High Temperature Superconductors: Synthesis, Fabrication and Properties

In the past 3 years a number of families of oxide superconductors have been discovered with transition temperatures above the boiling point of liquid nitrogen. This accomplishment allows much less expensive cooling technology and is a major step in broadening the potential application of superconductors. This talk will briefly review the history of superconductivity, define some properties, describe the synthesis of these new high temperature superconductors, and review the methods of fabricating these materials. The processing methods will be related to both the needs of potential applications and to the limitations in properties, particularly current carrying capability.