Development of High Transition Temperature Superconducting Ceramic Thick Filmsand Wire Composites

摘要

The widespread use of freeze drying technology in the ceramic industry makes it alogical methodology for use in the production of high temperature superconducting powders. Freeze drying is employed to ensure the optimum mixing of the constituent elements. If a system consists of a number of solutes dissolved in a solvent, instantaneous freezing of the solvent ensures that the solutes remain in the same distribution as that found in the solution state. Subsequent removal of the now frozen solvent by sublimation results in a solid composed of a random mixture of the solutes, eliminating the need in the case of the superconducting ceramics of the lengthy and labour intensive grinding and regrinding preparation step. The technical problems associated with achieving this desired result are numerous and are discussed in length in the Ph.D thesis entitled Synthesis and Characterization of High Temperature Superconductors Nicholas V. Coppa accompanying this report and partially funded by this contract. An abbreviated discussion is given below.