Development of a Persistent Superconducting Joint between Bi-2212/Ag-alloy Multifilamentary Round Wires

Superconducting joints are one of the key components needed to make Ag-alloy clad Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O_8+x (Bi-2212) superconducting round wire (RW) successful for high-field, high-homogeneity magnet applications, especially for nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) magnets in which persistent current mode (PCM) operation is highly desired. In this study, a procedure for fabricating superconducting joints between Bi-2212 round wires during coil reaction was developed. Melting temperatures of Bi-2212 powder with different amounts of Ag addition were investigated by differential thermal analysis (DTA) so as to provide information for selecting the proper joint matrix. Test joints of 1.3 mm dia. wires heat treated in 1 bar flowing oxygen using the typical partial melt Bi-2212 heat treatment (HT) had transport critical currents I of ~900 A at 4.2 K and self-field, decreasing to ~480 A at 14 T evaluated at 0.1 μV/cm at 4.2 K. Compared to the I of the open-ended short conductor samples with identical 1 bar HT, the I values of the superconducting joint are ~20% smaller than that of conductor samples measured in parallel field but ~20% larger than conductor samples measured in perpendicular field. Microstructures examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) clearly showed the formation of a superconducting Bi-2212 interface between the two Bi-2212 round wires. Furthermore, a Bi-2212 RW closed-loop solenoid with a superconducting joint heat treated in 1 bar flowing oxygen showed an estimated joint resistance below 5×10^-12 Ω based on its field decay rate. This value is sufficiently low to demonstrate the potential for persistent operation of large inductance Bi-2212 coils.