Superconducting Performance of Ex-situ SiC Doped MgB2 Monofilamentary Tapes

The superconducting performance of the ex-situ SiC doped MgB₂ monofilamentary tapes are reported. Polycrystalline powders of MgB₂ doped with 5 and 10 wt% SiC were synthesized by a conventional solid-state reaction route and characterized for their superconducting performances. It was found that the superconducting parameters viz., upper critical field (H _c2), irreversibility field (H _irr) and critical current density (J _c) were improved significantly with SiC addition. It was also found that relatively lower synthesis temperature resulted in further improved superconducting parameters in comparison to higher synthesis temperature. Thus, synthesized powders are used for the fabrication of ex-situ powder-in-tube (PIT) monofilamentary tapes. The superconducting performance in terms of critical current density (J _c), being determined from both magnetization (J _cm) and transport (J _ct) measurements, was improved significantly. In particular, the SiC doped MgB₂ tapes (fabricated using 700 °C heat treated bulk powder) exhibited the transport J _ct of nearly 10⁴ A/cm² under applied fields of as high as 7 Tesla. Further, it was found that the J _ct anisotropy decreases significantly for SiC doped tapes. Disorder due to substitution of C at B site being created from broken SiC and the presence of nano SiC respectively in SiC added ex-situ MgB₂ tapes was responsible for decreased anisotropy and improved J _c(H) performance.     

Improvement of Jc and Grain Alignment of Bi-2212/Ag Multilayer Tapes by Pre-Annealing and Intermediate Rolling Process

The high transport critical current density (J _c ) > 500 kA/cm ² at 4.2 K, 10 T is obtained in the Bi-2212/Ag multilayer tapes fabricated by using PAIR (Pre-Annealing and Intermediate Rolling) and melt-solidification process. This J _c value is twice higher than existing high-quality Bi-2212/Ag tapes (250 kA/cm ² ). By applying PAIR process to Bi-2212/Ag tapes, Bi-2212 grain alignment is much improved and a large J _c enhancement is achieved. J _c has been increased strongly by performing pre-annealing at 840°C in oxygen (1 atm) and intermediate rolling with 25% deformation.     

Improved critical current density in ex situ processed MgB2 tapes by the size reduction of grains and crystallites by high-energy ball milling

We have fabricated Fe-sheathed MgB₂ tapes through an ex situ process in a powder-in-tube (PIT) technique using powders ball milled under various conditions. Although the ex situ processed wires and tapes using the high-energy ball milled MgB₂ powders have been studied and the decrease of grain and crystallite sizes of MgB₂ and the critical current density (J_c) improvement of those conductors were reported so far, the use of filling powders milled at a higher rotation speed than previously reported further decreases the crystallite size and improves the J_c properties. The improved J_c values at 4.2 K and 10 T were nearly twice as large as those previously reported. Those milled powders and hence as-rolled tapes easily receive contamination in air. Thus, the transport J_c properties are easily deteriorated and scattered unless the samples are handled with care. The optimized heat treatment temperature (T_opt) of those tape samples at which best performance in the J_c property is obtained decreases by more than 100 °C, compared with that of tapes using the as-received MgB₂ powder.     

Enhancement of the High-Field J c properties of MgB2/Fe Tapes by Acetone Doping

We report the effect of acetone addition on in situ powder-in-tube processed MgB₂/Fe tapes by using acetone as liquid additive. The amount of acetone was varied from 0 to 15 wt.%. We found that a significant J _c–B enhancement was easily achieved in high field by acetone doping. At 4.2 K, the transport J _c for the best acetone added tapes (5 wt.%) reached up to 2.4×10⁴ A/cm² at 10 T. With increasing acetone concentration, the a-axis lattice parameters, B _c2 and B _irr, were not much changed; however, the insulating MgO impurities and pores gradually increased, thereby resulting in the obvious decrease of J _c values for 10 and 15 wt.% acetone-added samples, especially within low field region.     

