Transport properties of powder-in-tube BSCCO(2212)/Ag tape joints

Several configurations of Ag-sheathed Bi-2212 tape joints were investigated. These included simple lap joints and bridge joints (bridging two tapes with a third tape). The green conductors in these configurations were annealed using a partial-melt-growth process. The transport properties of these joints were measured by the four point d.c. method. Results indicate that the critical temperature decreased 7 K, while the critical current decreased by 30% for an overlap of ~ 2 cm on a ~ 0.9 cm wide × 60 μm thick tape. This degradation in the transport properties was compensated for by increasing the overlap region, so as to reduce the degradation in the transport properties, particularly I_c, based on 1 MU;m/cm criterion. Results of this investigation will be discussed.