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Superconducting nanowire fiber mats of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8, YBa2Cu3O7 and GdBa2Cu3O7 were fabricated using electrospinning and solution blow-spinning. Fiber mats consisting of individual nanowires with long lengths (∼100 µm) and diameters between 150 and 500 nm were obtained. Magnetic properties of the samples were measured by SQUID magnetometry. Having studied a large number of such samples, we find that only the YBCO fiber mats exhibit the paramagnetic Meissner effect (PME), whereas the other materials do not. To explain these observations, we regard the current flow through the nanowires, the distinctly different current densities and the vortex dimensionality at temperatures close to Tc.

As shown previously, a relation between the superconducting transition temperature and some characteristic distance in the crystal lattice holds, which enables the calculation of the superconducting transition temperature, Tc, based only on the knowledge of the electronic configuration and of some details of the crystallographic structure. This relation was found to apply for a large number of superconductors, including the high-temperature superconductors, the iron-based materials, alkali fullerides, metallic alloys, and element superconductors. When applying this scheme called Roeser-Huber formula to Moiré-type superconductivity, i.e., magic-angle twisted bi-layer graphene (tBLG) and bi-layer WSe2, we find that the calculated transition temperatures for tBLG are always higher than the available experimental data, e.g., for the magic angle 1.1∘, we find Tc≈ 4.2–6.7 K. Now, the question arises why the calculation produces larger Tc’s. Two possible scenarios may answer this question: (1) The given problem for experimentalists is the fact that for electric measurements always substrates/caps are required to arrange the electric contacts. When now discussing superconductivity in atomically thin objects, also these layers may play a role forming the Moiré patterns. The consequence of such substrate-induced super-Moiré patterns is that the resulting Moiré pattern always will show a larger cell size, and thus, a lower Tc of the final structure will result. (2) A correction factor to the Roeser-Huber formalism may be required to account for the low charge carrier density of the tBLG. Here, we test both scenarios and find that the introduction of a correction factor η enables a proper calculation of Tc, reproducing the experimental data. We find that η depends exponentially on the value of Tc.

The preparation of YBa2Cu3O7−δ (YBCO) films with different crystallographic orientations is of significant importance for superconductor studies and applications. Here, we systematically investigat...

Superconducting YBa2Cu3Oy (YBCO) foams were prepared using commercial open-cell, polyurethane foams as starting material to form ceramic Y2BaCuO5 foams which are then converted into superconducting YBCO by using the infiltration growth process. For modelling the superconducting and mechanical properties of the foam samples, a Kelvin-type cell may be employed as a first approach as reported in the literature for pure polyurethane foams. The results of a first modelling attempt in this direction are presented concerning an estimation of the possible trapped fields (TFs) and are compared to experimental results at 77 K. This simple modelling revealed already useful information concerning the best suited foam structure to realize large TF values, but it also became obvious that for various other parameters like magnetostriction, mechanical strength, percolative current flow and the details of the TF distribution, a refined model of a superconducting foam sample incorporating the real sample structure must be considered. Thus, a proper description of the specific microstructure of the superconducting YBCO foams is required. To obtain a set of reliable data, YBCO foam samples were investigated using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). A variety of parameters including the size and shape of the cells and windows, the length and shape of the foam struts or ligaments and the respective intersection angles were determined to better describe the real foam structure. The investigation of the foam microstructures revealed not only the differences to the original polymer foams used as base material, but also provided further insights to the infiltration growth process via the large amount of internal surface in a foam sample.

We apply the Roeser–Huber formula to the (RE)Ba2Cu3O7−δ (REBCO with RE= rare earths) high-Tc superconducting material class to calculate the superconducting transition temperature, Tc, using the electronic configuration and the crystallographic data. In a former publication (H. P. Roeser et al., Acta Astronautica 2008, 62, 733–736), the basic idea was described and Tc was successfully calculated for the YBa2Cu3O7−δ compound with two oxygen doping levels δ= 0.04 and 0.45, but several open questions remained. One of the problems remaining was the determination of Tc for the δ= 0.45 sample, which can be explained regarding the various oxygen arrangements being possible within the copper-oxide plane. Having established this proper relation and using the various crystallographic data on the REBCO system available in the literature, we show that the Roeser–Huber equation is capable to calculate the Tc of the various REBCO compounds and the effects of strain and pressure on Tc, when preparing thin film samples. Furthermore, the characteristic length, x, determined for the REBCO systems sheds light on the size of the δTc-pinning sites being responsible for additional flux pinning and the peak effect.

We compare the temperature and field dependence of the critical current densities of high- $T_c$ superconductor materials intended for various bulk applications such as trapped-field magnets. This comprises bulk samples of YBa $_2$ Cu $_3$ O $_x$ (YBCO), MgB $_2$ , and iron-based materials, including also various versions of the YBCO compound such as melt-textured ones, infiltration-growth processed ones, and YBCO foams. Critical current densities and flux pinning forces were obtained from magnetization loops measured using Quantum Design SQUID and physical property measurement system (PPMS) systems with applied magnetic fields of up to $\pm$ 9 T. The obtained data are compared to each other with respect of the optimal cooling temperature possible using modern cryocoolers. Furthermore, we plot the temperature dependencies of the critical current densities versus the normalized temperature $t=T/T_c$ . This enables a direct judgement of the performance of the material in the trapped-field applications.

To find a cheap and efficient way to produce high-performance bulk MgB2 superconductors, a series of samples produced with different contents of carbon-coated, nanometer-sized amorphous boron was prepared to improve the magnetic properties. A single-step solid-state reaction at the optimal reaction temperature of 805 °C for 3 h in pure argon atmosphere was used. Small pieces cut from the bulk were characterized by magnetic hysteresis loop measurements in magnetic fields up to ±7 T at temperatures ranging from 5 to 35 K using a physical property measurement system. Critical current densities and flux pinning forces were calculated from the magnetization data. The pinning force data of all samples were compared using the pinning force scaling approach by Eisterer. The peak positions h 0 were found at h 0 ∼ 0.33, indicating a dominant flux pinning at the grain boundaries for samples with 50% and 30% carbon-coated boron, while the scaling reveals a peak position of 0.44 for the 10% sample that indicates pinning at point defects.

International audience; EBSD analysis can provide information about grain orientation, texture and grain boundary misorientation of bulk superconducting MgB2 samples intended for supermagnet applications. However, as the grain size of the MgB2 bulks is preferably in the 100–200 nm range, the common EBSD technique operating in reflection mode works only properly on highly dense samples. In order to achieve reasonably good Kikuchi pattern quality on all types of MgB2 samples, we apply here the newly developed transmission EBSD (t-EBSD) technique to spark-plasma sintered MgB2 samples. This method requires the preparation of TEM slices by means of focused ion-beam milling, which are then analysed within the SEM, operating with a custom-built sample holder. To obtain multiphase scans, we identified the Kikuchi pattern of the MgB4 phase which appears at higher reaction temperatures and may act as additional flux pinning sites. We present here for the first time EBSD mappings of multiple phases, which include MgB2, MgB4 and MgO. Lay Description The electron backscatt er diffraction (EBSD) technique operating in the scanning electron microscope provides information on the crystallographic orientation the material by recording Kikuchi patterns. In polycrystalline samples, it becomes possible to analyse the orientations of the grains to each other. The metallic superconductor with the currently highest superconducting transition temperature, MgB2 with a Tc of 38.5 K, can be used in applications in polycrystalline form. One such application of interest are trapped field magnets or supermagnets, where the superconductor cooled in an applied magnetic field can trap the magnetic field as vortices at numerous flux pinning sites in the sample. When the external magnetic field is removed, the sample will stay magnetised as long as it is kept cool, and importantly, the trapped magnetic fields can be much higher as for any permanent magnet. However, the small size of the MgB2 grains in the 100–200 nanometre range requires a different approach when using the EBSD technique on such samples. The recently developed EBSD technique working in transmission mode (t-EBSD) helps considerably to image such materials. In this approach, a tiny TEM slice has to be milled out from the original sample by using focused ion beam milling. To understand the properties of the flux pinning in the spark-plasma sintered MgB2 sample, we had to identify the Kikuchi pattern of MgB4, which is another, non-superconducting phase appearing at higher reaction temperatures required to compact the material. Using this information, we could perform EBSD scans using three different phases, MgB2, MgB4 and MgO. The EBSD mappings enable to see where the secondary phase particles are located in the sample, and to judge if the particles could work as flux pinning sites. © 2019 The Authors Journal of Microscopy © 2019 Royal Microscopical Society

Made available in DSpace on 2021-06-25T11:12:22Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2021-08-01 Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) Microstructural and magnetic characterizations of YBa2Cu3O7-δ nanowire fabric-like samples were performed. Fabric-like ceramic superconductors are nanoporous materials and can be applied, e.g., in magnetic shielding, since the porous morphology makes them extremely light-weight and effectively to be cooled. The samples were produced by the solution blow spinning (SBS) technique, starting from a sol-gel solution of the precursor materials in polyvinyl-alcohol. The morphology of the samples was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction with the aim to analyze the possible current paths. The magnetic hysteresis loops revealed typical polycrystalline behavior, and field-cooling in various small applied fields shows the presence of the paramagnetic Meissner effect (PME), but in a distinctly different way as compared to melt-texured Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ or Nb. Sao Paulo State University (UNESP) Campus at Ilha Solteira Experimental Physics Saarland University Sao Paulo State University (UNESP) Campus at Ilha Solteira

Made available in DSpace on 2021-06-25T10:17:06Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2020-12-01 Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft The microstructure and magnetic characterizations of non-woven, fabric-like YBa2Cu3Oy (YBCO) nanofiber mats are reported. The samples were produced by solution blow spinning (SBS), starting from a sol-gel solution of the precursor materials in polyvinylpyrrolidone. In the present work, the nanowire network samples were morphologically characterized by scanning electron microscopy, and the superconducting properties were measured by magnetometry. An interesting feature is the appearance of a paramagnetic Meissner effect (PME) when field-cooling, firstly verified in that sort of sample. The PME appears only in very small applied magnetic fields, which is similar to previous observations of the PME on an artificially granular YBCO thin film, but distinctly different from bulk samples investigated in the literature. Thus, we explain the PME by flux trapping within the voids of the nanoporous structure of the nanofiber mats. [Figure not available: see fulltext.]. Superconductivity and Advanced Materials Group School of Engineering São Paulo State University (UNESP) Campus at Ilha Solteira Experimental Physics Saarland University Shibaura Institute of Technology Superconductivity and Advanced Materials Group School of Engineering São Paulo State University (UNESP) Campus at Ilha Solteira Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft: DFG-ANR Ko2323-10

International audience; For possible applications as trapped field (TF) magnets, it is essential to fabricate large, polycrystalline bulk samples from the FeSe compound, the simplest high-Tc superconductor (HTSc) possible. FeSe is relatively cheap to prepare, and does not contain any rare-earth material. The grain boundaries in this compound are not acting as weak links as it is the case for the YBCO compound. Although the transition temperature, Tc, is just below 10 K, the upper critical fields are comparable with other HTSc. Preparing the FeSe samples using solid-state sintering yields samples exhibiting strong magnetic hysteresis loops (MHLs), and the superconducting contribution is only visible after subtracting MHLs from above Tc. Due to the complicated phase diagram [1], the samples are a mixture of several phases, α-FeSe, β-FeSe, δ-FeSe (Fe7Se8) and metallic α-Fe [2]. The amount of the latter two phases depends directly on the Se loss during the sintering process. The δ-FeSe is antiferromagnetic, and α-Fe is ferromagnetic [3]. In the present contribution, we show MHLs of a variety of samples measured up to ±7 T and determine the magnetic characteristics, together with the amount of superconductivity determined from M(T) measurements. We performed a thorough analysis of the microstructures using polarization microscopy, Kerr effect, MFM, SEM, EBSD and TEM in order to establish a relation between microstructure and sample properties. To prepare good superconducting samples, the presence of the (anti)ferromagnetic phases must be reduced by carefully adjusting the Se content using Ti foils as getter materials. Measuring magnetoresistance of these samples [4] implies that the samples are always cooled in the own local field, and thus, the analysis of the resistance data calculating the fluctuation-induced conductivity above Tc [5] is strongly affected by this local magnetic field. We demonstrate the importance of preparing phase-pure FeSe samples, which are essential for the various applications envisaged. This work is part of the SUPERFOAM international project funded by ANR and DFG under the references ANR-17-CE05-0030 and DFG-ANR Ko2323-10, respectively. References [1] H. Okamoto, J. Phase Equilibria 12, 383 (1991). [2] P. Diko et al., Physica C 476, 29 (2012). [3] A. J. Williams, T. M. McQueen, R. J. Cava, Solid State Commun.149, 1507 (2009). [4] T- Karwoth et al., J. Phys. Conf. Ser. 1054, 012018 (2018). [5] A. Almessiere et al., Mat. Chem. Phys. 243, 122665 (2020).

