The Magnetic and Structural Properties of SiC-Doped MgB2 Bulks Prepared by the Standard Ceramic Processing

Abstract

According to general formula MgB2-x SiC (x) (x=0,0.05,0.1,0.2), MgB2 and SiC-doped bulk superconductors were prepared by the standard ceramic processing. The mixtures of the corresponding powders were sintered at 750 degrees C for 0.5 h under pressure of 8 bar Argon. X-ray diffraction patterns show that all the samples have MgB2 as the main phase with a very small amount of MgO; further, with SiC-doped, the presence of Mg2Si is also noted. The magnetization-temperature measurements showed a transition temperature of 37.5 K for the undoped sample which indicates the typical transition temperature of MgB2. When the content of SiC increased in the sample, the transition temperatures decreased to the lower temperatures systematically. The M-H loops measured using a VSM showed very large magnetization value at low temperature for SiC doped samples. The largest M-H loops were taken from the sample contains 5% SiC. The critical current density of samples calculated from M-H loops indicated a value of around 4x10(5) A/cm(2), which is in good agreement with the literature