Effect of nano-sized PbO on the transport critical current density of (Bi1.6Pb0.4Sr2Ca2Cu3O10)/Ag tapes

The effect of nano-sized PbO (10-30 nm) addition on the transport critical current density, J(c) of (Bi16Pb0.4)Sr2Ca2Cu3O10 (PbO)(x)(x=0 -0.15 wt%) was investigated. J(c) of PbO added pellet samples showed the maximal value at x=0.05 wt%. Using this result, Ag-sheathed (Bi1.6Pb0.4)SI2Ca2Cu3O10 (PbO)(x)/Ag tapes (x=0 and 0.05 wt %) were fabricated by the powder-in-tube (PIT) method. The tapes were sintered for 50 h and 100 h at 845 degrees C. The temperature dependence of J(c) for the non-added and PbO added tapes in applied field was investigated. J(c) of the non-added tapes was 4510 A/cm(2) at 40 K and 949 A/cm(2) at 77 K. J(c) of (Bi1.6Pb0.4)Sr2Ca2Cu3O10 (PbO)(0.05)/Ag tape sintered for 100 h was 26,800 A/cm(2) at 40 K and 10,700 A/cm(2) at 40 K, which was higher than the tapes sintered for 50 h (8590 A/cm(2) at 40 K and 1880 A/cm(2) at 77 K). Nano-sized PbO added tapes sintered for 100 h showed a higher J(c) (more than 10 times) under magnetic field (0-0.75 T) compared with the non-added tape. A combined effect of enhanced flux pinning and improved microstructure led to the significant increase in J(c) of the nanosized PbO added tapes. (c) 2013 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved.