  Effects of carbon incorporation on the doping state of YBa2Cu3Oy (Y-123) were
investigated. Quantitative carbon analysis revealed that carbon could be
introduced into Y-123 from both the precursor and the sintering gas. Nearly
carbon-free (< 200 ppm) samples were prepared from a vacuum-treated precursor
by sintered at 900 &#730;C and cooling with 20 &#730;C /min in flowing oxygen
gas. The lower Tc (= 88 K) and higher oxygen content (y = 6.98) strongly
suggested the overdoping state, which was supported by the temperature
dependence of resisitivity and thermoelectric power. The nuclear quadrapole
resonance spectra and the Raman scattering spectra indicated that there was
almost no oxygen defect in the Cu-O chain in these samples. On the other hand,
in the same cooling condition, the samples sintered in air stayed at optimal
doping level with Tc = 93 K, and the intentionally carbon-doped sample was in
the underdoping state. It is revealed that about 60% of incorporated carbon was
substituted for Cu at the chain site in the form of CO32+, and the rest remains
at the grain boundary as carbonate impurities. Such incorporation affected the
oxygen absorption process in Y-123. It turned out that the oxygen content in
Y-123 cannot be controlled only by the annealing temperature and the oxygen
partial pressure but also by the incorporated carbon concentration.
