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Niobium samples cut from large-grain discs with residual resistivity ratio ranging between 60 and 300 were mechanically polished and subjected to chemical treatments similar to those applied during the fabrication of superconducting radio-frequency cavities for particle accelerators. Pitting occurred during the chemical treatments and the pit density was higher in the samples of lower purity. Electropolishing resulted in the lowest density of pits, regardless of sample purity, compared to buffered chemical polishing. A correlation between high pit density and grains with 100 orientation of the exposed surface was found, however, no such correlation emerged with respect to the dislocation density.

Electron beam (e-beam) treatment uses accelerated electrons to form oxidizing and reducing radicals when applied to water without the use of external chemicals. In this study, electron beam treatment was used to degrade 1,4-dioxane in several water matrices. Removal improved in the progressively cleaner water matrices and removals as high as 94% to 99% were observed at a dose of 2.3 kGy in secondary effluent. 1,4-dioxane removal was confirmed to be primarily through hydroxyl radical oxidation. The calculated electrical energy per order was found to be 0.53, 0.26, and 0.08 kWh/m3/order for secondary effluent (Avg. total organic carbon (TOC) 9.25 mg/L), granular activated carbon effluent (TOC 3.46 mg/L), and ultrapure water, respectively, with a 70% generation and transfer efficiency applied.

High radio-frequency (rf) losses measured for cavities in original Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF) cryomodules, compared to the losses measured in single-cavity tests, have been a long-standing issue related to their performance. We summarize experimental evidence of increased rf losses in CEBAF cavities arising from the fundamental power coupler cold window and waveguide, respectively. Cryogenic rf tests were done on cavities tested in vertical cryostats as well as inside cryomodules in the accelerator tunnel. The cold window metallization losses were assessed by combining numerical results with measured data obtained with an existing cryogenic waveguide resonator setup. The results showed that the cold window metallization losses can increase the cavity rf heat load at 2.07 K by up to 86%, depending on the standing-wave pattern in the fundamental power coupler waveguide, and that such losses are reduced if the distance between the waveguide and the cavity cells is increased.

The choice of a material and the engineering design that is intended to lead to a beam exit window capable of sustaining mechanical and thermal loads in a high-radiation environment, while minimizing the beam loss and maximizing the window lifetime is discussed. Thin titanium windows have been typically used in industrial accelerators in the tens of kW beam power [1]. The focus of this research is to conduct fundamental studies related to the choice of a material, from a material science point of view, for MW-class beam exit windows and an engineering design, including parameters such as the window size, thickness, and cooling scheme, suitable for industrial accelerators. CrMnV and CrMnTiV HEAs were selected for this study. According to Yang et al., [2], 1.1 and 6.6% should be expected as the criteria for forming high entropy stabilized solid solution phases. The two parameters of the CrMnV and CrMnTiV alloys are and respectively. Therefore, the two alloys are expected to be solid solution. The mechanical properties of CrMnV and CrMnTiV solid solution HEAs exit window prior to E-beam irradiation were measured using nanoindentation. The nanoindentation testing was carried out using XP Nanoindenter tester equipped with a three-sided diamond Berkovich indenter tip with maximum displacement of 2000 nm. The hardness is measured as 5.2 and 6.1 GPa for the bulk CrMnV and CrMnTiV solid solution HEAs at a depth of indentation of 900 nm respectively, Fig. 1. We also observe that both solid solution CrMnV and CrMnTiV HEAs depict indentation size effect. References Chmielewski A.G., Zimek, Z., Panta P., Drabik W., Radiat. Phys. Chem. 45 1029 (1995). Yang, X. and Y. Zhang, Prediction of high-entropy stabilized solid-solution in multi-component alloys. Materials Chemistry and Physics, 2012. 132(2-3): p. 233-238. Figure 1

At the electron linac for beams with high brilliance and low emittance (ELBE) center for high-power radiation sources, the second version of a superconducting radio-frequency (SRF) photoinjector has been put into operation and has been routinely applied for user operation at the ELBE electron accelerator. SRF guns are suitable for generating a continuous wave electron beam with high average currents and high beam brightness. The SRF gun at ELBE has the goal to generate short electron pulses with bunch charges of 200–300 pC at typical repetition rates of 100 kHz for the production of superradiant, coherent terahertz radiation. The SRF gun includes a 3.5-cell, 1.3-GHz niobium cavity and a superconducting solenoid. A support system with liquid nitrogen (LN_{2}) cooling allows the operation of normal-conducting, high quantum efficiency photocathodes. We present the design and performance of the SRF gun as well as beam measurement results of the operation with Mg photocathodes at an acceleration gradient of 8 MV/m (4 MeV kinetic energy). In the last section, we discuss the SRF gun application for production of coherent terahertz radiation at the ELBE facility.

