Doping effects of nanoscale Fe particles on the superconducting properties of powder-in-tube processed MgB2 tapes

The doping effects of nanoscale ferromagnetic Fe particles on the superconducting properties of MgB2 tapes were investigated. Using ex situ and in situ powder-in-tube methods with doping from 0.1 to 2.4 wt% Fe, Fe-sheathed MgB2 tapes with a mono-core were prepared. The sample tapes were characterized using magnetization measurements and x-ray diffraction analysis. Irrespective of the fabrication method, no positive effects on the transition temperatures or irreversibility temperatures were obtained. Furthermore, the addition of nanoscale Fe particles to MgB2 tapes yielded no improvements in the transport critical current properties of the MgB2 tapes, but a slight indication existed of interaction between the magnetized particles and the flux-thread in the magnetization curves of the Fe-doped MgB2 tapes