Synthesis of c-axis oriented single-domain Sm123 superconductors capable of trapping 9 Tesla at 25 K and its application to a strong magnetic field generator

The c-axis oriented single-domain Sm123 bulk superconductors containing 10–20 wt.% Ag2O have been synthesized under the Ar gas flowing atmosphere by using Nd123 as a seed crystal in the melt-texturing process. Samples synthesized were either 30 or 36 mm in diameter and 12–18 mm in thickness. The maximum trapped flux density at 77 K has reached 2.1 T at the center of the free surface of the sample containing 10 wt.% Ag2O. The highest trapped flux density of 9.0 T was achieved by lowering temperature to 25 K. A compact magnetic field generator capable of producing higher than 2 Tesla in free space has been constructed by magnetizing the Sm123 superconductor by means of the pulse field technique.