Magnetization and Static Magnetic Susceptibility of Fine-Crystalline High-Temperature YBa2Cu3Oy Superconductors Synthesized by the Sol–Gel Method

Abstract

A comparative study of the magnetization and static magnetic susceptibility of high-temperature superconductors (HTSC) YBa₂Cu₃O_y synthesized by two variants of the sol–gel method with different average sizes of crystallites 〈 D〉 ranging 0.4–2 μm has been performed in constant magnetic fields (Н ≤ 6 kOe). It has been shown that the different annealing temperatures and times, at which their crystal structure is formed, change both the average sizes of crystallites 〈D〉 and the sizes of the structural homogeneity regions 〈l〉 and, at the same time, the magnetic field penetration depth (λ) and the coherence length (ξ). As a result, such parameters as 〈D〉 ~ λ and 〈l〉 ~ ξ become comparable, leading to a change in the physical characteristics of HTSCs. It has also been shown that the superconducting transition temperature T_c determined from the measurements of magnetic characteristics in constant magnetic fields remains within values optimal for superconductivity (T_c ≈ 92 K) in the case of an optimal number (y) of oxygen atoms, which determine the levels of charge doping for a given compound.