Preparation of superconducting Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O fibers

Abstract

Procedures have been developed for the preparation of long slender fibers of Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O using a gas jet to shape and freeze the material. The fibers emerge in amorphous form and are converted to the Bi2Sr2Ca1Cu2Ox phase by subsequent heat treatment. Magnetization and scanning electron microscopy studies show the material to be a very fine grained bulk superconductor with intragranular critical currents of 7×106 A/cm2 at 5 K and 1.8 T.