Abstract
Crystals of Bi 2 Sr 2 CaCu 2 O y , Bi 2 Sr 2 PrCu 2 O y and Bi 2 Sr 2 GdCu 2 O y were grown using the traveling solvent floating zone (TSFZ) method, with the dimensions of approximately 6mm×2mm×0.2mm. The primary crystallization field (PCF) was determined by analyzing the composition of the melt zone after self-adjusting during growth. Relative to Bi-2212 solid solution region, the PCF of Bi 2 Sr 2 PrCu 2 O y shifted towards the CuO-rich corner, and the PCF of Bi 2 Sr 2 GdCu 2 O y was located approximately at the BiO 1.5 -rich and CuO-rich side, in the pseudo-ternary BiO 1.5 -(Sr, Pr, Gd)O-CuO phase diagram. Such variation in solvent compositions may significantly influence the segregation behavior of each constituent so as to influence the maximum stable growth rates of each compound. The minimum critical values of G/R are 5.39×10 11 Ksm -2 of Bi 2 Sr 2 GdCu 2 O y , 4.5×10 11 Ksm -2 of Bi 2 Sr 2 CaCu 2 O y , and 2.94×10 11 Ksm -2 of Bi 2 Sr 2 PrCu 2 O y . These data obtained from fundamental estimations are consistent with experimental results, indicating a decreasing behavior of growth difficulty. © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.