Tapes and wires were prepared by the in situ reaction method. Two cycle drawing and groove-rolling were used for the mechanic deformation of the samples. The critical current density, JC, as a function of applied magnetic field, Ba, was measured and compared for all the prepared samples. The influence of the different processing at its different stages on the MgB2 microstructure was studied by scanning electron microscopy. Weak links introduced in the superconducting core after the second cycle mechanical deformation could not be re-joined with a consecutive heat treatment. Accordingly, for these samples JC(Ba) turned out to decrease significantly faster in an increasing field than for samples prepared with one-cycle processing.

Effect of Various Mechanical Deformation Processes on Critical Current Density and Microstructure in MgB2 Tapes and Wires. S.Zhou, A.V.Pan, H.Liu, J.Horvat, S.Dou: Superconductor Science and Technology, 2002, 15, 1490-3