Effect of the sintering temperature on the microstructure and superconducting properties of field assisted sintered MgB2 bulks

7 April 2020
GAB Matthews
S Santra
R Ma
CRM Grovenor
PS Grant and SC Speller
an illustration contrasting poorly connected and well connected microstrucures

This paper, published in Superconductor Science and Technology, explores the beneficial effect of applying the field assisted sintering technique (FAST) to bulk superconductors, using magnesium diboride (MgB2) as a working example.

 

The FAST technique provides the fully dense and fine grained materials required for superconductors, using a rapid heat treatment which is both practical for manufacturers and limits grain coarsening.  This paper reports a systematic study of the influence of processing temperature on microstructure and superconducting properties of MgB2 bulks, concluding that temperatures above 1000 degrees celsius are required to obtain materials that have sufficiently high electrical connectivity to generate large magnetic moments.