• 한국초전도학회:학술대회논문집
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• v.11
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• pp.12-12
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• 2001

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2002.04a
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• pp.88-95
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• 2002

Recent development in the field of RE-Ba-Cu-O (REBCO, RE: Y or rare earth elements) bulk high-Tc superconductors (HTS) is reviewed in the present paper. After the fatal weak link problem of sintered REBCO superconductors has been overcome by melt processing, this field has been greatly advanced during last ten years. The critical current density $J_c$ at 77 K has been enhanced by introducing effective flux pinning sites into the $REBa_2Cu_3O_y$ (RE123) superconducting matrix. Large melt-textured REBCO bulk crystals have been fabricated with the TSMG(top-seeded melt growth) technique. Mechanical properties of REBCO bulks have been improved by using the Ag additive or epoxy resin. Real bulk applications such as current lead, fault current limiter, flywheel energy storage system, magnetic field source, magnetic separation system, and etc., surely come true near future.

• 한국초전도학회:학술대회논문집
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• v.12
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• pp.12-12
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• 2002

• Progress in Superconductivity and Cryogenics
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.19-24
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• 2017

Cryogenic milling which is a combined process of low-temperature treatment and mechanical milling was applied to fabricate high critical current density $(J_c)MgB_2$ bulk superconductors. Liquid nitrogen was used as a coolant, and no solvent or lubricant was used. Spherical Mg ($6-12{\mu}m$, 99.9 % purity) and plate-like B powder (${\sim}1{\mu}m$, 97 % purity) were milled simultaneously for various time periods (0, 2, 4, 6 h) at a rotating speed of 500 rpm using $ZrO_2$ balls. The (Mg+2B) powders milled were pressed into pellets and heat-treated at $700^{\circ}C$ for 1 h in flowing argon. The use of cryomilled powders as raw materials promoted the formation reaction of superconducting $MgB_2$, reduced the grain size of $MgB_2$, and suppressed the formation of impurity MgO. The superconducting critical temperature ($T_c$) of $MgB_2$ was not influenced as the milling time (t) increased up to 6 h. Meanwhile, the critical current density ($J_c$) of $MgB_2$ increased significantly when t increased to 4 h. When t increased further to 6 h, however, $J_c$ decreased. The $J_c$ enhancement of $MgB_2$ by cryogenic milling is attributed to the formation of the fine grain $MgB_2$ and a suppression of the MgO formation.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.142-147
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• 2013

$YBa_2Cu_3O_{7-y}$ (Y123) powders for the fabrication of bulk superconductors were synthesized by the powder reaction method using $Y_2O_3$ (99.9% purity), $BaCO_3$ (99.75%) and CuO (99.9%) powders. The raw powders were weighed to the cation ratio of Y:Ba:Cu=1:2:3, mixed and calcined at $880^{\circ}C-930^{\circ}C$ in air with intermediate repeated crushing steps. It was found that the formation of Y123 powder was more sensitive to reaction temperature than reaction time. The calcined Y123 powder and a mixture of (Y123 + 0.25 mole $Y_2O_3$ + 1 wt.% $CeO_2$, $Y_{1.5}Ba_2Cu_3O_x$ (Y1.5)) were used as raw powders for the fabrication of poly-grain or single grain superconductors. The superconducting transition temperature ($T_{c,onset}$) of the sintered Y123 sample was 91 K and the transition width was as large as 11 K, whereas the $T_{c,onset}$ of the melt-grown Y1.5 sample was 90.5 K and the transition width was 3.5 K. The critical current density ($J_c$) at 77 K and 0 T of the sintered Y123 was 700 $A/cm^2$, whereas the $J_c$ of the top-seeded melt growth (TSMG) processed Y1.5 sample was $3.2{\times}10^4\;A/cm^2$. The magnetic flux density (H) at 77 K of the TSMG-processed Y123 and Y1.5 sample showed the 0.53 kG and 2.45 kG, respectively, which are 15% and 71% of the applied magnetic field of 3.5 kG. The high H value of the TSMG-processed Y1.5 sample is attributed to the formation of the larger superconducting grain with fine Y211 dispersion.

• Progress in Superconductivity and Cryogenics
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.7-10
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• 2009

Effects of $BaCO_3$ purity on the superconducting properties of top seeded melt growth (TSMG) processed $Y_{1+x}Ba_2Cu_3O_{7-y}$ (Y1+x, x=0.1 and 0.2) superconductors were investigated. $YBa_2Cu_3O_{7-y}$ (Y123) powder prepared using $BaCO_3$ with 99.75% purity and commercially available Y123 powder of 99.9% were used for the fabrication of single Y123 grain superconductors. $T_c$ values of the Y1+x samples prepared using low purity Y123 powder were slightly lower than those of the samples prepared using a high purity powder. In addition to the lower $T_c$, an anomalous peak effect in the intermediate magnetic fields was observed in Y1+x samples prepared using the low purity $BaCO_3$ powder. The slight decrease in $T_c$ and the anomalous peak effect are ascribed to the possible incorporation of a Y123 phase with impurity elements such as strontium and calcium included in the $BaCO_3$powder of 99.7%. The result suggests that the low purity $BaCO_3$ powder of a low price can be used as a raw power for the fabrication of single grain YBCO bulk superconductors.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.309-315
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• 2013

