Thermal-strain-induced enhancement of electromagnetic properties of SiC-MgB2 composites

The effect of thermal strain caused by the different thermal expansion coefficients (α) of the MgB2 and SiC phases on the electromagnetic properties was studied for SiC–MgB2 composite, which was made by premixing SiC and B, followed by Mg diffusion and reaction. Thermal strain in the MgB2 phase was demonstrated with x-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. In contrast to the common practice of improving the critical current density Jc and the upper critical field Hc2 of MgB2 through chemical substitution, by taking advantage of residual thermal strains, we are able to design a composite showing only a small decrease in the critical temperature and a little increase in resistivity but a significant improvement over the Jc and Hc2 of pure MgB2.