High density MgB2 obtained by reactive liquid Mg infiltration

A new route to the sintering of MgB2 has been identified, based on a reactive infiltration of liquid Mg on a powdered B preform. The technique allows to obtain large bulk manufacts in an inexpensive way, without the need of high pressure apparatus. The best of the obtained samples shows a transport current density of 3 kA/cm(2) at 4.2K and 9 T. The critical aspects of the technology are presented, together with the recent achievements and the perspective applications.