Abstract
Superconducting YBa~2~Cu~3~O~7~ (YBCO) thick films have been prepared using the screen printing method. Effects of gamma irradiation on their structure and transport properties have been investigated up to a gamma dose of 50 MR. A considerable decrease in the intensities of the major diffraction peaks of the XRD pattern was observed due to gamma irradiation. A gradual increase in the normal state resistance, with a gradual increase in the slope of the resistanceโtemperature (RโT) curves was observed with increasing gamma doses. However, slight decrease in the transition temperature has been observed. The Voltageโcurrent (VโI) data were fitted to the power law V โผ I^ฮฒ^ in which the power exponent ฮฒ was found to increase gradually with gamma dose. The sensitivity of the RโT and VโI curves to gamma rays where precisely estimated and from which the regions of linear response were deduced. The possibility of using YBCO thick film as a candidate device for gamma rays sensing was presented. (ยฉ 2006 WILEYโVCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)