Rapid Epitaxial Growth of GdBa2Cu3O7-σ Films by Dilute Co Doping.

The effect of dilute Co doping on the epitaxial growth of GdBCO films was investigated by self-developed fluorine-free polymer-assisted metal-organic deposition (PA-MOD) method. Under the same sintering heat treatment, dilute Co doping dramatically improved the crystallinity, microstructure, and critical current density (Jc) of GdBCO films. High Jc of 4.0 MA/cm2 at 77 K and self-field was obtained in Co-doped film after only sintering for 30 min, which is eight times of the Jc for the undoped film. Also, Co-doped GdBCO film sintered for as short as 20 min still possesses a high Jc of 1.5 MA/cm2, whereas the Jc is 0 for the similarly sintered pure film. These results suggest that dilute Co doping facilitates the epitaxial growth of the high-performance GdBCO film. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]