American Superconductor Corporation

Inco Alloys International, Inc.

Lawrence J Masur

Eric R Podtburg

Gilbert N Riley, Jr

Kenneth Henry Sandhage

Alexander Otto

Donald R Parker

William L Carter

Qi Li

Ronald D Parrella

Martin W Rupich

Peter R Roberts

Christopher A Craven

Mark D Teplitsky

Steven Hancock

Jeffrey D Schreiber

William J Rosati

Gaylord Darrell Smith

Craig J Christopherson

Jon M Poole

William J Michels

Marvin G McKimpson

Ronald D Parella

A novel process of the production and processing of high quality, high T BSCCO or (Bi,Pb)SCCO superconductors starts with fabrication of a forming a bundle including a plurality of billets, each billet containing at least one filament comprising a dominant amount of an tetragonal BSCCO phase with selected intermediate phases, and substantially surrounded by a constraining metal. The bundle is thermomechanically consolidated to form a multifilamentary precursor article by applying pressure and heat to the bundle under conditions cooperatively selected to cause interdiffusion of said constraining metal at the interfaces between said metal and said filaments and substantially complete elimination of voids in said bundle, and the consolidation step is completed before any high strain longitudinal deformation is performed on the bundle. The precursor article is then heated at a second selected processing temperature in an inert atmosphere with a second selected oxygen partial pressure for a second selected time period, the second processing temperature, the second time period and the second oxygen partial pressure being cooperatively selected to form a dominant amount of an orthorhombic BSCCO phase in the reacted mixture. It may then be deformed to form an elongated precursor article of a desired texture; and thereafter heated at a third selected processing temperature in an inert atmosphere with a third selected oxygen partial pressure for a third selected time period, all cooperatively selected to convert at least a portion of the orthorhombic BSCCO phase to the final superconducting BSCCO material.

Method of forming superconducting composite article

The invention features high performing composite superconducting oxide articles that can be produced from OPIT precursors substantially without poisoning the superconductor. In general, the superconducting oxide is substantially surrounded by a matrix material. The matrix material contains a first constraining material including a noble metal and a second metal. The second metal is a relatively reducing metal which lowers the overall oxygen activity of the matrix material and the article at a precursor process point prior to oxidation of the second metal. The second metal is substantially converted to a metal oxide dispersed in the matrix during or prior to a first phase conversion heat treatment but after formation of the composite, creating an ODS matrix.

Performance of oxide dispersion strengthened superconductor composites

A strongly-linked polycrystalline oxide superconductor article includes an oxide superconductor selected from the group consisting 124-type and 247-type oxide superconductors having fine, highly aligned oxide superconductor grains less than &mgr;m long a longest dimension. The oxide superconductor article has at least a 25% retention of critical current density in a 0.1 Tesla field. A method for preparing a strongly-linked oxide superconductor includes shaping a finely divided metallic precursor of an oxide superconductor; oxidizing the finely divided metallic precursor to produce a finely divided sub-oxide species while avoiding conversion of an appreciable amount of the sub-oxide species into the oxide superconductor, annealing and deforming the article, in either order, the annealing carried out at a temperature and for a time sufficient to convert some of the sub-oxide species into fine grains of the oxide superconductor thereby forming a mixture of sub-oxide species and oxide superconductor and the deformation carried out such that the fine grains of oxide superconductor are rotated into alignment parallel to an intended current carrying direction of the article without fracturing or pulverization of the oxide superconductor grains; alternating annealing and deformation of the article until no further improvement in alignment is observed; and subjecting the aligned grains to a final anneal in order to react any remaining sub-oxide species and maximize the growth and sintering of existing aligned grains.

Strongly-linked oxide superconductor and a method of its manufacture

A composite for preparation of an oxide superconductor includes a primary alloy phase of constituent elements of a desired oxide superconductor; and a secondary phase comprising copper, the secondary phase supported by the primary alloy phase. The composite may additionally include a matrix material for supporting the primary alloy phase and second phase disposed therein. The composite is oxidized to form an oxide superconductor composite.

Oxide superconductor precursors

The combination of one or more high reduction drafts with controlled, low back tensions increases the range of deformation conditions over which dimensional tolerances and J,may be optimized. The method comprises the steps of: first, providing a precursor article comprising a metal matrix surrounding a plurality of filaments extending along the length of the article and comprising precursors to a desired superconducting ceramic; next, roll working the precursor article during a breakdown stage at a back tension less than the elastic to plastic transition threshold of the composite during at least one high reduction roll working draft, and, then, sintering the rolled article to obtain the desired superconducting ceramic. In a preferred embodiment, the rolling step further comprises rolling the article at a front tension less than the elastic to plastic transition threshold of the rolled, unsintered article.

