GROWTH BY SELF-FLUX METHOD AND POSTANNEALING EFFECT OF BI2SR2CA1CU2OX SINGLE-CRYSTALS

Post-annealing effects on superconducting characteristics have been studied in Bi2Sr2Ca1Cu2O(x) single crystals grown by a conventional flux method. Also, favorable growth conditions and the effect of the pre-sintering process on the starting materials for flux growth have been examined. The best superconducting behavior is obtained in post-annealed crystals grown from pre-sintered powder materials. The critical current density J(c) estimated from magnetization hysteresis in annealed crystals grown with pre-sintered materials is roughly 8 x 10(5) A/cm2 (H parallel-to c) and 5 x 10(4) A/cm2 (H perpendicular-to c) at 4.2 K at zero field.