SUPERCONDUCTING JOINTS FOR SILVER-CLAD BSCCO TAPES

The advent of high-T-c superconducting tapes for a variety of applicat ions has resulted in the need for superconducting joints. Although lon g-length tapes can be custom-made for some applications, interconnecti ons between subcoils of a magnet or shorter-length Conductors for coil winding and current leads, make the development of such joints impera tive. Additionally, high-quality short- or medium-length conductors, w hich are easier to make, can be joined for improved performance. Emplo ying a novel chemical etching technique, we have fabricated lap joints between short lengths of silver-clad BSCCO tapes. Each joint was form ed by etching the silver away and bringing together the exposed superc onductor cores of two tapes together. The joined tapes were then subje cted to a series of thermomechanical treatments. Detailed microstructu ral and electrical characterization within and across the joint was pe rformed. Critical currents of up to 37 A within the joint region and 1 0 A through the joint region(at 77K) have been achieved.