Development of high-performance iron-based superconducting wires and tapes

•We review key properties and technical progress in high Jc pnictide wires during the last few years.•Providing a snapshot of these recent developments and a sense of their significance for applications.•Using the scalable rolling process, the 11 m long 122/Ag tapes with high Jc were produced for the first time.

Conventional powder-in-tube (PIT) method has been the most effective technique for fabricating iron-based superconducting wires and tapes. Tremendous advances have been made during the last few years, especially for 122 family pnictide tapes. Here we review some of the most recent and significant developments in making high-performance iron-based tapes by the ex-situ PIT process, paying particular attention to several fabrication techniques to realize high-field Jc performance in terms of increase of core density and improvement of texture. At 4.2 K, the practical level transport Jc up to 0.12 MA/cm2 in 10 T and 0.1 MA/cm2 in 14 T have been achieved in the K-doped 122/Ag tapes. As for multifilamentary 122 iron-based wires and tapes, the highest Jc values reached so far are 61 kA/cm2 and 35 kA/cm2 at 4.2 K and 10 T, respectively for 7- and 19-core Sr-122 tapes. Recently, high Jc Cu-cladded and stainless steel/Ag double-sheathed 122 tapes have also been produced in order to improve either mechanical properties or thermal stability. More importantly, the scalable rolling process has been used for the first time to demonstrate high Jc values in 122 conductor tapes of 11 m in length.