B4C in ex-situ spark plasma sintered MgB2

Powder mixtures of MgB₂ and B₄C with composition ((MgB₂) + (B₄C)_x, x = 0.005, 0.01, 0.03) were consolidated by Spark Plasma Sintering at 1150 °C for 3 min. The average particle size of B₄C raw powder was relatively high of 4 μm. Despite this, it is shown that processing processes are fast and, as in the case of the in-situ routes, for our ex-situ method carbon substitutes for the boron in the crystal lattice of MgB₂. Specifics of microstructure are discussed based on electron microscopy observations. Carbon substitution and microstructure contribute to enhancement of the critical current density J_c at high magnetic fields and of the irreversibility field H_irr. Samples are shown to be in the point pinning limit with some tendency toward the grain boundary pinning depending on B₄C doping amount and temperature. An optimum composition is found for x = 0.01: for this sample, at 20 K, a J_c of 100 A/cm² is obtained at 5.35 T. This value is higher than for the pristine MgB₂ sample and for an optimum ex-situ nano-SiC-doped sample obtained for the same SPS processing conditions.