  We have studied the influence of disorder induced by electron irradiation on
the Nernst effect in optimally and underdoped YBa2Cu3O(7-d) single crystals.
The fluctuation regime above T_{c} expands significantly with disorder,
indicating that the T_{c} decrease is partly due to the induced loss of phase
coherence. In pure crystals the temperature extension of the Nernst signal is
found to be narrow whatever the hole doping, contrary to data reported in the
low-T_{c} cuprates families. Our results show that the presence of "intrinsic"
disorder can explain the enhanced range of Nernst signal found in the pseudogap
phase of the latter compounds.
