Rare earth superconducting materials

The discovery of copper oxide superconductors with a critical temperature Tc higher than 77K has shown even better prospects for superconductors, including perovskite oxide superconductors containing rare earth elements, such as YBa2Cu3O7- δ。 (abbreviated as 123 phase, YBaCuO or YBCO) is an important type of high-temperature superconducting material. Especially heavy rare earths, such as Gd, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, and Yb, can partially or completely replace rare earth yttrium (Y), forming a series of high Tc rare earth superconducting materials (simple REBaCuO or REBCO) with great development potential.

Rare earth barium copper oxide superconducting materials can be made into single domain bulk materials, coated conductors (second-generation high-temperature superconducting tapes), or thin film materials, which are respectively used in superconducting magnetic levitation devices and permanent magnets, strong electric power machinery, or weak electric electronic devices. Especially in the face of global energy crises and environmental issues, scientists predict that high-temperature superconductivity will usher in a new era of power generation and distribution.

Superconductivity refers to the fact that under certain conditions, a material is considered to have zero DC resistance and complete diamagnetic properties. These are two mutually independent properties, the former also known as complete conductivity, and the latter also known as the Meisner effect, which means that the magnetization completely offsets the magnetic property of the magnetic field strength, resulting in the complete exclusion of magnetic flux from the inside of the material.