Texture study of magnetically aligned YBa₂Cu₃O₇-type materials by neutron diffraction

The crystallite orientation distributions of three magnetically aligned samples: YBa₂Cu₃O₆ aligned in the tetragonal phase followed by oxidation for orthorhombic conversion, orthorhombic YBa₂Cu₃O₇, and orthorhombic HoBa₂Cu₃O₇, were studied by neutron pole-figure measurements. Each had a fiber texture with the c axis parallel to the applied-magnetic field direction. The orientation distributions could be described quite satisfactorily with Lorentzian or March distribution functions. The sample aligned in the tetragonal phase had distinctly better alignment than that aligned in the orthorhombic phase, with FWHMs of 19.3 (3) and 37.8 (7)°, respectively. The contour lines of the pole figures showed irregularities owing to the presence of coarse grains in the samples.