Investigation of Pb-free Bi-2223 high temperature sintering

The Bi-2223 performance could be significantly improved by melt processing. However, it is a very difficult task, partly due to the volatility of Pb, its main dopant. On the other hand, it is also a hard task to obtain high Pb-free 2223 amounts, even by sinterization using a primary phase field composition (Bi/sub 2.5/Sr/sub 1.9/Ca/sub 2.1/Cu/sub 3/O/sub x/). In the present work, we investigate the sinterization of Pb-free 2223 in the presence of appreciable liquid fractions. The samples were analyzed by XRD, SEM/EDS and Magnetic Susceptibility. The results show significant Pb-free 2223 amounts after sintering at temperatures close to the melting. Such investigation represents an additional step toward the elucidation of the Pb-free 2223/melt equilibrium.