The project will deal with the processing and fabrication of superconducting ceramic materials. The main objective of the research is to prepare yttrium-barium-copper oxides in bulk, sheet, and fiber shapes. To accomplish this, both molten salts and high- quality sinterable ceramic powders of proper cation ratio will be used as starting materials. Powders will be synthesized in the laboratory from aqueous cation solutions by using homogeneous precipitation and emulsion precipitation techniques. Molten salts will be prepared from barium hydroxide, copper nitrate, and yttrium hydroxide salts. The influence of individual processing steps on the characteristics of the material synthesized and on the overall performance of the component as a superconducting device will be investigated. A significant level of cooperation with USDOE Ames Laboratory scientists will be an integral part of the program.
