Method of preparing oxide superconducting wire and pressure heat treatment apparatus employed for the method

Abstract

The method of preparing an oxide superconducting wire comprises steps of preparing a wire by coating raw material powder for a Bi—Pb—Sr—Ca—Cu—O based oxide superconductor including a 2223 phase with a metal and heat treating the wire in a pressurized atmosphere containing oxygen in a prescribed partial pressure, and the total pressure of the pressurized atmosphere is at least 0.5 MPa. The pressure heat treatment apparatus comprises a pressure furnace storing and heat treating a target in a pressurized atmosphere, a pressure regulator for measuring the total pressure in the pressure furnace, an oxygen concentration meter for measuring the oxygen concentration in the pressure furnace and a controller for controlling the oxygen partial pressure in the pressure furnace in response to the total pressure measured by the pressure regulator and the oxygen concentration measured by the oxygen concentration meter.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.