Developments in the processing of bulk (RE)BCO superconductors

The development of a practical processing method for the fabrication of high performance large, single grain bulk superconductors is essential for their cost-effective application in a variety of high field engineering devices. We discuss recent developments in the processing of these materials that enable high performance bulk superconductors to be fabricated in a practical way. These include the introduction of nano-scale second phase inclusions to the superconducting phase matrix, the development of a generic seed crystal, the development of practical, batch processing routes for the fabrication of light rare earth superconductors, the processing of complex shaped geometries via controlled multi-seeding and recycling of scrap bulk samples into high performance, single grains.

Research highlights► (RE)-Ba-Cu-O bulk superconductors containing nano-scale inclusions are fabricated. ► Generic seed crystal development enabled batch process for Gd-Ba-Cu-O. ► Multi-grains with strongly coupled grain boundaries are fabricated. ► We propose recycling concept for bulk superconductors.