Oxygen partial pressure effect on the thermal stability of Nd-123 superconductor thin films.

The effect of oxygen partial pressure on the thermal stability of Nd-123 superconductor thin films was investigated by means of high temperature in situ microscopy. It was found that the thermal stability of Nd-123 films decreases as the oxygen partial pressure increases. We attribute the thermal stability suppression to the increased growth rate of Nd-422 and a high concentration difference ratio. Under the assumption of quasi-equilibrium, a simplified model for peritectic melting of RE-123 was suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]