Yttrium-barium-copper oxide (YBCO), YBa2Cu3O7-x, is a high temperature superconducting ceramic (HTSC). We have investigated using polymer-based precursors containing metal salts to deposit thin films of highly oriented YBCO with I. von Lampe (Institute of Materials Research and Technology, Technical University of Berlin).
The precursor were produced by adding polar or ionic polymers and metal nitrates with the appropriate ratio of metal atoms to a mutual solvent. We have demonstrated that a dense orthorhombic YBCO film with preferential orientation can be generated if a suitable substrate is chosen and if the pyrolysis environment is carefully controlled to prevent the generation of contaminant phases.
We produced YBCO nanofibers in collaboration with Prof. E. Zussman (Mechanical Engineering, Technion), pyrolysing electrospun polymer precursors.
