Publication
Title
Atomic and electronic structures of -doped TFA-MOD-derived thin films
Author
Abstract
Tailoring the properties of oxide-based nanocomposites is of great importance for a wide range of materials relevant for energy technology. YBa2Cu3O7−δ (YBCO) superconducting thin films containing nanosized BaHfO3 (BHO) particles yield a significant improvement of the magnetic flux pinning properties and a reduced anisotropy of the critical current density. These films were prepared by chemical solution deposition (CSD) on (100) SrTiO3 (STO) substrates yielding critical current densities up to 3.6 MA cm−2 at 77 K and self-field. Transport in-field J c measurements demonstrated a high pinning force maximum of around 6 GN/m3 for a sample annealed at T = 760 °C that has a doping of 12 mol% of BHO. This sample was investigated by scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) in combination with electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) yielding strain and spectral maps. Spherical BHO nanoparticles of 15 nm in size were found in the matrix, whereas the particles at the interface were flat. A 2 nm diffusion layer containing Ti was found at the YBCO (BHO)/STO interface. Local lattice deformation mapping at the atomic scale revealed crystal defects induced by the presence of both sorts of BHO nanoparticles, which can act as pinning centers for magnetic flux lines. Two types of local lattice defects were identified and imaged: (i) misfit edge dislocations and (ii) Ba-Cu-Cu-Ba stacking faults (Y-248 intergrowths). The local electronic structure and charge transfer were probed by high energy resolution monochromated electron energy-loss spectroscopy. This technique made it possible to distinguish superconducting from non-superconducting areas in nanocomposite samples with atomic resolution in real space, allowing the identification of local pinning sites on the order of the coherence length of YBCO (~1.5 nm) and the determination of 0.25 nm dislocation cores.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Superconductor science and technology. - Bristol
Publication
Bristol : 2015
ISSN
0953-2048
DOI
10.1088/0953-2048/28/11/115009
Volume/pages
28 :11 (2015) , 13 p.
Article Reference
115009
ISI
000366193000018
Medium
E-only publicatie
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (publisher's version - intranet only)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Project info
European development of Superconducting Tapes: integrating novel materials and architectures into cost effective processes for power applications and magnets (EUROTAPES).
ESTEEM 2 - Enabling science and technology through European electron microscopy.
Counting Atoms in Nanomaterials (COUNTATOMS).
Quantitative electron microscopy: from experimental measurements to precise numbers.
Quantitative three-dimensional structure determination using transmission electron microscopy : from images toward precise three-dimensional structures of nanomaterials at atomic scale.
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 30.11.2015
Last edited 09.10.2023
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