Analysis of the 2212 Compound

We have described in some detail the means by which the chemical composition of a superconducting phase may be determined in the presence of other phases. Our approach is quite general, and we have applied it to a number of systems in the high-Tc area (see Table 5). The important question is what credence can be placed on such results  

There are a number of potential difficulties with our method. In the first instance, we must ask whether the ratio method (equation (2)) is reliable under all circumstances if the crystals are sufficiently thin. We believe that in the vast majority of instances this will be the case, but we have encountered 

Yamamoto, A., Onoda, M., Takayama-Muromachi, E., Izumi, F., Ishigaki, T. and Asano, H., to be published. 

Morgan, P.E.D., Ratto, J.J., Housley, R.M. and Porter, J.R., in MRS Spring 1988 Meeting Proceedings Better Ceramics Through Chemistry III, Materials Research Society, Reno, NV (1988). 

and Muller-Bushbaum, H., Z. Anorg. Allg. Chem. 379 234 (1970). 

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