A new paradigm for fabricating bulk high-field superconductors

Taylor, DMJ; Al-Jawad, M; Hampshire, DP

Abstract

Superconductivity provides the enabling technology for producing high-field magnets in applications including medical body scanners and particle accelerators. The upper critical field (BC2(0)) of the superconductor ultimately limits the field that the magnet can produce. The reports about PbMo6S8 and Nb3Sn provide a new method for fabricating high-field superconductors in which superconducting materials are made in nanocrystalline form and the very fine microstructure and high density of defects present are controlled at the nanoscale to significantly increase the electron scattering and hence BC2(0). Here we show direct measurements of BC2(0) for a series of nanocrystalline niobium materials with an unprecedented maximum BC2(0) for bulk Nb of ~3 T. We provide a theoretical description of our results, using the well-established fundamental properties of Nb, that explains why the peak in BC2(0) occurs and can predict optimal BC2(0) for other materials in this new class of nanocrystalline high-field superconductors.

Citation

Taylor, D., Al-Jawad, M., & Hampshire, D. (2008). A new paradigm for fabricating bulk high-field superconductors. Superconductor Science and Technology, 21(12), Article 125006. https://doi.org/10.1088/0953-2048/21/12/125006

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: 2008-12
• Deposit Date: Jun 30, 2011
• Journal: Superconductor Science and Technology
• Print ISSN: 0953-2048
• Electronic ISSN: 1361-6668
• Publisher: IOP Publishing
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 21
• Issue: 12
• Article Number: 125006
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/0953-2048/21/12/125006
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1508170