Tensioning process for manufacture of superconducting ceramic composite conductors

A novel process of the production and processing of high quality, high T.sub.c BSCCO or (Bi,Pb)SCCO superconductors starts with fabrication of a forming a bundle including a plurality of billets, each billet containing at least one filament comprising a dominant amount of an tetragonal BSCCO phase with selected intermediate phases, and substantially surrounded by a constraining metal. The bundle is thermomechanically consolidated to form a multifilamentary precursor article by applying pressure and heat to the bundle under conditions cooperatively selected to cause interdiffusion of said constraining metal at the interfaces between said metal and said filaments and substantially complete elimination of voids in said bundle, and the consolidation step is completed before any high strain longitudinal deformation is performed on the bundle. The precursor article is then heated at a second selected processing temperature in an inert atmosphere with a second selected oxygen partial pressure for a second selected time period, the second processing temperature, the second time period and the second oxygen partial pressure being cooperatively selected to form a dominant amount of an orthorhombic BSCCO phase in the reacted mixture. It may then be deformed to form an elongated precursor article of a desired texture; and thereafter heated at a third selected processing temperature in an inert atmosphere with a third selected oxygen partial pressure for a third selected time period, all cooperatively selected to convert at least a portion of the orthorhombic BSCCO phase to the final superconducting BSCCO material.

Method of forming BSCCO superconducting composite articles

An unsegregated metal oxide/silver composite wire is provided having a plurality of metal oxide filaments disposed within a matrix comprising silver, wherein the filaments are comprised of at least copper, and an intermediate region comprising copper oxide and silver in contact with and surrounding each of the metal oxide filaments. The intermediate region has a thickness of no greater than three microns. Each of the metal oxide filaments extends continuously for the length of the wire, and each of the metal oxide filaments is separated from adjacent filaments by the matrix.

High pressure oxidation of precursor alloys

A strongly-linked polycrystalline oxide superconductor article includes an oxide superconductor selected from the group consisting 124-type and 247-type oxide superconductors having fine, highly aligned oxide superconductor grains less than 50 .mu.m along a longest dimension. The oxide superconductor article has at least a 25% retention of critical current density in a 0.1 Tesla field. A method for preparing a strongly-linked oxide superconductor includes shaping a finely divided metallic precursor of an oxide superconductor; oxidizing the finely divided metallic precursor to produce a finely divided sub-oxide species while avoiding conversion of an appreciable amount of the sub-oxide species into the oxide superconductor; annealing and deforming the article, in either order, the annealing carried out at a temperature and for a time sufficient to convert some of the sub-oxide species into fine grains of the oxide superconductor thereby forming a mixture of sub-oxide species and oxide superconductor and the deformation carried out such that the fine grains of oxide superconductor are rotated into alignment parallel to an intended current carrying direction of the article without fracturing or pulverization of the oxide superconductor grains; alternating annealing and deformation of the article until no further improvement in alignment is observed; and subjecting the aligned grains to a final anneal in order to react any remaining sub-oxide species and maximize the growth and sintering of existing aligned grains.

A method for forming unsegregated metal oxide-silver composites includes preparing a precursor alloy comprising silver and precursor elements of a desired metal oxide and oxidizing the alloy under conditions of high oxygen activity selected to permit diffusion of oxygen into silver while significantly restricting the diffusion of the precursor elements into silver, such that oxidation of the precursor elements to the metal oxide occurs before diffusion of the metallic elements into silver. Further processing of the metal oxide composite affords an oxide superconducting composite with a highly unsegregated microstructure.

The invention provides a process for production of silver-containing precursor alloys to oxide superconductors, said alloys having reduced amounts of intermetallics. Powders containing metallic elemental components of an oxide superconductor are high energy milled for a predetermined amount of time to increase homogeneity of the mixed metallic elemental components of the oxide superconductor. Silver is then high energy milled into the metallic components. The mixed silver and metallic elemental components of the oxide superconductor are compacted for the silver-containing superconductor precursor. The compacted powder is preferably hot worked at a temperature of at least 50% of the precursor alloy's melting temperature in degrees Kelvin.

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Needham, MA, United States of America

Lawrence J Masur