Effect of oxygen deficiency on the normal and superconducting properties of YBa_{2}Cu_{3}O_{7-δ}

Abstract

Resistivity and structural studies on oxygen-deficient single-phase samples of polycrystalline ${\mathrm{YBa}}_2$ ${\mathrm{Cu}}_3$ ${\mathrm{O}}_{7\mathrm{-}\mathrm{\delta }}$ are presented. The oxygen content is controlled through annealing in He atmosphere. By analyzing the behavior of the normal-state resistivity as a function of δ in terms of one-dimensional conduction, we provide evidence that one-dimensional CuO chains are responsible for the dominant normal-state conduction and the superconductivity at 91 K. The effects of oxygen deficiency on the superconducting properties are also discussed.