Patent ID: 6202287
Filing Date: 2001-03-20
Classification: H01L,Y10T

Abstract:
A method for producing highly textured, biaxially aligned superconducting ceramics in composite conductor forms comprising the steps of:fabricating a composite precursor comprising a plurality of fine, malleable, substantially planar filaments of an alloy precursor to a desired superconducting ceramic surrounded by a malleable matrix, wherein at least the interfacial layers of which matrix can be suitably textured,thermomechanically processing the composite precursor in one or more steps at conditions selected to texture at least the interfacial layers of the matrix without converting appreciable amounts of the composite precursor to the desired superconducting oxide to form a preliminary filament material having no appreciable amounts of the desired superconducting oxide, and thenreaction texturing the preliminary filament material to form and texture the desired superconducting ceramic within the composite via growth fostered by the textured interfacial layers and substantially without deformation of the superconducting grains, where the reaction texturing step is a heat treatment in the 830 C. to 880 C. range with an initial portion of the reaction in a low oxygen potential gas at oxygen pressures in the range PO2<=exp [-32,000/T+23], where T is absolute temperature (K) and PO2 is oxygen pressure having a value in a range of from 0.002 to 0.009 atmospheres, followed by a second portion of the reaction in a higher oxygen pressure environment at oxygen pressures in the range 0.01<PO2<100 atmospheres.