Advances in fabrication of mono- and multifilament Ag-clad BSCCO superconductors

Fabricating long lengths of robust and high-quality conductors is imperative for various applications of high-{Tc} superconductors. Long lengths of mono- and multifilament Ag-clad Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-0 conductors have been fabricated by the powder-in-tube technique. High values for critical current density (J{sub c}) have been achieved in both short- and long-length conductors. J{sub c} values up to 12,000 A/cm{sup 2} have been achieved in an 850-m-long multifilament conductor. Pancake-shaped coils and test magnets fabricated from long-length conductors were characterized at various temperatures and applied magnetic fields. A magnet containing 770 m of high-{Tc} conductor generated a record high field of {approx} 1 T at 4.2 K in a background field of {approx} 20 T. In-situ tensile and bending characteristics of both mono- and multifilament conductors have also been studied. Multifilament conductors exhibited better axial strain tolerance ({var_epsilon} {approx} 1%) than that of monofilament conductor ({var_epsilon} {approx} 0.2%), while retaining 90% of their initial critical current. An analysis of the results is presented, along with effects of parameters such as thickness, superconductor/Ag ratio, and microstructural details.