Processing of BSCCO 2212 and 2223 Superconductor Compounds

High-T_c BSCCO superconductor tapes were prepared by the conventional powder-in-tube method. Some tapes involved partial melting, while the others involved solid-state processing only. Bulk samples were prepared by powder metallurgy. X-ray diffraction (XRD) showed the presence of both BSCCO 2223 (T_c = 105 K) and BSCCO 2212 (T_c = 80 K) phases in all the materials. For the mostly BSCCO 2212 phase samples, x-ray studies indicated that tape #1 which involved partial melting at 850^°C for 0.3 h had a higher degree of basal orientation than either a tape #2 sample which involved partial melting at 855^°C for 0.5 h, or a bulk (#2) sample. For the mostly BSCCO 2223 phase samples, however, a comparison of bulk (#1.), tape #3 (solid state processing at 840^°C) and tape #4 (partial melting at 865^°C for 0.5 h) samples, showed that the solid-state processed tape (#3) had the highest degree of basal orientation. Direct current magnetic susceptibility measurements were used to follow the transition at T_c. Critical current density, J_c, values were estimated from DC magnetic hysteresis loops for all bulk and tape samples.