The effect of sintering process on I-V properties of RE123 ceramic utilizing hot spot / Nuzuiza Che Amaran

A hot spot which is a local area glowing orange appear in HoBa₂Cu₃O₇₋₈ ceramics when a certain voltage is applied to the rod at room temperature. In this experiment the HoBa₂Cu₃O₇₋₈ ceramics samples were prepared using conventional solid state method. The experiment was done using three different samples which each sample was sintered at different sintering temperature. The first sample was sintered at 910 °C for 24 hours whereas the second and third samples were heated up until 970 °C and 980 °C respectively before they were be sintered at 910 °C for 24 hours. All samples were tested for its current voltage characteristics using the four point probe method. The current through the rod decreased abruptly when the hot spot appeared with increasing voltage. From this experiment, it can be observed that when the oxygen content increased, the resistivity will decrease. The voltages of the hot spot appearance were determined. The result showed the different current voltage characteristics for all three samples which is sintered at different sintering temperature. By increasing the sintering temperature it will also increase the resistivity of the sample.