Effect of Laser Treatments on the Microstructure and Physical Properties of Bi-2212 and Gd-123 Bulk Samples.

A laser furnace (LF) apparatus, which applies laser irradiation to the surface of a material while it is moving inside a high temperature roller furnace, has been recently patented and demonstrated unprecedented potential in the development of ceramic materials. This apparatus has been used in this study to texture Bi-2212 bulk samples in planar geometries with dimensions of several centimeters. The process can be scaled-up to dimensions that could be interesting from a technological point of view. The influence of laser emission and furnace processing parameters, as well as the application of an electrical current, has been studied to define parameters which yield an improvement of the superconducting properties. These studies have also been initiated in Gd-123 bulk samples, analyzing the changes that a LF treatment is able to induce in their microstructure using an infiltration approach.