Improved Transport J c in MgB2 Tapes by Graphene Doping

Graphene is a special form of carbon which can effectively enhance the critical current density J _c of MgB₂. In this work, a systematic investigation on the impact of sintering conditions and doping level was carried out for graphene-doped MgB₂ tapes. It is found that an appropriate addition level, i.e., 8 at% in this work, is very critical to obtain a high J _c in graphene-doped samples. The critical field and pinning force are improved obviously due to the graphene doping. The magnetic J _c of samples sintered at 800 °C with 8 at% graphene doping reached 1.78 × 10⁴ A/cm², at 5 T, 20 K. At the same time, the transport J _c was up to 2.38 × 10⁴ A/cm² at 10 T, 4.2 K. The lattice distortion caused by C substitution and residual C at the grain boundaries were thought to be the major factors affecting the J _c of graphene-doped MgB₂ samples.     

Investigation on MgB2 Wires Doped by ZrH2

ZrH₂-doped MgB₂ wires, with the component of Mg:ZrH₂:B= (1-x):x:2(x = 0, 5, 8, and 10%), were fabricated through thein situ powder-in-tube method by using low-carbon steel tube as the sheath material Samples were sintered at 750^{^}C for 1h in a flow of high-purity argon.The lattice parameters a and c of MgB₂exhibit a little decrease with the doping of ZrH₂.J_c(B)property of MgB₂wires are improved gradually with the increase of x, reaches the best whenx = 8%, but decreases significantlywhen x = 10%. The decrease of MgB₂grain size, the excellent grain connection, and the substitution of Zr⁴⁺for Mg²⁺which is caused by the doping of ZrH₂, are responsiblefor the enhancement of J_c(B)property forthe doped MgB₂wires. PACS: 74.70.Ad; 74.62.Dh; 74.62.Bf; 74.25.Sv     

Thermally stabilized MgB2 composite wires with different barriers

Glidcop sheathed in situ MgB₂ wires with Nb and Ti barriers and Cu and Al inner cores have been made and tested. It was found that the inner aluminium stabilization is not appropriate, due to a reaction with Nb during the heat treatment at 630 °C. Using Ti barriers, much higher J_c values were obtained when compared to Nb barriers. The enhancement by 1.5 to 2.1 times is explained by the absorption of impurities from MgB₂ filaments by titanium. On the other hand, Ti reacts with copper and reduces the conductivity of metallic sheath (RRR ratio), which affects the thermal stabilization of the MgB₂ wire.     

Fabrication and magnetoresistivit of ex-situ processed MgB<Subscript>2</Subscript>/Fe monofilament tapes without any intermediate annealing

We have fabricated MgB₂/Fe monofilament wires and tapes by a powder-in tube (PIT) technique, using an ex-situ process without any intermediate annealing. MgB₂/Fe monofilament tapes were annealed at 650–1,050°C for 60 min and 950°C for 30–240 min. We have investigated the effect of annealing temperatures and times on the formation of MgB₂ phase, activation energy, temperature dependence of irreversibility field H _irr(T) and upper critical field H _c2(T), transition temperature (T _c), lattice parameters (a and c), full width at half maximum, crystallinity, resistivity, residual resistivity ratio, active cross-sectional area fraction and critical current densities. We observed that the activation energies of the MgB₂/Fe monofilament samples increased with increasing annealing temperature up to 950°C and with increasing annealing time up to 60 min while it decreased with increasing magnetic field. For the MgB₂/Fe monofilament tape, the slope of the H _c2–T and H _irr–T curves decreased with increasing annealing temperature from 850 to 950°C as well as with increasing annealing time from 30 to 60 min. The transport and microstructure investigations show that T _c, J _c and microstructure properties are remarkably enhanced with increasing annealing temperature. The highest value of critical current density is obtained for the sample annealed at 950°C for 60 min. The J _c and T _c^offset values of the sample annealed at 950°C for 60 min were found to be 260.43 A/cm² at 20 and 38.1 K, respectively.     

