Review of recent developments of multifilamentary Nb/sub 3/Sn by ''in situ'' and cold powder metallurgy processes

The development of both the ''in situ'' and cold powder metallurgy processes for multifilamentary high field superconducting materials is reviewed. Both materials show overall critical current densities of J/sub c//greater than equivalent to/10/sup 4/ A/cm/sup 2/ at 14 tesla and both show improved mechanical properties over conventional multifilamentary materials. The processes produce submicron fibers of Nb/sub 3/Sn (or V/sub 3/Ga) in a ductile Cu matrix resulting in wires which are promising as alternatives to conventional continuous fiber multifilamentary superconducting materials. Source references to work at MIT and other laboratories are included. 28 refs