relatively high Jc around the magnetic flux density range of 1 T - 2 T (77 K). These results clearly indicated that the YGdNb-11411 particles could effectively enhance the properties of the GdBCO bulk superconductors.