Influence of Ba substitution on phase formation, RBS analysis, critical current density and flux pinning dynamics in Y-BSCCO superconducting materials

Abstract

The structural, morphological and magnetic for Bi_1.8Y_0.2Sr_2-xBa_xCa₂Cu₃O₁₀, (x = 0.0, 0.05, 0.1, and 0.15), superconductors were investigated. SEM and elemental mapping showed a layered morphology with interconnected grains, with no detected unknown elements which confirmed throughout Rutherford Backscattering (RBS) spectra. The structural parameters and volume fractions were calculated from XRD. Magnetic measurements reveal the formation of the Bi-2212 phase instead of the intended Bi-2223, with transition temperatures ($T_c$) around 89–90 K. BiYBa0.15 shows the highest critical current density $J_c$, reaching approximately 800 A/m² at 10 K and 9.2 A/ m² at 40 K, while BiYBa0 and BiYBa0.05 show $J_c$ ≈1.45 A/m² at 60 K. Temperature-dependent magnetization measurements performed at 10 K, 40 K, and 60 K under applied fields up to 60 kOe demonstrate complex pinning force dynamics. Notably, the pure and x = 0.15 samples exhibit enhanced pinning forces at low temperatures, while intermediate Ba concentrations show modified flux pinning landscapes. The achieved high $J_c$ make these materials are promising candidates for wires, tapes, and superconducting fault current limiters.