Influence of Mechanical Cutting Methods on Critical Current of 1 mm HTS Tapes

Abstract

Over the past decade, the critical current of the tape with 4 mm width exceeds 200 A. Due to the high critical current, the narrowing process to 1 mm width for the HTS tape becomes a feasible technology, and the value of critical current for the 1 mm tape is able to above 50 A. In this paper, critical current loss of 1 mm HTS tape was observed after the mechanical narrowing process. This significantly affects the properties of the 1 mm HTS tape. To understand the influence of narrowing process on critical current, we proposed mechanical cutting methods to manufacture the 1 mm tapes. Meanwhile, the solder plating process was also considered in the manufacturing process of 1 mm tape. The critical current measurements were carried out in order to study the loss of critical current. The detailed results about the critical current measurement experiment, the microscope observation experiment, and the solder plating process were presented and discussed in this study.