Microstructures of Superconducting BiPbSrCaCuO Ceramics Treated by High Pressure

Microstructures of BiPbSrCaCuO superconductors prepared under various conditions were investigated by means of the scanning electronic microscope (SEM). Focus was placed on the microstructure change of the samples treated by cold pressure and hot pressing. Due to the effects of pressure, average grain sizes in the pressed samples decreased remarkably, and the bulk densities increased greatly to reach 90%~95% of the theoretic density. The high pressure treated samples, on the other hand, are found to be obvious oriented, which may result from the plastic flow under high pressure and the anisotropic growing of the superconducting grains.