Influences of Precursors Phase Composition on the Phase Evolution Dynamics of Bi-2223 Superconducting Tapes

Abstract

Bi2Sr2Ca2Cu3O10+ (Bi-2223) precursors for the fabrication of high temperature superconducting tapes were prepared by spray pyrolysis technique followed by a calcination process. The influences of precursor powder phase composition on the phase evolution dynamics and final current capacity of Bi-2223 superconducting tapes were systematically studied. It was interesting to notice that slight increase of Cu content in chemical composition could cause obvious variations of both the phase composition and the morphology of CuO particles in precursors. Therefore, the Bi-2223 phase formation process during the sintering process of tapes could be affected, and the current capacity changed accordingly. On the other hand, during the calcination temperature optimization process, the Bi-2223 phase content in precursors changed accordingly, thus the Bi-2223 phase formation dynamics were also studied. More Bi-2223 nuclei were formed due to the pre-existed Bi-2223 grains, which worked as inhomogeneous nuclei centers. Thus, although the final Bi-2223 phase contents were similar in all the tapes, the particle size and texture structure of Bi-2223 varied greatly, which caused a dramatic decrease of critical current in Bi-2223 tapes with the formation of Bi-2223 in precursors. Therefore, it could be concluded that both the morphology of CuO particles and the Bi-2223 phase content in precursors were the factors controlling the phase evolution dynamics during Bi-2223 tape sintering process.