ENHANCED FLUX-PINNING OF BI-2223 AG TAPES WITH NANO-MGO PARTICLES ADDITION/

For the purpose of producing flux pinning centers, nano-MgO particles have been introduced into (Bi,Pb)(2))Sr2Ca2Cu3Ox silver-sheathed (here after: Bi-2223/Ag) tapes fabricated by the Rod-In-Tube (RIT) process. It is found that transport critical current density (Jc) of samples do ped with nano-MgO particles is higher than that of undoped samples by a factor of 1.2 in zero applied field and about 1.4 in a magnetic fiel d range from 0.1 to 1 T at 77 K. Well-dispersed MgO particles can be o bserved by SEM. These results indicate that the introduction of nano-M gO particles can effectively improve the flux pinning ability and has a little detrimental effect on the Bi-2223 superconducting matrix. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.