Effect of metal (Zn/In/Pb) additions on the microstructures and superconducting properties of Sr1−xKxFe2As2 tapes

• DOI: 10.1016/j.scriptamat.2015.09.031
• Publication Date: 2015-10-02T19:35:28Z
• Authors: He Lin; Chao Yao; Xianping Zhang; Haitao Zhang; Qianjun Zhang; Dongliang Wang; Chiheng Dong; Yanwei Ma
• Keywords: Atmospheric temperature range; Iron-based superconductor

Abstract Zn-, In- and Pb-added Ag-sheathed Sr1 − xKxFe2As2 tapes were fabricated through the powder-in-tube method. All added tapes are found to have increased transport Jc at 4.2 K in fields up to 14 T than the pure samples. The best Jc result has been achieved in Zn-added tapes. Microstructure investigations reveal that Zn addition can improve both phase uniformity and grain connectivity of Sr1 − xKxFe2As2, thus resulting in higher Jc. Furthermore, the critical temperature for the added tapes decreased very slightly (only about 0.4 K). The role of Zn addition may be beneficial in promoting a large range of applications for iron-pnictide conductors.