Bulk FeSe superconductors of the iron-based (IBS) &ldquo, 11&rdquo, family containing various additions of silver were thoroughly investigated concerning the microstructure using optical microscopy and electron microscopy (TEM and SEM). The measurements of electrical resistivity were performed through the four-point technique in the temperature interval T= 2&ndash, 150 K. The Aslamazov&ndash, Larkin model was employed to analyze the fluctuation-induced conductivity (FIC) in all acquired measurements. In all studied products, we found that the FIC curves consist of five different regimes of fluctuation, viz. critical region (CR), three-dimensional (3D), two-dimensional (2D), one-dimensional (1D), and shortwave fluctuation (SWF) regimes. The critical current density (Jc), the lower and upper critical magnetic fields (Bc1 and Bc2), the coherence length along the c-axis at zero-temperature (&xi, c(0)), and further parameters were assessed with regards to the silver amount within the products. The analyses discloses a diminution in the resistivity and a great reduction in &xi, c(0) with Ag addition. The optimal silver doping amount is achieved for 7 wt.%, which yields the best superconducting transition and the greatest Jc value.

Flux pinning force scaling $f=F_{p}/F_{p,\max \limits }$ f = F p / F p , max vs. h = Ha/Hirr was performed on a variety of pure MgB2 samples, including a spark plasma sintered (SPS) one and a series of samples sintered at various reaction temperatures ranging between 775 and 950 ∘C. The SPS sample exhibits a well-developed scaling at all temperatures, and also the sintered samples prepared at 950 ∘C; however, the obtained peak positions of the pinning force scalings are distinctly different: The SPS sample reveals dominating pinning at grain boundaries, whereas the dominating pinning for the other one is point-pinning. All other samples studied reveal an apparent non-scaling of the pinning forces. The obtained pinning parameters are discussed in the framework of the Dew–Hughes’ pinning force scaling approach.

International audience; The development of the sintering process for the synthetization of superconducting Iron-selenide (FeSe) polycrystal enables a quick and cheap fabrication of superconducting bulks for trapped field applications without the use of Rare Earths or toxic elements. A relevant number of papers were published in the literature in order to determine the best way to produce a pure β-phase, responsible of the superconductivity without any other non-desirable phases (α-FeSe, unreacted Fe, FeSe – also called δ-FeSe). Using the collected information, we produced a pure β-phase by classic sintering process at temperatures above 685°Cfollowed by annealing below 450°C for optimizing the sample and improvement of the critical currents. Using the Spark Plasma Sintering method enables an improved homogeneity and a better grain coupling, which leads to a higher quality for FeSe superconducting bulks and an increased sample density. The consequence is another increase of the critical currents which makes the samples competitive for trapped bulks applications.

Bulk discs (20 mm diameter and 4.3 mm thickness) of MgB2 added with Ge2C6H10O7 were obtained by Spark Plasma Sintering. Six samples with composition MgB2(Ge2C6H10O7)0.0014 and one undoped sample were fabricated under similar conditions and were magnetically characterized in order to determine the scattering of properties and reproducibility. The main source of the scattering of the properties is the decomposition of the additive due to elimination of the organic part in gas form, which occurs stepwise with intensive vacuum drops at around ~ 560 and ~ 740 °C. A third drop, which is sometimes not well resolved being part of the second peak at 740 °C, occurs at ~ 820 °C. The critical temperature at the midpoint of the transition, Tc, shows only a relatively small variation between 37.4 and 38 K, and the irreversibility field at a low temperature of 5 K takes values between 8 and 10 T. The pinning force and pinning force related parameters do not correlate with the carbon substituting for boron in MgB2 and suggest a synergetic influence of the microstructural details and carbon. Overall, despite the superconducting properties scattering, the samples are of high quality. Stacked into a column of six samples, they can trap at the center and on the surface of the column a magnetic field of 6.78 and 5.19 T at 12 K, 5.20 and 3.98 T at 20 K and 2.39, and 1.96 T at 30 K. These promising values, combined with facile fabrication of the samples with relatively high quality and reproducibility, show the feasibility of their use in building complex and large compound arrangements for bulk magnets and other applications.

