Some aspects of glass-ceramic superconductors

The general procedure for making glass-ceramic superconductors and some of their physical properties have been discussed in this review article. All these glasses which become superconductors after properly annealing at higher temperatures are, in general, transition metal oxides (TMO) with copper ions. So the usual theoretical models of polaronic hopping conduction mechanisms are valid for explaining the semiconducting behaviour of these oxide glasses. Some of the transport properties of the glass-ceramic (GC) phases, viscosity of the glassy state, wire making feasibility etc have also been discussed in short. (author). 52 refs., 22 figs