Abstract

Superconductor samples were prepared by a conventional solid-state reaction method and systematically studied for their superconducting properties. The Au nanoparticles concentration x varied from 0.0 to 1.0 wt% of the sample's total mass. Those samples were used as targets to prepare Au_x–Bi_1.7Pb_0.3Sr₂Ca₂Cu₃O_10+δ thin films by pulsed laser deposition (PLD), deposited on Si (111) substrates and post-deposition oxygen annealing have been achieved. The effect of Au nanoparticles (20 nm) on the physical properties of superconducting phase was studied. The phase identification/gross structural characteristics of synthesized bulk and thin films samples explored through powder X-ray diffractometer and reveals that all the samples crystallize in orthorhombic structure In addition, phase examination by XRD indicated that Au nanoparticles enhanced the (Bi,Pb)-2223 phase formation. The critical transition temperature (T_c) measured by the standard DC four-probe method and was found to have optimal value at x=1.0 wt%, which had a maximum enhancement in T_c for both bulk and thin films samples. The surface morphology investigated through scanning electron microscope (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), the granular investigation showed that both number and size of voids decreased while grains size increased as x increases to 1.0 wt%.

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