Press Forging and Wire Fabrication of Ba sub 2 YCu sub 3 O sub 7

Improving the critical current, J sub c in High T sub c superconductors and processing them into useful shapes is a crucial step in commercial applications of these materials. We report here on the enhanced orientation and improved J sub c by press forging, and on the fabrication of Ba sub 2 YC sub 3 O sub 7 wires by extruding a mixture of pre-reacted 1-2-3 powder and an organic binder. The press forged samples are highly oriented and exhibit a J sub c in excess of 3000 A/cm sup 2 .