The effect of SiO2 and SiC nano-powder doping was investigated for powder-in-tube processed MgB2/Fe tapes. Here, Mg or MgH2 powder was used as the Mg source in the starting materials, and heat treatment was carried out at 600C for 1h. The heat-treatment conditions of lower temperature and shorter time were advantageous from the point of view of practical production processes. The MgH2 powder improved the connection of MgB2 grains and prevented oxidation of MgB2. The SiC and SiO2 doping greatly enhanced the JC values of tapes prepared with Mg+B powder. However, only SiC doping was effective in enhancing JC values for MgH2+B powder. The SiC doping decreased the magnetic field sensitivity of JC, while SiO2 doping did not change the field-dependence of JC. The SiC-doped tape exhibited a transport JC value of about 6500A/cm2 at 4.2K and in a magnetic field of 12T. The irreversibility field was increased from 17 to 23T by SiC doping.

Effect of SiO2 and SiC Doping on the Powder-in-Tube Processed MgB2 Tapes. A.Matsumoto, H.Kumakura, H.Kitaguchi, H.Hatakeyama: Superconductor Science and Technology, 2003, 16, 926-30