Recently, an improvement in the flux pinning performance ofREBa2Cu3O7−δ(REBCO) bulk was achieved employing high energy ultrasonic irradiation (up to 300 W and 60 min) prior to the infiltration-growth process. Here, we demonstrate that a higher ultrasonic power and shorter duration treatment (450 W for 30 min) of theRE2BaCuO5(RE211,RE= Y, Gd) powder produces individual, nanometer-sized and surface damagedRE211 particles (RE211Ultra). We study the growth of YBCO and GdBCO systems via the top-seeded melt-growth method, with the addition of 30 mol% ofRE211Ultra, which were pre-treated by high-energy ultrasonication and compared with the conventional method. Isothermal growth experiments clarified that the addition ofRE211Ultraparticles enables faster and more effective crystal growth via an improved peritectic reaction due to their size in the nanometer range and presence of sharp edges, which are crucial for growing large, single grain bulks ofREBCO. Microstructural investigations by scanning electron microscopy indicated the presence of two differently sizedRE211 inclusions within the bulk GdBCO and YBCO superconductors. All samples showed an onset of superconductivity at ∼92 K or above. Utilizing the effective growth temperature window and the addition ofRE211Ultra, single grain bulks of GdBCO and YBCO were fabricated by the slow-cooling method. The field dependent critical current density (Jc) of the bulk samples usingRE211Ultrawere found to exhibit superior performance over the standard GdBCO/YBCO samples due to significant changes of sample growth and of their microstructures. Here, we discuss various factors affecting the addition ofRE211Ultraon the development of the microstructure, growth of bulk, single grain materials and further, the superconducting properties of differentREBCO superconductors.

Several properties of Earth’s magnetic field (field vectors, time dependence) are measured in various locations using a smartphone/tablet magnetic sensor. To enable a proper use of the magnetic sensor as a classroom tool, the exact location of the sensor in the device and its resolution must be identified in a first step. Then, students may perform several measurements on their own, allowing a comparison of the recorded field vectors and a discussion of the possible deviations. We also show that long-time measurements of the local magnetic field are possible using the smartphone sensors, which can be compared to available internet data. All the information obtained enables a better understanding of the properties of the Earth’s magnetic field and of the requirements for real applications of magnetic sensor elements.

Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ (Bi-2212) nanowires were fabricated employing electrospinning. A subsequent thermal treatment based on thermal gravity analysis is required to obtain the final crystal structure and superconductivity; however, if this preparation temperature is too high, the nanowire structure may completely collapse during the treatment, which is even more pronounced when aligning the nanowires. Therefore, Li acetate was added in various amounts to the starting composition, which enabled to produce the desired Bi-2212 phase already at about 750 °C instead of 840 °C. An X-ray and a TEM analysis proved that the resulting nanowires were single-phase Bi-2212. After the electro-spinning process, the resulting samples form fabric-like networks, and in the heat treatment, the nanowire structure was found to survive. The nanowires exhibited a polycrystalline structure with grain sizes of 20–50 nm, an average wire diameter of ∼100 nm, and a length of up to several micrometers. The resulting nanowire network samples were characterized by magnetic measurements and electric transport measurements in fields up to 9 and 4 T, respecitively.

The micro- and nanostructures of human dental enamel were investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). For this purpose, TEM slices were prepared from teeth by focused ion-beam milling. These slices enabled TEM and transmission-EBSD (t-EBSD) investigations to be performed, while standard EBSD on bulk tooth samples resulted only in Kikuchi patterns. On the TEM slices, t-EBSD enabled automated mapping. The TEM images and the EBSD data clearly elucidated the arrangement of the hydroxyapatite crystals on the nanometer scale. Information regarding the crystallographic orientation of the apatite grains enabled the deduction of novel nanotechnological building principles of the enamel structure based on a chain-like arrangement of the crystallites.

Porous high-Tc superconducting materials offer several important benefits as compared to standard-type samples including an easy scalability towards large sample sizes, an easier oxygenation process and reduced weight. Due to these advantages, several different approaches to develop such samples were carried out in the literature. In this contribution, we present the microstructures and the physical properties of superconducting foams of YBa2Cu3O7 and fabric-like, nanowire networks of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8. Further, we discuss the properties of such samples concerning both the physical parameters and the respective microstructures and give an overview about possible applications.

