Articolo in rivista, 2008, ENG, 10.1016/j.physc.2008.07.007

Thermal treatments and evolution of bulk Nd1.85Ce0.15CuO4 morphology

Uthayakumar, S; Fittipaldi, R; Guarino, A; Vecchione, A; Romano, A; Nigro, A; Habermeier, HU; Pace, S

"[Fittipaldi, R.; Guarino, A.; Vecchione, A.; Romano, A.; Nigro, A.; Pace, S.] Univ Salerno, Dept Phys ER Caianiello, I-84081 Baronissi, SA, Italy; [Uthayakumar, S.; Habermeier, H. -U.] Max Planck Inst Festkorperforsch, D-70569 Stuttgart, Germany; [Uthayakumar, S.; Fittipaldi, R.; Guarino, A.; Vecchione, A.; Romano, A.; Nigro, A.; Pace, S.] INFM, CNR, Lab Reg SuperMat, I-84081 Baronissi, SA, Italy

The present work focuses on the sintering of the Nd1.85Ce0.15CuO4 phase in the form of sputtering targets. The method of manufacture, based on a careful control of the microstructure, is of fundamental importance in ensuring the reliability of Nd1.85Ce0.15CuO4 targets and the subsequent realization of high-quality sputter-deposited thin films. In this study the Nd1.85Ce0.15CuO4 targets were prepared by a standard solid state reaction technique. We investigated the influence of the thermal treatment on the phase formation by employing X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersion spectrometry (EDS) analyses. As the growth temperature increases beyond the eutectic point, the achievement of a liquid phase yields a homogeneous grain growth. The results presented here are expected to be of particular usefulness in tailoring the growth of high quality thin films. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Physica. C, Superconductivity (Print) 468 (22), pp. 2271–2274

Keywords

CUPRATE SUPERCONDUCTORS, SINGLE-CRYSTALS, PHASE-DIAGRAM, ELECTRON, GROWTH

CNR authors

Nigro Angela, Romano Alfonso, Pace Sandro, Guarino Anita, Fittipaldi Rosalba, Vecchione Antonio

CNR institutes

INFM – Centro di responsabilità scientifica INFM