Critical Current Properties of FF-MOD RE123 Thin Films Sintered for Short Time

Optimizations of sintering conditions, such as PO₂ , temperature and time, and the introduction of effective pinning centers were systematically studied to improve the critical current properties of RE123 thin films prepared by fluorine-free (FF) metal organic decomposition (MOD) method. We found that epitaxial growth of Y123 in FF-MOD is extremely fast. Effects of dilute Ga doping, RE mixing, and introduction of BaHfO₃ fine particles on flux pinning properties were examined. Dilute Ga doping enhanced J_c at low temperature in high magnetic field regardless of sintering conditions, while BaHfO₃ precipitates improved J_c at 77 K. In addition, introduction of undoped Y123 seed layer was found to dramatically improve crystallinity of doped or RE-mixed films. Moreover, high epitaxial growth rate of RE123 was maintained for these films.