International audience; With the objective to concurrence the well-known melt texturing YBCO samples in term of irreversible field and critical current, infiltration growth YBCO bulks (IG-processed) show a recent increase of interest due to their advantage of better controlling the shape of the final product and better mechanical stability. Two types of IG-processed YBCO samples were developed: standard bulk samples and superconducting foams which show the advantage of a huge cooling capacity and a low weight due to his low density, particularly appreciated for space applications. Intended for use as permanent superconducting magnets (trapped field (TF) magnets), precedents works were done to evaluate the pinning properties of such materials by pinning force scaling (Dew-Hughes and Kramer) but only under relatively low magnetic field (up to 9 T). Considering a very high irreversible field (Hirr), even at 77 K, a lot of assumptions and extrapolations were needed. Small pieces of both designs (standard bulk and foam) were cut and mechanically polished (1 x 1 x 0.1 mm3) according to the crystallographic orientation (H // c). To experimentally determine the pinning properties for magnetic field above 9 T, we were able to make measurements at high magnetic field (above 30 T) for different temperatures between 85 K and 40 K with the help of EMFL facilities using Cantilever Torque Magnetometry at the High Magnetic Field Laboratory of Nijmegen.

The transmission electron backscatter diffraction (t-EBSD) technique has proven to be an indispensable tool for the analysis of microstructures of superconducting samples, both high-Tc samples (YBa2Cu3Oy, Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8) as well as MgB2 or iron-based materials. The knowledge of the grain boundary properties (misorientation, length, width) is essential for the further optimization of sample performance. Any addition of secondary phase(s) to improve the flux pinning properties is required to be of nanometer dimensions, so the higher achievable resolution and the better imaging properties are important to obtain reasonably high image quality to enable automated orientation mapping. The orientation maps reveal not only the location and the shape of the inclusions within the superconducting matrix or at the grain boundaries but also their influence on the surrounding superconducting matrix, which also plays an important role in flux pinning. In the case of sintered MgB2 bulk samples, the demand for higher critical current densities leads to MgB2 grains in the 100-nm range, which is already difficult to be studied by means of conventional EBSD. Furthermore, t-EBSD is useful for the analysis of specific microstructures of unconventional superconductors like superconducting foams or superconducting nanowire networks.

Poster; International audience; Pieces of bulk, superconducting FeSe samples prepared by solid-state sintering were irradiated with 2.5 MeV electrons (T = 23.5 K) at SIRIUS facility using two different fluences, 2×10^19 electrons/cm2 and 4×10^19 electrons/cm2. In contrast to previous work performed on FeSe single crystals, the bulk FeSe samples are polycrystalline without specific texture and exhibit a density of ~4 g/cm3 (= 78% of theoret. density) due to pores. Furthermore, the samples contain magnetic impurities which lead to a ferromagnetic signal of the sample. Such bulk FeSe samples are intended as base material for superconducting trapped field magnets operating at 5 K, with the benefit of a higher upper critical field, Hc2, and reduced flux jump probability as compared to MgB2. The electron irradiation introduced point defects to the FeSe grains. As result, the superconducting transition temperature, Tc, is slightly reduced, depending on the fluence, but the critical currents are increased by about 20-30%. We discuss the changes of Tc, of the magnetic background and the superconducting properties of the samples before and after the electron irradiation.

Poster; International audience; We suggest the use of superconducting trapped field magnets (TF) for Flux-Pinning Docking Interfaces (FPDI) in satellite systems. Previous work introducing the FPDI concept to cube-sat satellites was using bulk high-Tc superconductors and permanent magnets of Nd-Fe-B. This arrangement was proven to work both experimentally and theoretically. However, such FPDIs have limited magnetic field strength, consist of heavy-weight material, and can only be used with a single purpose. Replacing the magnetic material in the FPDI by a TF-magnet would enable the interface to operate for both purposes, i.e., generating a (stronger) magnetic field and trapping it. We show the requirements for such a system and discuss the possible gains when using a TF-FPDI in satellites. A further possibility to reduce the system weight would be the use of superconducting foams as superconducting material.

