Effect of fine-particle NbC additions on the structure and superconductingproperties of (Bi,Pb)(2)Sr2Ca2Cu3O10+x ceramics

(Bi,Pb)-2223 superconducting ceramics prepared by heat treatment at 840 deg reesC and containing 0.1 to 0.5 wt % fine-particle NbC additions were chara cterized by microstructural analysis, x-ray diffraction, and magnetic susce ptibility measurements. The introduction of 0.1 wt % NbC was found to raise the 77-K zero-field critical current density by a factor of 2 to 3, reduce the superconducting transition width, and slightly increase T-c.