Joining of Bulk High Temperature Superconductors

The joining of bulk high temperature superconductors (HTSs) with good transport properties has been investigated. The join is achieved by using a solder that is predominately HTS with a slightly lower peritectic temperature than the parent material, in this study Y1Ba2Cu3O7-. This technique results in the formation of a superconducting seam with a critical current density and varying degrees of micro-structural defects. Solder reagents used were YbBa2Cu3O7-, Yb2Ba1Cu1O5, and Y1Ba2Cu3O7-/Ag, which resulted in a total of eight different superconducting solders . Micro-structural analyses using a scanning electron microscope was conducted on each sample as well as transport measurements. It was found that silver doping lowered the peritectic temperature of Yb1Ba2Cu3O7- resulting in a solder that gave best joins.