Study of grain boundary characteristics of proton irradiated textured polycrystalline Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x and Bi1.84Pb0.34Sr1.91Ca2.03Cu3.06O10+x superconductors

Intergranular critical current density (Jcint) has been measured for 15 MeV proton irradiated textured polycrystalline Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x (Bi-2212) and Bi1.84Pb0.34Sr1.91Ca2.03Cu3.06O10+x (Bi-2223) superconductors. The effects of irradiation on the grain boundary characteristics, in particular junction barrier thickness (d) and junction width (w), have been studied as a function of dose. At higher dose (i.e. >5×1015 protons/cm2), Jcint is affected primarily by d rather than by w which is more prominent in Bi-2223 as compared to Bi-2212.