The  paper of  the  month,  chosen  by  the Editor-in-Chief,  is  "Optimum Heat Treatment Conditions Determination for Mg-Diffused MgB₂"  by Ö. Çiçek and K. Yakinci;

DOI: 10.12693/APhysPolA.145.324

Superconducting materials with high transition temperatures are intensively studied. One of them, magnesium diboride MgB₂ is one of them. It is a light weight superconducting material, it is relatively easy and cheap to obtain, therefore it has been extensively studied in recent years. Many applications of this material are possible due to its high transition temperature and other properties.  

The present paper discusses the production of MgB₂ by the Mg diffusion method. Extensive studies of the material microstructure were performed with the help of SEM and XRD. Also, the magnetic properties were determined and are presented in detail.

The results on the heat treatment for the production of MgB₂ in the presented method can be very helpful for many applications.

The editor recommends this paper to all readers interested in the technology of materials, superconductors in particular.

The Editor-in-Chief