A BÏ2212 article may be formed by mixing metallic precursor powders including bismuth, strontium, calcium and copper in an oxygen-free atmosphere, mechanically alloying the metallic precursor powders in an oxygen-free atmosphere, and heating the metallic precursor alloy according to a temperature profile. The profile may include a ramp-up stage during which the alloy is heated to a peak temperature in an oxygen-free atmosphere, a dwell stage during which the alloy is held at the peak temperature for a dwell time, and a ramp-down stage during which the alloy is cooled from the peak temperature. During at least a portion of the dwell stage, the oxygen-free atmosphere is switched to an oxygen-inclusive atmosphere, wherein the alloy is oxidized to form a superconducting oxide, which may be sintered during or after oxidation. The alloy may be formed into a shape, such as a wire, prior to oxidizing.

A bulk superconductor device is disclosed, comprising a single grain RE-BCO element incorporating reinforcing fibres. The single grain (RE)BCO element comprises RE-211 pinning sites disposed in a RE-123 matrix and further comprises Ag. The reinforcing fibres comprise a ceramic such as SiC and a refractory metal such as W. The reinforcing fibres comprise a core formed of the refractory metal and a ceramic cladding surrounding the core. The device may be manufactured by a top seeded melt growth process or by a top seeded infiltration growth process.

A precursor, which is a drawn wire product of a composite pipe, the composite pipe having: a composite wire group; a barrier layer; and a protective layer, wherein the composite wire group has: a plurality of tin wires each having at least one tin core being made of tin or a tin alloy, and a copper matrix which surrounds the at least one tin core; and a plurality of niobium wires each having a plurality of niobium cores being made of niobium or a niobium alloy, and a copper matrix which surrounds the plurality of niobium cores, the plurality of niobium wires being disposed such that each of the tin wires is surrounded by the niobium wires, the composite wire group contains titanium in an amount of from 0.38% by mass to 0.55% by mass.

Compositions of matter and methods of identifying and making compositions of matter are disclosed. Some embodiments disclose making and chemically and/or compositionally tuning superconducting hydride materials. Some embodiments disclose an apparatus for making and compositionally tuning superconducting materials. Some embodiments disclose a composition of matter including a solid hydride exhibiting superconductivity at a temperature of at least 150 kelvin at an ambient pressure below 180 gigapascals, or at a temperature of at least 261 kelvin. In one or more embodiments, the superconductor includes a covalent metal hydride having at least three different chemical elements wherein an inter-atomic distance between the hydrogen in the covalent metal hydride is in a range of 1.1-2 angstroms. In yet further examples, the superconductor is formed using molecular exchange and compression of a Van der Waals solid. In yet further examples, the superconductor comprises molecular hydrogen disposed in 1-dimensional channels. These and other embodiments are disclosed herein.

Provided is a method of forming a superconducting wire, the method including forming a superconducting precursor film on a substrate, the super conducting precursor film containing Re, Ba, and Cu having a composition in which Ba is poor and Cu is rich compared to stoichiometric ReBCO(Gd.sub.1Ba.sub.2Cu.sub.3O.sub.7y, 0y6, Re: Rare earth element), heating the substrate to melt the superconducting precursor film, providing an oxygen gas having an oxygen partial pressure of about 10 mTorr to about 200 mTorr on the molten superconducting precursor film to form a superconducting layer including an epitaxial superconductor biaxially aligned only in the c-axis direction perpendicular to the substrate, and cooling the substrate.

Provided is a method of forming a superconducting wire, the method including forming a superconducting precursor film on a substrate, the super conducting precursor film containing Re, Ba, and Cu having a composition in which Ba is poor and Cu is rich compared to stoichiometric ReBCO(Gd.sub.1Ba.sub.2Cu.sub.3O.sub.7y, 0y6, Re: Rare earth element), heating the substrate to melt the superconducting precursor film, providing an oxygen gas having an oxygen partial pressure of about 10 mTorr to about 200 mTorr on the molten superconducting precursor film to form a superconducting layer including an epitaxial superconductor biaxially aligned only in the c-axis direction perpendicular to the substrate, and cooling the substrate.

A micromachining process includes exposing the work piece surface to a precursor gas including a compound having an acid halide functional group; and irradiating the work piece surface with a beam in the presence of the precursor gas, the precursor gas reacting in the presence of the particle beam to remove material from the work piece surface.

A precursor, which is a drawn wire product of a composite pipe, the composite pipe having: a composite wire group; a barrier layer; and a protective layer, wherein the composite wire group has: a plurality of tin wires each having at least one tin core being made of tin or a tin alloy, and a copper matrix which surrounds the at least one tin core; and a plurality of niobium wires each having a plurality of niobium cores being made of niobium or a niobium alloy, and a copper matrix which surrounds the plurality of niobium cores, the plurality of niobium wires being disposed such that each of the tin wires is surrounded by the niobium wires, the composite wire group contains titanium in an amount of from 0.38% by mass to 0.55% by mass.

A micromachining process includes exposing the work piece surface to a precursor gas including a compound having an acid halide functional group; and irradiating the work piece surface with a beam in the presence of the precursor gas, the precursor gas reacting in the presence of the particle beam to remove material from the work piece surface.

Compositions of matter and methods of identifying and making compositions of matter are disclosed. Some embodiments disclose making and chemically and/or compositionally tuning superconducting hydride materials. Some embodiments disclose an apparatus for making and compositionally tuning superconducting materials. Some embodiments disclose a composition of matter including a solid hydride exhibiting superconductivity at a temperature of at least 150 kelvin at an ambient pressure below 180 gigapascals, or at a temperature of at least 261 kelvin. In one or more embodiments, the superconductor includes a covalent metal hydride having at least three different chemical elements wherein an inter-atomic distance between the hydrogen in the covalent metal hydride is in a range of 1.1-2 angstroms. In yet further examples, the superconductor is formed using molecular exchange and compression of a Van der Waals solid. In yet further examples, the superconductor comprises molecular hydrogen disposed in 1-dimensional channels. These and other embodiments are disclosed herein.