Silver-sheathed multifilament YBa2Cu3Ox wires

Silver-sheathed multifilament superconducting wires were fabricated by swaging. Phase-pure YBa2Cu3Ox powder was packed into a silver tube (6.35 mm outer diameter and 2.54 mm inner diameter) and the tube was swaged. Pieces were cut from the resultant monofilament, packed into a silver sheath, and reswaged into a multifilament wire. The wires were sintered under reduced oxygen pressure and subsequently annealed in oxygen. Heat treatment schedules were tailored to control residual stresses in the wires. Superconducting properties were measured, and interfaces and microstructures were characterized. In this paper optimum processing procedures for producing multifilament superconducting wires are discussed