Combined microstructural and magneto optical study of current flow in polycrystalline forms of Nd and Sm Fe-oxypnictides

Abstract

In order to understand why the inter- and intra-granular current densities of polycrystalline superconducting oxypnictides differ by three orders of magnitude, we have conducted combined magneto-optical and microstructural examinations of representative randomly oriented polycrystalline Nd and Sm single-layer oxypnictides. Magneto optical images show that the highest Jc values are observed within single grains oriented with their c axes perpendicular to the observation plane, implying that the intragranular current is anisotropic. The much lower intergranular Jc is at least partially due to many extrinsic factors, because cracks and a ubiquitous wetting As-Fe phase are found at many grain boundaries. However, some grain boundaries are structurally clean under high resolution transmission electron microscopy examination. Because the whole-sample global Jc(5K) values of the two samples examined are 1000-4000 A/cm2, some 10-40 times that found in random, polycrystalline YBa2Cu3O7-x, it appears that the dominant obstruction to intergranular current flow of many present samples is extrinsic, though some intrinsic limitation of current flow across grain boundaries cannot yet be ruled out.

Submitted to SUST

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