Surface nucleation and domain growth mechanism in NdBCO thick films on YSZ substrates

Abstract

The surface nucleation and domain growth of NdBCO thick films on YSZ substrates has been investigated for various processing temperatures. The thick films were fabricated from Nd 123 + 10 wt% Nd 3.6 Ba 2.4 Cu 1.8 O z precursor powders and processed under 0.1% O 2 in Ar. The domain morphology has changed with the change in the processing temperature. The nucleation and growth on the NdBCO thick film surfaces was 'butterfly'-like and not spherulitic as in the YBCO system. All the films exhibited high T c , 95 K, and the transition width was sharpened with prolonged annealing time in pure O 2 . The samples have been examined using SEM and magneto-optical techniques and the results were interpreted within the well-known planar solidification model.