The preparation of Y–Ba–Cu-oxide (YBCO) powder by various techniques
is critically reviewed and the synthesis of ultrafine superconducting
YBa2Cu3Ox(123)
powders is specially emphasized. The fine powder has assumed a large importance,
requiring the minimization of processing parameters (time and temperature) during
calcination, homogenization and sintering to avoid the problems of evaporation of the
constituent oxides. From the voluminous research activities on YBCO it is known that by
adopting any preparation technique the superconducting transition temperature
(Tc) value
of ≈92 K could be achieved in the bulk samples, thus in this review the
Tc
values are not emphasized. Also, the other transport properties such as critical current densities
(Jc)
and magnetic properties are not discussed, since these properties are mainly controlled by
many other parameters related to the weak link across the grain boundaries of
the specimens, and a very little role is played by the synthetic procedure. The
weak links across the grain boundaries are known to be the cause for the poor
Jc
values in bulk specimens and those weak links are observed due to the presence of
impurities at the grain boundaries, misorientation of grains and oxygenation of the
samples. By selecting the proper synthetic procedure, only the impurity problem can be
solved, and to remove the other problems, a proper fabrication method needs to be
adopted. This review will guide the new researcher to find the appropriate technique to
synthesize good quality YBCO powder.