Fabrication and Properties of Ag–Ni Bimetallic Sheathed (Bi,Pb)-2223 Tapes

10-meter-long Ag?CNi bimetallic sheathed (Bi,Pb)-2223 tapes with outer nickel sheath and inner silver sheath have been successfully fabricated by the ??Powder in tube?? technique. Microstructure and phase evolution studies by means of SEM and XRD, as well as critical current density (J _c ) measurements have been performed. It is found that the nickel sheath and dwell time in the first sintering process have great influences on the texture evolution, phase transformation and J _c of the Bi-2223/Ag/Ni tapes. Mono-filament (Bi,Pb)-2223 tape with a J _c of 6656?A?cm^?2 and 61-filament tape with a J _c of 12420?A?cm^?2 are obtained. Although using composite bimetallic sheaths can reduce production costs and improve mechanical properties of the Bi-2223 tapes, the Bi-2223 content and J _c of Bi-2223/Ag/Ni tapes are relatively lower than that of traditional Bi-2223/Ag tapes. Meanwhile, due to higher Bi-2223 content and better alignment of Bi-2223 grains, tapes with 61-filament have higher J _c than mono-filament tapes.     

Magnetic Characterization of Stainless Steel Reinforced Multi-core MgB2 Wires

Superconducting properties of 19-filament multi-core MgB₂ wires reinforced by stainless steel sheath were investigated by magnetic measurements. The samples have filament diameters, ?, between 58 and 17 μm. No influence of ? on superconducting transition temperature is found, but width of transition increases with shrinking filament size. Whereas three of the four investigated samples show a systematic decrease of critical current density J _c with decreasing ?, the sample with largest filament diameter has a weaker field dependence leading to smaller values of J _c than for the sample with next largest ? at low fields but much higher values at high fields. This sample is also the only one showing clear anisotropy. Mean effective activation energies, U, are also reduced with ?, indicating a reduction of pinning strength. The temperature dependence of U points to the existence of activation energy distributions which broaden for samples with smaller filament diameter.     

Long multifilament Bi-2223 Ag-sheathed superconducting tapes and solenoids

Multifilament Ag-sheathed BiPbSrCaCuO (2223) superconducting tapes containing 49 filaments were fabricated by the powder-in-tube route and the roll-anneal process. The transport critical current densityJ _c was 1.3×10⁴ A cm^–2 at 77 K and 7×10⁴ A cm^–2 at 4.2 K in self-field. A 12-m-long tape was used to construct superconducting solenoids (50, 28, and 14 mm internal diameters) generating dc fields 380–1070 G at 4.2 K. Measurements of the variation ofJ _c with field (0–1.6 T) and bend strain (0–5%) are used to explain the performance of the solenoids. The critical bend strain of tapes was about 1.5%.     

Study for AC Loss Reduction in Bi2223 Tapes by Introducing Oxide Barriers

This paper presents our recent activities for the development of low-loss Bi2223 tapes with interfilamentary oxide barriers. In order to suppress the side effect on Bi2223 phase formation during sintering process, SrZrO₃ was selected as barrier materials. Moreover, small amount of Bi2212 was mixed with SrZrO₃ to improve their ductility for cold working. By controlling coating thickness of oxide barriers before stacking, reducing a tape width below 3 mm and careful twisting of the filaments with its length below 5 mm, coupling frequency f _c exceeded 250 Hz even in an AC perpendicular magnetic field. Critical current densities J _c of tightly twisted barrier tapes were ranged in 12?C14 kA/cm² at 77 K and self-field, which was 25% lower than the nontwisted one (=18 kA/cm²). To our knowledge, this is the first result to achieve both J _c>12 kA/cm² and f _c>250 Hz simultaneously for Bi2223 tapes in an isolated state. These twisted barrier tapes showed 60?C70% lower perpendicular field losses than a conventional 4 mm-width tape with fully coupled filaments at 50 mT and 50 Hz.     

