Seeded melt texture growth processing of with coatings

In an attempt to minimize the occurrence of surface nucleation events, the effects of coatings on the surface of (Y-123) pellets processed by top-seeded melt texture growth processing were studied. During the melt processing of coated Y-123, coatings react to form and a Yb-containing liquid, which reduce the peritectic temperature below that of Y-123. As a result of this, during cooling, the coated surface regions will freeze last and allow the oriented domain nucleated at the seed to grow without any interference from domains nucleated at the periphery of the pellet.