Magnetic study of texture in multifilamentary (Bi, Pb)[sub 2]Sr[sub 2]Ca[sub 2]Cu[sub 3]O[sub 10+x] tapes: Evidence for anisotropic orientation

We present a simple method allowing the determination of the degree of texture of superconducting grains inside Ag-sheathed (Bi, Pb)(2)Sr2Ca2Cu3O10+x tapes from a set of magnetic measurements. This procedure is based on the considerable anisotropy existing between the in-plane and out-of-plane critical current densities of individual crystallites in Bi-based superconducting compounds. By this method, we have monitored the evolution of the precursor Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+y grain texturing in unreacted multifilamentary tapes in the course of the cold rolling deformation process. Evidence for anisotropic texturing, i.e., different longitudinal and transversal angle with respect to the rolling direction, has been observed. The accuracy of the method is discussed and the results compared with the current literature.