Bismuth-Based High-Temperature Superconductors

Overview: discovery and progress in Bi-based oxide high Tc superconductors. Physics and chemistry: crystal structure; thermal and magnetic properties; tunnelling; phases and their relationships in the Bi-Pb-Sr-Ca-Cu-O System; phase equilibria and crystal chemistry of the high-temperature superconducting compounds of the system Bi2O3-SrO-CaO-CuO; intrinsic pinning; radiation effects; preparation of precursor powders; preparation of single crystals; diffusion reaction in Bi-base oxides. Bulk, wire/tape and applications: Bi-based superconductor fabricated by the floating zone method; Bi-based bulk current leads and their applications; power-in-tube Bi2223 Ag-sheathed tape: basic process, microstructure and critical current density; thermodynamics, microstructure and critical current density in Bi, Pb(2223) tapes; manufacture and properties of Bi-2212-based Ag sheathed wires; Bi-2212 Ag sheathed wire; properties of Bi-2212 silver-sheathed tape and its application to magnets; Bi-2212/Ag composite tapes processed by Doctor Blade or dip-coating process; coils, power leads, busbars and cables; fabrication and characterization of HYSC coils made from Bi-2223 conductors. Thin films and applications: MOCVD growth of high-quality B12223 superconducting films; layer-by-layer growth of Bi-based superlattices by molecular beam epitaxy; basic properties for BSCCO devices. Outlook: future prospects. (Part contents.)