Observations of structure, phase and composition on unidirectional solidified Y-Ba-Cu-O samples

We have performed the unidirectional solidification in the Y–Ba–Cu–O system and successfully produced textured YBa2Cu3O7-δ samples with Y2BaCuO5 precipitates. The addition of Y2BaCuO5 to YBa2Cu3O7-δ at the start of the process plays an important role in achieving continuous textured growth because it prevents a liquid change in composition. We found a segregation of matrix at the bottom region of the sample after solidification. In this paper, we report the observations of structure, phase and composition on unidirectionally solidified Y–Ba–Cu–O samples.