The Jc Limit of Multifilamentary Ag/Bi-2223 Tapes

To improve on present critical current (J _c) performance, multifilamentary Ag/Bi-2223 tapes with a large range of reduction rates were manufactured. The relative core mass density D was calculated, dependent on the measured geometric dimensions of the tapes. Experimental results, D vs. J _c, D vs. maximum pinning force density F _max , and D vs. irreversible magnetic field B _irr, are quantitatively formatted. In particular, the magnetic field dependence of J _c is critically dependent on its core density. If the core density increases by 10%, J _c of the tapes in this experiment is enhanced by as much as 100%. Therefore, in the present state of the technological process for manufacturing Ag/Bi-2223 tape, increasing the core density is clearly a significant strategy in improving the electronic and magnetic properties of the tapes and enhancing the capacity for carrying current at high magnetic fields. The limit of the bulk self-field-J _c can be calculated by the relationships of J _c vs. D. The limit is estimated to be on the order of 200 kA/cm² for multifilamentary Bi-2223 tapes, which was supported by magneto-optical (MO) magnetization measurements results. It is a hard task to approach this limit with the present state of the art in manufacturing Ag/Bi-2223 tape, and it is the time to suggest some new ideals for Bi-2223 tapes to promote large-scale applications.     

Comparison of Different Critical Current Density Models for?Undoped Monofilamentary Ti-Sheathed MgB2 Tapes

Two J _c dependency on B models with physical backgrounds and two semiempirical models are fitted in fields B>1.5 T to critical current measurements. The measurements were previously performed on various undoped titanium sheathed monocore MgB₂ tapes. The models are fitted to magnetic measurements performed at temperatures ranging from 4.2 to 15 K and to transport measurements in both parallel and perpendicular directions. These parameters of the introduced models have clear physical interpretations, such as, the zero field critical current density, the zero resistivity field, and the steepness factor. The parameters are solved through numerical optimization. The goal is to find a model with simple parameters that produce computed values which match those observed through direct measurements. In the future, these parameters can be used to gather information about pinning, to compare the performance of the conductors, and to develop these further. The results indicate that many kind of models are sufficient to describe the J _c(B) behavior of different kinds of tapes and measurement methods in various temperatures. They also enable the reconstruction of the J _c(B) dependence even from a limited number of data points or a narrow measurement range. In addition, the F _p behaviors of the samples are compared to the characteristic grain boundary pinning in MgB₂.     

Critical current studies on metal clad R1Ba2Cu3O7−x wires

Silver clad wires of R₁Ba₂Cu₃O_7−x (R=Y, Gd, Sm, Dy and Ho) have been fabricated following the powder-in-tube method and cold-rolling. The critical current densityJ _c at 77 K and zero magnetic field is restricted to 66 A.cm⁻². In a separate experiment we have studied the effect of silver sheath thickness onJ _c of the Y₁Ba₂Cu₃O_7−x wires. Interestingly,J _c is higher for larger sheath thickness indicating that large sheath thickness prevents oxygen loss during sintering. Uniaxial pressing of the wires into flat tapes results in an increase of theJ _c . MaximumJ _x is, however, limited to 169 A.cm⁻². No grain alignment is found in the core material of our wires which is essential for highJ _c . Several options are being tried.     

MgB<Subscript>2</Subscript> with addition of Sb<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> obtained by spark plasma sintering technique

Superconducting bulks of MgB₂ with addition of Sb₂O₃ and Sb with different stoichiometric compositions ((MgB₂) + (Sb₂O₃) _x , x = 0.0025, 0.005, 0.015, and (MgB₂) + (Sb)_y, y = 0.01) were obtained by the Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) technique. All added samples have high density, above 95% and critical temperature, T _c, of 38.1–38.6 K. This result and XRD data suggest that Sb does not enter the lattice of MgB₂. Impurity phases are Mg₃Sb₂, MgO, and MgB₄. The optimum addition is Sb₂O₃ for x = 0.005. This sample shows the critical current density, J _c(5 K, 0 T) = 4 × 10⁵ A/cm² and J _c(5 K, 7 T) = 6 × 10² A/cm², while the irreversibility field, H _irr (5 K, 100 A/cm²) = 8.23 T. Indicated values of J _c and H _irr are higher than for the pristine sample. The mechanism of J _c and H _irr increase in the Sb₂O₃ added samples is complex and composed of opposite effects most probably involving morphology elements, the presence of nano metric MgB₄ and the indirect influence of oxygen or oxygen and Sb. Crystallite size of MgB₂ is decreasing when Sb-based additions are introduced and the effect is stronger for the Sb-metal addition. The sample with Sb-metal addition does not improve J _c and H _irr when compared with pristine sample.     

