Fabrication of multifilament Bi-2223/Ag tapes by varying the lead content and calcination temperature of precursor powders

A set of multifilament Bi-2223/Ag tapes were fabricated by varying the lead content and calcination temperature of starting precursors. The influence of precursor conditions on the phase formation, microstructure and J(c) property of Bi2223/Ag tapes were explored with XRD, DTA, SEM-EDS and transport current measurements. The results showed that the Pb content of 0.20 in the nominal composition of Bi1.8PbvSr2.0Ca3.0Cu3.0Oz is too low to lead to a fully formation of Bi-2223 phase in tapes compared with Pb content of 0.25 and 0.30. In addition, despite the Pb variations, the powders calcined at 820 degreesC resulted in the highest J(c) in final tapes against the powders calcined at 810 and 830 degreesC. The correlation between the transport property and the varied phase assemblages of precursors induced by lead and calcination temperature variations was discussed. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.