High critical current "weld'' joints in textured YBa2Cu3Ox

A technique has been developed to "weld" parts made from textured high T-c superconductors of the type RBa2Cu3Ox (R = Y or rare earth element). The we ld joint supports a supercurrent comparable to that carried by the joined p arts. Welding is accomplished by using the textured parts to seed a spacer material which has a lower decomposition temperature than the material comp rising the parts. In this paper, we demonstrate the technique by welding YB a2Cu3Ox parts with a TmBa2Cu3Ox spacer layer. The weld joints were evaluate d with SEM, optical and magneto-optical imaging techniques. (C) 1999 Elsevi er Science B.V. All rights reserved.