The formation of defects and their influence on inter-and intra-granular current in sintered polycrystalline 122 phase Fe-based superconductors

The evolution of intra-and inter-granular structures in Co-doped BaFe₂As₂ (Ba-122) has been studied to address key issues associated with limited inter-granular current transport in randomly oriented polycrystalline Fe-based superconducting materials. We found that the following phenomena occur with an increase in reaction temperature: (i) significant grain growth; (ii) formation and evolution of two types of cracks; (iii) enhancement in the intra-granular current loop; (iv) reduction of magnetic shielding volume; and (v) decrease of the inter-granular transport current. A strong correlation between the inverse grain size and the inter-granular current density was observed. These results indicate that the key microstructural feature to achieve high transport current is a small grain size with no inter-granular cracks, and that low temperature synthesis is an effective path to this end. Based on the observed stacking faults and inter-granular amorphous layers, we propose a model for the formation of the two types of cracks in a polycrystalline Ba-122 phase, i.e. intra-and inter-granular cracks.