Enhanced flux pinning in MOD-YBCO films with co-doping of BaZrO3 and Y2O3 nanoparticles

A combined BaZrO3 (BZO) and Y2O3 nanoparticles has been achieved in YBa2Cu3O7-x (YBCO) films by metalorganic deposition using trifluoroacetates (TFA-MOD). The formation of integrated nanoparticles increases the critical current density (J(c)) of Y2O3/BZO doped-YBCO films while keeping the critical transition temperature (T-c) close to that in the pure YBCO films. The YBCO film with 7.0 mol.% BZO and 7.0 mol.% Y2O3 showed T-c value of 90 K and Jc value of 6.5 mA/cm(2) at self-field (0T, 77 K). The strongly enhanced flux pinning over a wide range of magnetic field can be attributed to the combined different crystal structures of BZO and Y2O3 created by optimized TFA-MOD conditions. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.