Influence of mechanical and plasma shockwaves on the structure and properties of superconductors

The article presents the results of studying the critical temperature, critical current, and field dependencies of superconducting Bi-2223 and MgB₂ multilayer tapes after them being subjected to the influence of shock waves generated at the Plasma Focus test bench and mechanical impacts of various intensities. The influence of the specific energy, the number of impacts, the distance of the samples from the plasma anode, the energy of the falling shock mechanism, and the step of moving the impacts was studied. Studies have shown that the critical current Jc can be increased by 50 % in magnetic fields of 2–3 T. In this case, the grains are crushed, compacted, homogenized, and the impurity content changes. The results of microanalysis of superconducting interlayers in the initial state and after influence of shock-wave of plasma show an improvement in the homogeneity of the distribution of the main components (Mg and B) and impurities (C and O).