Influence of Cu Content in Precursor Powders on the Phase Evolution and Superconducting Properties of Bi-2212 Superconductors

Abstract

Precursor powders of Bi 2.1 Sr 1.96 CaCu x O 8+δ (Bi-2212) high temperature superconductors with different nominal Cu ratios of x =2.0, 2.1, 2.2, 2.4 were fabricated by a modified co-precipitation process. The influences of Cu ratios on the phase evolution process during sintering were investigated. Bi-2212 thick films and single filament tapes were fabricated with dip-coating process and powder in tube process, respectively. Obvious influences of Cu ratios on the phase compositions, microstructures and superconducting properties were discussed. Results show that the initial Cu ratio can affect the thermodynamic properties of Bi-2212 phase, thus changing phase evolution process. With the increase of Cu ratio, the phase content of Bi-2201 decreases, while the content of AEC phase increases. The maximum critical current density is obtained in the x =2.2 film and tape simultaneously due to the proper phase composition and better texture structures.