Fabrication of superconducting joints for Bi-2212 pancake coils

To evaluate the possibility of persistent current operation for NMR/MRI using a Bi/sub 2/Sr/sub 2/CaCuO/sub 8/ (Bi-2212) superconductor at 4.2 K, the temperature dependence of magnetic relaxation of the single crystal has been measured. It was found that the operating current must be one-fourth of J/sub c/ at 4.2 K to satisfy the stability condition for NMR/MRI operation ( Delta J/J less than 0.005 ppm/h). A superconducting coil made of Bi-2212 silver-sheathed wire was fabricated by the partial melt growth process. The authors were successful in generating 1.60 T in a zero external magnetic field at 4.2 K with a coil made of silver-sheathed Bi-2212 tape which was 100- mu m thick, 10-mm wide and 150-m long. Superconducting jointed pancake coils with critical current reaching 80 A in an external magnetic field of 1.0 T at 4.2 K were also fabricated.>