Development of a Cost-Effective Process for the Fabrication of Single Grain Bulk Superconductors

To reduce the processing cost of the single grain REBCO (RE: Rare-earth elements) bulk superconductors, a cost-effective process should be developed. One possible way of developing the cost-effective process is the use of low-cost precursor powders. In this study, the single grain YBCO superconductors were fabricated using a home made powder. $YBa_2Cu_3O_{7-y}$ (Y123) powders were synthesized at $850-900^{\circ}C$ in air by the powder calcination method with repeated crushing and heat treatment steps. The processing parameters for the fabrication of single grain Y123 bulk superconductors, $T_{max}$ (maximum temperature), $T_p$ (peritectic temperature) and a cooling rate through $T_p$ were optimized. To enhance the flux pinning capacity of the single grain Y123 samples, $Y_2BaCuO_5$ (Y211) particles were dispersed in the Y123 matrix by adding $Y_2O_3$ powder to the calcined Y123 powder. Applying the optimized processing condition, the single grain Y123 superconductors with $T_c=91\;K$ and $J_c=1.5{\times}10^4\;A/cm^2$ at 2 T were successfully fabricated using a home made powder. The levitation forces and trapped magnetic field at 77 K measured using a Nd-B-Fe permanent magnet of 5300 G were 47 N and 3000 G, respectively, which are comparable to those obtained for the samples fabricated using a commercial grade Y123 powders.

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