Bottom-Seeded Infiltration and Growth for Fabrication of Single-Grain GdBCO Superconducting Ring

Single-grain GdBaCuO (GdBCO) superconducting rings have been fabricated by the Gd
₂
O
₃
+BaCuO
₂
(Gd+011) bottom-seeded infiltration and growth (BSIG) process without obvious shrinkage. It is found that first small, thick single-grain GdBCO rings have been fabricated successfully; second, the growth sections on the top surface of the GdBCO ring can be observed and controlled; third, the maximum levitation force of the GdBCO ring with a height of 7.1 mm is 69.3 N (Bpm = 0.50 T, T = 77 K), and the trapped field of the ring with a height of 10.0 mm is 0.32 T at 77 K; fourth, the single-grain GdBCO ring with a height of 10.0 mm shows a good magnetic shielding property, and the limit induction B
_lim
is 0.37 T at 77 K; finally, the critical temperature (T
_c
) and critical current density (J
_c
) are decent. Overall, the Gd+011 BSIG process provides a convenient way to fabricate single-grain REBaCuO (REBCO, RE is a rare earth element, such as Y, Gd, or Dy) superconducting rings directly.