LAUSR

Abstract The TSFZ growth of Nd-substituted LSCO (La1.81-xNdxSr0.19CuO4, x = 0 ÷ 0.4) single crystals has been explored for the first time. Optimal growth parameters have been determined: oxygen pressure 5.5–6.5 bar; CuO-poor solvent (66 mol.% CuO) and growth rate 0.6 mm/hour. As a result, high quality single crystals with composition La1.81-xSr0.19NdxCuO4 (x = 0, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4) have been successfully grown and characterized by optical polarized microscopy, x-ray diffraction and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy analysis. Substitution of La3+ with smaller Nd3+ ions leads to a gradual decrease of lattice parameters as well as of the superconducting transition temperature from 29.5 K for x = 0 to 14.6 K for x = 0.4.