Eu Doping Effect on The Crystal Structure of Y3-xEuxBa5Cu8O18 Superconductor

This study aims to determine the effect of the Eu doping on the crystal structure of Y3Ba5Cu8O18 superconductor. The synthesis process used the raw material of Y2O3 (99.9%), Eu2O3 (99.9%), BaCO3 (99.9%), CuO (99.9%) and HNO3. The raw material was dissolved with HNO3 and calcinated at 600oC for 3 hours. That is followed by sinter at 930°C for 3 hours. The characterization of this research is X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). The XRD characterization results show that the samples are well crystallized which is marked by the sharp peak appearance. The addition of the Eu element to the Y3Ba5Cu8O18 sample resulted in the angle shift in each diffraction spectrum. The greater of the Eu element substitution, the higher of the lattice parameter values, the larger of the unit cell volume, while the atomic density in the unit cell is smaller. In this study, the range of lattice parameter values obtained was 3.823-3.825 Å for the a-axis, 3,890-3,896 Å for the b-axis, 11.665-11.689 Å for the c-axis. These results are supported by SEM characterization, where the particle size increases with the addition of the Eu elements. FTIR characterization results obtained by absorption at wavelengths of 445.56, 507.28, 597.93, 856.39, 952.84, 1224.80, 1438.90, 2387.87 cm-1 Keywords : superconductor, lattice parameter, angle shift