Fabrication and transport properties of ex situ powder-in-tube (PIT) processed (Ba, K)Fe2As2 superconducting wires

Soon after the discovery of Fe based superconductors, attempts of wire fabrication started using a powder-in-tube (PIT) technique, because their high transition temperature and extremely high upper critical field bring the hope of high field applications. Although the transport critical current density, J(c), reported in the early stage was disappointingly low, it has been rapidly improved during the past one year to the orders of 10(4) and 10(5) A/cm(2) by optimizing various processing parameters of the PIT technique. This paper reports one of the works which brought such rapid progress. (Ba, K)Fe2As2 superconducting wires were fabricated by an ex situ powder-in-tube (PIT) process using a melt processed precursor material. The paper also discusses the influence of Ag addition, critical current irreversibility, critical current anisotropy of the tape sample, and finally future prospect in the development of Fe based superconducting wires. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.