Porous high-T c superconducting cuprates are promising materials representing an alternative preparation route to enable the fabrication of large-scale, light-weight superconducting samples. There are several advantages of such samples including the much easier (and faster) oxygenation process, a simpler scalability to produce large samples, and of course, the reduced weight. Two different types of such samples were prepared in the literature: (i) Superconducting foams, prepared using polyurethane foams converted to green phase foams followed by an infiltration growth (IG) process. (ii) Superconducting nanowire networks prepared by spinning from sol-gel precursors. Such fabric-like nanowire networks are extremely light-weight, but show very interesting properties. We discuss the properties of such samples concerning both the physical parameters and the respective microstructures and give an overview about possible applications.

The flux pinning properties of reacted-and-pressed Ba0.6K0.4Fe2As2 powder were measured using magnetic hysteresis loops in the temperature range 20 K &le, T &le, 35 K. The scaling analysis of the flux pinning forces ( F p = j c &times, B , with j c denoting the critical current density) following the Dew-Hughes model reveals a dominant flux pinning provided by normal-conducting point defects ( &delta, l -pinning) with only small irreversibility fields, H irr , ranging between 0.5 T (35 K) and 16 T (20 K). Kramer plots demonstrate a linear behavior above an applied field of 0.6 T. The samples were further characterized by electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) analysis to elucidate the origin of the flux pinning. We compare our data with results of Weiss et al. (bulks) and Yao et al. (tapes), revealing that the dominant flux pinning in the samples for applications is provided mainly by grain boundary pinning, created by the densification procedures and the mechanical deformation applied.

International audience

International audience; The FeSe compound is the simplest high-temperature superconductor (HTSc) possible, and relatively cheap, not containing any rare-earth material. Although the transition temperature, Tc, is just below 10 K, the upper critical fields are comparable with other HTSc. Preparing FeSe using solid-state sintering yields samples exhibiting strong ferromagnetic hysteresis loops (MHLs), and the superconducting contribution is only visible after subtracting MHLs from above Tc. Due to the complicated phase diagram, the samples are a mixture of several phases, the superconducting beta-FeSe, and the non-superconducting delta-FeSe and gamma-FeSe. Furthermore, antiferromagnetic Fe7Se8 and ferromagnetic alpha-Fe may be contained, depending directly on the Se loss during the sintering process. Here, we show MHLs measured up to ±7 T and determine the magnetic characteristics, together with the amount of superconductivity determined from M(T ) measurements. We also performed a thorough analysis of the microstructures in order to establish a relation between microstructure and the resulting sample properties.

International audience; Superconducting foams of YBa 2 Cu 3 O y (YBCO) are proposed as trapped field magnets or supermagnets. The foams with an open-porous structure are light-weight, mechanically strong and can be prepared in large sample sizes. The trapped field distributions were measured using a scanning Hall probe on various sides of an YBCO foam sample after field-cooling in a magnetic field of 0.5 T produced by a square Nd-Fe-B permanent magnet. The maximum trapped field (TF) measured is about 400 G (77 K) at the bottom of the sample. Several details of the TF distribution, the current flow and possible applicatons of such superconducting foam samples in space applications, e.g., as active elements in flux-pinning docking interfaces (FPDI) or as portable strong magnets to collect debris in space, are outlined.

Superconducting composite products of type YBa2Cu3O7−d (noted Y-123) added with different contents (x wt.%) of tungsten oxide nanoparticles (WO3 NPs), x = 0.0–1.0 wt%, were produced via the standard solid-state reaction technique. Samples were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and electrical resistivity measurements. XRD examination showed that the Y-123 orthorhombic structure is not altered by WO3 NPs additions. SEM observations indicated a reduction in the grains size with the increase of nanoparticles content. The investigation of the excess conductivity of different prepared composites was analyzed using Aslamazov-Larkin (AL) model. The investigated samples comprised of five distinct fluctuation regimes, namely short-wave (SWF), one-dimensional (1D), two-dimensional (2D), three-dimensional (3D), and critical (CR) fluctuations regimes. The coherence length along c-axis at zero-temperature ( ξ c ( 0 ) ), lower and upper critical magnetic fields ( B c 1 and B c 2 ), critical current density ( J c ) and numerous other superconducting parameters were estimated with respect to WO3 NPs content. Compared to undoped Y-123 sample, it was found that an amount of x = 0.05 wt% of WO3 NPs is appropriate to improve the physical performances of Y-123, whereas with further increasing x, these performances were weakened.