Enhancement of functional properties of V0.6Ti0.4 alloy superconductor by the addition of yttrium

We show here that yttrium is immiscible and precipitates with various sizes in the body centered cubic V0.6Ti0.4 alloy superconductor. The number and size of the precipitates are found to depend on the amount of yttrium added. Precipitates with various sizes up to 30 μm are found in the V0.6Ti0.4 alloy containing 5 at. % yttrium. The large amount of line disorders generated by the addition of yttrium in this alloy is found to be effective in pinning the magnetic flux lines. While the superconducting transition temperature increases with the increasing amount of yttrium in the V0.6Ti0.4 alloy, the critical current density is maximum for the alloy containing 2 at. % yttrium, where it is more than 7.5 times the parent alloy in fields higher than 1 T. We found that the effectiveness of each type of defect in pinning the flux lines is dependent on the temperature and the applied magnetic filed.