Progress in Critical Current Density (<Emphasis Type="Italic">J</Emphasis><Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">c</Emphasis></Subscript>) in Sintered MgB<Subscript>2</Subscript> Bulks

The present paper focuses on methods of further improving the flux pinning and critical current density of disk-shaped MgB₂ bulk superconductors by adding excess Mg metal in combination with an optimum silver content and optimized processing conditions. Bulk MgB₂ samples were produced by in situ solid-state reaction in Ar gas ambient using high purity commercial powders of Mg metal and 1.5 wt% carbon-coated amorphous B powders mixed in a fixed ratio of Mg/B = 1.1:2. Further, 4 wt% silver was added to improve flux pinning as well as mechanical performance of the bulk MgB₂ material. The magnetization measurements confirmed a sharp superconducting transition with T_c,onset at around 37 K, which is only by 1 K lower than in bulk MgB₂ material produced without carbon-coated amorphous boron. The critical current density (J_c) values significantly improved in the MgB₂ material with 4 wt% of silver and 1.5 wt% of carbon-coated amorphous boron, sintered at 775 ^°C for 3 h. At 20 K, this sample showed J_c at around 500 and 350 kA/cm² in the self-field and 1 T, respectively, which makes it suitable for several industrial applications.     

Effect of starting precursor powders on microstructural development and critical current density properties of BSCCO 2223 tapes

Bi-2223/Ag tapes with different lead content (Pb=0.2–0.4) powders were fabricated. The microstructural development and J_c properties were studied with starting precursor powder prepared in different conditions. The experimental results indicate that the variations of lead content extremely influence the reactivity of precursor powders, which is closely related to the formation rate of 2223 phase, microstructure and J_c values of Bi-2223/Ag tapes. In addition, the particle size distribution of precursor powders has a large effect on the transport properties. By optimizing these powder parameters, J_c values above 60,000 A/cm² (77 K, 0 T) in short tapes were achieved.     

High Critical Current Densities in MgB2 Films Grown on Hastelloy Tape by Hybrid Physical-Chemical Vapor Deposition

We report on the high critical current densities in MgB₂ films directly grown on Hastelloy tapes without any buffer layer by using the hybrid physical-chemical vapor deposition method. MgB₂ films were formed by reaction of Mg metal vapor with the incoming B₂H₆ gas on the heated substrates. In MgB₂ films grown for 10 min at 500 °C in total working pressure 100 Torr with gas mixing ratio H₂:B₂H₆=70:30, we observed the transport critical current density (J _c) was approximately 10⁶ A/cm² at 4 T and 20 K in magnetic fields applied parallel to the substrate plane. This value is higher than those observed in epitaxial MgB₂ films on sapphire substrates grown by using the same method. Magnetic field dependence of J _c of this sample was well explained by the grain-boundary pinning model. Our result opens up a possibility that the coated conductors made of MgB₂ films have a strong potential for high current applications.     

Development of high critical current densities in niobium 46.5 wt% titanium

A systematic investigation of the effects of varying the heat treatment time and temperature over a wide range in a series of composites made from high homogeneity Nb 46.5 wt% Ti has been made. The study has been confined to processes involving two or three heat treatments since these are most compatible with industrial scale fabrication. Very high J_c values have been obtained using process variables significantly different from those normally used. In particular, we find that increasing the heat treatment temperature and the final drawing strain are very helpful in raising J_c. The maximum J_c values (at a sensitivity of 10⁻¹⁴ Ωm) of 3680 Amm⁻² (5 T, 4.2 K) and 1560 Amm⁻² (8 T, 4.2 K) were obtained for heat treatments at 420°C and for final drawing strains > 5.