The Effect of Annealing Temperature on the Transport Properties of BSCCO Fibres Grown by LFZ and EALFZ

Abstract

Superconducting fibres of Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O system were grown by the conventional Laser Floating Zone (LFZ) process and by the new technique of Electrical Assisted Laser Floating Zone (EALFZ). The presence of an electric field during solidification process significantly changes the fibre microstructure with Bi2Sr2Ca2Cu3O10 nominal composition. The higher cristallinity of the asgrown EALFZ fibres, resulting from the current application during solidification, leads to a transformation rate enhancement during subsequent annealing. A strong correlation between the transport properties and the final microstructure of the annealed fibres is observed. The highest critical current density of the EALFZ fibres is obtained after heat treatment at 845°C while for the LFZ ones similar values are obtained only after annealing at 860°C.