Journal of Crystal Growth, Vol.231, No.1-2, 194-202, 2001
The primary crystallization field and growth of Bi-2212 crystals in platinum and gold crucibles
We report that the crucible material used is crucial for the growth of Bi2.2Sr2CaCu2O8.3+x (2212) single crystals. With a Pt-crucible, the platinate phase of composition (Sr,Ca)(2)Pt0.6Cu0.4O3.6 forms due to corrosion. The Au-crucible corrosion rate is an order of magnitude lower than that of a Pt-crucible. The use of an Au-crucible made it possible to reproducibly grow melt-free 2212 crystals by the TSSG method. On investigation, we found that 2212 primary crystallization field (PCF) intersects the "2212-014x24-119x5-CuO" tetrahedron. The temperature range of the "2212-melt" equilibrium is determined to be 859-883 degreesC. According to the obtained X-ray topography data, the domain misorientation in the crystals occurs around the a-axis (0.5 degrees) and is, practically, absent around the b- and c-axes (less than 0. 1 degrees). It is suggested that such misorientation anisotropy is a consequence of the incommensurate modulation in this compound. We report the general dependence of T-c on annealing conditions. The highest T-c = 91 K and lowest DeltaT(c) = 1 K were observed on crystals annealed at 400 degreesC in 1 x 10(-4) atm oxygen.
Keywords:phase equilibria;X-ray topography;top seeded solution growth;cuprates;oxide superconducting materials