High transport critical current density obtained for Powder-In-Tube-processed MgB2 tapes and wires using stainless steel and Cu-Ni tubes

Abstract

MgB2 tapes and wires were fabricated by the Powder-In-Tube method. Stainless steel and Cu-Ni tubes were used as sheath materials, and no heat treatment was applied. The tapes made of stainless steel showed transport critical current density Jc of about 10,000A/cm2 at 4.2K and 5T. A high Jc of about 300,000A/cm2 was obtained by extrapolating the Jc-B curves to zero field. Multifilamentary(7-core) MgB2 wire was successfully fabricated using Cu-Ni tubes. For both tapes and wires the grain connectivity of MgB2 was as good as a high-pressure sintered bulk sample. However, the Jc of the Cu-Ni sheathed wire was lower than the stainless steel sheathed tape due to the lower packing density of MgB2.