High current density Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O superconductor wires produced by hot isostatic pressing

Abstract
Silver sheathed Bi2Sr2Ca1Cu2O8-x wires are fabricated using conventional powder-in-tube processing followed by a combination of hot isostatic and atmospheric pressure annealing. The resulting superconductor core is multiphase, highly dense and exhibits good dimensional uniformity. Current densities at 4.2 K exceed 7.5*104 A cm-2 in zero magnetic field (H) with values of 2.7*104 A cm-2 being measured at H=2.5 T.