Comparing powder magnetization and transport critical current of Bi,Pb(2223) tapes

The magnetic field dependence of the critical current in (Bi,Pb)/sub 2/Sr/sub 2/Ca/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub 10+x/ tapes is compared with the magnetization response of isolated grains extracted from the tapes. Special attention is paid to the low-field behavior. The goal of the experiment is to test the widely-used hypothesis that current paths in these tapes contain both weak- and strong- linked branches, which in low field act in parallel. The data agree with this hypothesis; at temperatures above 50 K the powder magnetization drops off exponentially from the self-field to the irreversibility field, while the transport and magnetization currents in the intact tapes show an extra low-field component. Below 50 K the powder behavior becomes less straightforward, but the parallel-path picture in the tapes still holds

Direct Electroplating on Highly Doped Patterned Silicon Wafers

Nickel thin films have been electrodeposited directly on highly doped silicon wafers after removal of the native oxide layer. These substrates conduct sufficiently well to allow deposition using a periferical electrical contact on the wafer. Films 2 μm thick were deposited using a nickel sulfamate bath on both n+ and p+-type silicon wafers, where a series of trenches with different widths had been previously etched by plasma etching. A new, reliable and simple procedure based on the removal of the native oxide layer is presented which allows uniform plating of patterned substrates