$GdBa_2Cu_3O_{7-y}$(Gd123) powders were synthesized by the solid-state reaction method using $Gd_2O_3$ (99.9% purity), $BaCO_3$ (99.75%) and CuO (99.9%) powders. The synthesized Gd123 powder and the Gd123 powder with $Gd_2O_3$ addition ($Gd_{1.5}Ba_2Cu_3O_{7-y}$(Gd1.5)) were used as raw powders for the fabrication of Gd123 bulk superconductors. The Gd123 and Gd1.5 bulk superconductors were fabricated by sintering or a top-seeded melt growth (TSMG) process. The superconducting transition temperature ($T_{c,onset}$) of the sintered Gd123 was 93 K and the transition width was as large as 20 K. The $T_{c,onset}$ of the TSMG processed Gd123 was 82 K and the transition width was also as large as 12 K. The critical current density ($J_c$) at 77 K and 0 T of the sintered Gd123 and TSMG processed Gd123 were as low as a few hundreds A/$cm^2$. The addition of 0.25 mole $Gd_2O_3$ and 1 wt.% $CeO_2$ to Gd123 enhanced the $T_c$, $J_c$ and magnetic flux density (H) of the TSMG processed Gd123 sample owing to the formation of the superconducting phase with high flux pinning capability. The $T_c$ of the TSMG processed Gd1.5 was 92 K and the transition width was 1 K. The $J_cs$ at 77 K (0 T and 2 T) were $3.2{\times}10^4\;A/cm^2$ and $2.5{\times}10^4\;A/cm^2$, respectively. The H at 77 K of the TSMG-processed Gd1.5 was 1.96 kG, which is 54% of the applied magnetic field (3.45 kG).

• Progress in Superconductivity and Cryogenics
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.42-46
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• 2017

The effects of the heat treatment temperature ($600^{\circ}C-1050^{\circ}C$) on the formation of $MgB_2$ and the superconducting properties have been examined. The self-synthesized $MgB_4$ and commercial Mg powders were used as raw materials for the formation of $MgB_2$. The superconducting critical temperatures ($T_cs$) of $MgB_2$ bulk superconductors prepared at $600^{\circ}C-850^{\circ}C$ were as high as 37-38 K regardless of the heat treatment temperature. However, because $MgB_4$ is more stable than $MgB_2$ at above $850^{\circ}C$, no superconducting signals were detected in the susceptibility-temperature curves of the samples prepared above $850^{\circ}C$. As for the critical current density ($J_c$), the sample heat-treated at a low temperature ($600^{\circ}C$) for a prolonged period (40 h) showed a Jc higher than those prepared at $650^{\circ}C-850^{\circ}C$ for a short period (1 h). The FWHM (full width at half maximum) result showed that the grain size of $MgB_2$ of the $600^{\circ}C$ sample was smaller than that of the other samples. The high $J_c$ of the $600^{\circ}C$sample is attributed to the presence of large numbers of grain boundaries, which can act as flux pinning centers of $MgB_2$.

• Progress in Superconductivity and Cryogenics
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.9-13
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• 2014

Effects of neutron irradiation on the superconducting properties of the undoped $MgB_2$ and the carbon(C)-doped $MgB_2$ bulk superconductors, prepared by an in situ reaction process using Mg and B powder, were investigated. The prepared $MgB_2$ samples were neutron-irradiated at the neutron fluence of $10^{16}-10^{18}n/cm^2$ in a Hanaro nuclear reactor of KAERI involving both fast and thermal neutron. The magnetic moment-temperature (M-T) and magnetization-magnetic field (M-H) curves before/after irradiation were obtained using magnetic property measurement system (MPMS). The superconducting critical temperature ($T_c$) and transition width were estimated from the M-T curves and critical current density ($J_c$) was estimated from the M-H curves using a Bean's critical model. The $T_cs$ of the undoped $MgB_2$ and C-doped $MgB_2$ before irradiation were 36.9-37.0 K and 36.6-36.8 K, respectively. The $T_cs$ decreased to 33.2 K and 31.6 K, respectively after irradiation at neutron fluence of $7.16{\times}10^{17}n/cm^2$, and decreased to 22.6 K and 24.0 K, respectively, at $3.13{\times}10^{18}n/cm^2$. The $J_c$ cross-over was observed at the high magnetic field of 5.2 T for the undoped $MgB_2$ irradiated at $7.16{\times}10^{17}n/cm^2$. The $T_c$ and $J_c$ variation after the neutron irradiation at various neutron fluences were explained in terms of the defect formation in the superconducting matrix by neutron irradiation.

• Progress in Superconductivity and Cryogenics
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.40-44
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• 2019

In this study, the effects of the compaction method for (Mg+2B) powders on the apparent density and superconducting properties of $MgB_2$ bulk superconductor were investigated. The raw powders used in this study were nano-sized boron (B) and spherical magnesium (Mg). A batch of a powder mixture of (Mg+2B) was put in a steel mold and uniaxially pressed at 1 ton or 3 tons into pellets. Another batch of the powder mixture was uniaxially pressed at 1 ton and then pressed isostatically at $1800kg/cm^2$ in the water chamber. All pellets were heat-treated at $650^{\circ}C$ for 1 h in flowing argon gas for the formation of $MgB_2$. The apparent density of powder compacts pressed at 3 ton was higher than that at 1 ton. The cold isostatic pressing (CIP) in a water chamber allowed further increase of the apparent density of powder compacts, which influenced the pellet density of the final products ($MgB_2$). The compaction methods (uniaxial pressing and CIP) did not affect the formation of $MgB_2$ and superconducting critical temperature ($T_c$) of $MgB_2$, but affected the critical current density ($J_c$) of $MgB_2$ significantly. The sample with the high apparent density showed high $J_c$ at 5 K and 20 K at applied magnetic fields (0-5 T).