Magnetic Susceptibility and High Field Magneto-transport of Silver-Added Bi-2223 Superconductor: a Revisit

Abstract

The effect of Ag addition on weak link behaviour of a Bi-2223 (Bi1.7Pb0.3Sr2Ca2Cu3O10) polycrystalline sample has been investigated in terms of AC susceptibility, critical current density (J c), electrical resistivity ρ(T)H and upper critical field (H c2). A series of phase pure Bi-2223-Ag x (x = 0.0–0.3) samples are prepared by the solid-state synthesis route. The phase purity, crystal structures and surface morphology are being studied using the X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) technique, respectively. The effect of Ag addition on inter- and intragranular coupling has been investigated by means of AC susceptibility and magneto-transport ρ(T)H measurements, and the results are compared with the pure Bi-2223 sample. Enhancement in granular coupling between the grains of the 20 wt% Ag-added Bi-2223 sample has been witnessed. Critical current density (J c) has been estimated using the AC susceptibility technique, and the results are interpreted in terms of inter- and intragranular coupling of the investigated samples. The high field magneto-transport technique has been used to estimate the upper critical field (H c2) and thermally activation flux flow (TAFF) activation energy. The ensuing results revealed that H c2 increases for the 20 wt% Ag-added sample along with enhancement in grain alignment and intergrain connectivity.