Abstract
Single-crystal microstructures enable high-performance YBa2Cu3O7-x superconductors which are however limited to simple shapes due to their brittleness. Additive manufacturing can fabricate YBa2Cu3O7-x superconductor with complex shapes, albeit with a polycrystalline microstructure. Here, we demonstrate a route to grow single-crystals from 3D-ink-printed, polycrystalline, sintered superconducting YBa2Cu3O7-x (YBCO or Y123) + Y2BaCuO5 (Y211), manufacturing objects with complex architectures displaying both high critical current density (Jc=2.1 × 104 A.cm–2, 77 K) and high critical temperature (Tc= 88-89.5 K). An ink containing precursor powders (Y2O3, BaCO3, and CuO) is 3D-extruded into complex geometries and then reaction-sintered to obtain polycrystalline Y123 + Y211. A seed is then utilized to transform these 3D-printed parts from polycrystal to monocrystal via the melt growth method. The geometric details of 3D-printed parts survive the process without slumping, sagging or collapse, despite the long-term presence of liquid above the peritectic temperature. Origami structures can be created by sheet folding after 3D-printing. This additive approach enables the facile fabrication of superconducting devices with complex shapes and architectures, such as advanced undulator magnets to generate synchrotron radiation and microwave cavities for dark-matter axion search. This work highlights the potential of additive manufacturing for producing monocrystalline cuprate superconductors and opens the door to additive manufacturing of other monocrystalline functional ceramic or semiconductor materials.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Article number | 1933 |
| Journal | Nature communications |
| Volume | 16 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 2025 |
Funding
This research received funding (D.Z., C.B., and D.C.D.) from the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab), a U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of High Energy Physics HEP User Facility. Fermilab is managed by Fermi Forward Discovery Group, LLC, acting under Contract No. 89243024CSC000002. It made use of Northwestern University\u2019s MatSCI and MLTOF facilities that received support from the MRSEC program (NSF DMR-1720139, NSF DMR\u22122308691, respectively) of the Materials Research Center. This work made use of: (i) the IMSERC Crystallography facility at Northwestern University, which has received support from the Soft and Hybrid Nanotechnology Experimental (SHyNE) Resource (NSF ECCS\u22122025633), and Northwestern University; (ii) the Jerome B. Cohen X-Ray Diffraction Facility supported by the MRSEC program of the National Science Foundation (DMR\u22122308691) at the Materials Research Center of Northwestern University and the Soft and Hybrid Nanotechnology Experimental (SHyNE) Resource (NSF ECCS-1542205.); (iii) the EPIC facilities at NUANCE center that received support from Soft and Hybrid Nanotechnology Experimental (SHyNE) Resource (NSF ECCS\u22122025633), the International Institute for Nanotechnology (IIN), the MRSEC program (NSF DMR\u22122308691) at the Materials Research Center, the Keck Foundation, and the State of Illinois, through the IIN. This work made use of a Quantum Design MPMS\u22123 at the Cornell Center for Materials Research shared instrumentation facility. The authors thank Mr. Steve Kriske from Cornell University for conducting the AC susceptibility tests. We thank Prof. Samuel Stupp (NU) for letting us use his Bioplotter for ink printing. We thank, for their experimental help and/or useful discussions, Prof. Sumit Kewalramani (XRD) and Prof. Chris D. Malliakas (in situ XRD). We acknowledge Ceraco Ceramic Coating GmbH (Ismaning, Germany) for providing the NdBCO seeds.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Chemistry
- General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
- General Physics and Astronomy
