Interactions of y₂BaCuO₅ particles and the YBCO matrix within melt-textured YBCO samples studied by means of electron backscatter diffraction

By means of automated electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) analysis, we studied the local orientations of embedded Y₂BaCuO₅(211) particles within melt-textured YBa₂CusO_x (YBCO) samples. On both components, we obtained high-quality Kikuchi patterns, thus allowing the automated mapping of the crystal orientations and a two-phase analysis of the samples. Investigations were performed on a variety of melt-textured YBCO samples. In melt-textured YBCO with (001) orientation, we find that the embedded 211 particles do not have any preferred orientation. The EBSD maps also reveal that at certain orientations of the 211 particles the YBCO growth is not altered. From the obtained EBSD mappings, we can conclude that the formation of small 211 particles will not disturb the YBCO matrix growth, whereas the presence of large 211 particles causes severe changes in the YBCO growth, leading to the formation of subgrains. The EBSD results are presented in the form of local orientation maps and local pole figures.