METAL-ION SUBSTITUTION CHEMISTRY IN THE YBACUO SYSTEM AS A PROBE OF THE SUPEREXCHANGE PATHWAY

The effect of subtitution for Cu by aluminum, nickel, and zinc in the YBaCuO superconducting system is described in detail. All three metals lower the Tc value and make the superconducting transition less abrupt. However, the strength of the effect varies with the metal, and this is attributed to th...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Jones, R, Edwards, P, Harrison, M, Thanyasiri, T, Sinn, E
Format: Journal article
Language:English
Published: 1988
Description
Summary:The effect of subtitution for Cu by aluminum, nickel, and zinc in the YBaCuO superconducting system is described in detail. All three metals lower the Tc value and make the superconducting transition less abrupt. However, the strength of the effect varies with the metal, and this is attributed to their different reactivities and site preferences. The most dramatic effect is with zinc, which completely quenches the superconductivity when as few as 10% of the Cu sites are replaced. It is postulated that under these synthetic conditions zinc prefers the five-coordinated 'Cu(2)' site, which is presumed to lie on the main superconducting pathway. Nickel has a stronger affinity for the four-coordinated 'Cu(1)' sites and is apparently found in both sites at high dopant levels.