Magnetic flux trapped during the cooldown of superconducting radio-frequency cavities through the transition temperature due to incomplete Meissner state is known to be a significant source of radio-frequency losses. The sensitivity of flux trapping depends on the distribution and the type of defects and impurities which pin vortices, as well as the cooldown dynamics when the cavity transitions from a normal to superconducting state. Here we present the results of measurements of the flux trapping sensitivity on 1.3 GHz elliptical cavities made from large-grain niobium with different purity for different cooldown dynamics and surface treatments. The results show that lower purity material results in a higher fraction of trapped flux and that the trapped flux sensitivity parameter $S$ is significantly affected by surface treatments but without much change in the mean free path $l$. We discuss our results within an overview of published data on the dependencies of $S(l,f)$ on $l$ and frequency $f$ using theoretical models of rf losses of elastic vortex lines driven by weak rf currents in the cases of sparse strong pinning defects and collective pinning by many weak defects. Our analysis shows how multiscale pinning mechanisms in cavities can result in a maximum in $S(l)$ similar to that observed by the FNAL and Cornell groups and how pinning characteristics can be extracted from the experimental data. Here the main contribution to $S$ come from weak pinning regions at the cavity surface, where dissipative oscillations along trapped vortices perpendicular to the surface propagate into the bulk well beyond the layer of rf screening current. However, the analysis of $S$ as a function of only the mean free path is incomplete since cavity treatments change not only $l$ but pinning characteristics as well. The effect of cavity treatments on pinning is primarily responsible for the change of $S$ without much effect on $l$ observed in this work. It also manifests itself in different magnitudes and peak positions in $S(l)$, and scatter of the $S$-data coming from the measurements on different cavities which have undergone different treatments affecting both $l$ and pinning. Optimizations of flux pinning to reduce flux sensitivity at low rf fields is discussed.

Superconducting radio frequency (SRF) cavities are fundamental building blocks of modern particle accelerators. They operate at liquid helium temperatures (2–4 K) to achieve very high quality factors (1010–1011). Trapping of magnetic flux within the superconductor is a significant contribution to the residual RF losses, which limit the achievable quality factor. Suitable diagnostic tools are in high demand to understand the mechanisms of flux trapping in technical superconductors, and the fundamental components of such diagnostic tools are magnetic field sensors. We have studied the performance of commercially available Hall probes, anisotropic magnetoresistive sensors, and flux-gate magnetometers with respect to their sensitivity and capability to detect localized, low magnetic flux amplitudes, of the order of a few tens of magnetic flux quantum at liquid helium temperatures. Although Hall probes have the lowest magnetic field sensitivity (∼96 nV/μT at 2 K), their physical dimensions are such that they have the ability to detect the lowest number of trapped vortices among the three types of sensors. Hall probes and anisotropic magnetoresistive sensors have been selected to be used in a setup to map regions of trapped flux on the surface of a single-cell SRF cavity.

The heat load of the original cryomodules for the continuous electron beam accelerator facility is ~50% higher than the target value of 100 W at 2.07 K for refurbished cavities operating at an accelerating gradient of 12.5 MV/m. This issue is due to the quality factor of the cavities being ~50% lower in the cryomodule than when tested in a vertical cryostat, even at low RF field. Previous studies were not conclusive about the origin of the additional losses. We present the results of a systematic study of the additional losses in a five-cell cavity from a decommissioned cryomodule after attaching components, which are part of the cryomodule, such as the cold tuner, the He tank, and the cold magnetic shield, prior to cryogenic testing in a vertical cryostat. Flux-gate magnetometers and temperature sensors are used as diagnostic elements. Different cool-down procedures and tests in different residual magnetic fields were investigated during the study. Three flux-gate magnetometers attached to one of the cavities installed in the refurbished cryomodule C50-12 confirmed the hypothesis of high residual magnetic field as a major cause for the increased RF losses.

Superconducting radio-frequency cavities are commonly used in modern particle accelerators for applied and fundamental research. Such cavities are typically made of high-purity, bulk Nb and with cooling by a liquid helium bath at a temperature of ~2 K. The size, cost and complexity of operating a particle accelerator with a liquid helium refrigerator makes the current cavity technology not favorable for use in industrial-type accelerators. We developed a multi-metallic 1.495 GHz elliptical cavity conductively cooled by a cryocooler. The cavity has a ~2 μm thick layer of Nb3Sn on the inner surface, exposed to the rf field, deposited on a ~3 mm thick bulk Nb shell and a bulk Cu shell, of thickness ≥ 5 mm deposited on the outer surface by electroplating. A bolt-on Cu plate 1.27 cm thick was used to thermally connect the cavity equator to the second stage of a Gifford-McMahon cryocooler with a nominal capacity of 2 W at 4.2 K. The cavity was tested initially in liquid helium at 4.3 K and reached a peak surface magnetic field of ~36 mT with a quality factor of 2 × 109. The cavity cooled by the crycooler achieved a peak surface magnetic field of ~29 mT, equivalent to an accelerating gradient of 6.5 MV/m. The conduction-cooled cavity could be operated in continuous-wave with as high as 5 W dissipation in the cavity for 1 h without any thermal breakdown, because of the Cu outer layer with high thermal conductivity. This result represents a paradigm shift in the technology of superconducting accelerator cavities.

We report the results from the measurements of high purity Nb samples and superconducting radio-frequency (SRF) cavities doped with nitrogen and followed by either electropolishing (EP) or buffered chemical polishing (BCP), in order to understand the role of the postdoping treatment on the performance of SRF cavities. The samples characterization via scanning electron microscope, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and secondary ion mass spectroscopy showed topographical differences on the surface of the samples after EP versus BCP treatment, but similar surface composition. Radio-frequency measurements were done on single cell cavities made from fine-grain and large-grain Nb treated by nitrogen doping followed by BCP and showed that improved ${Q}_{0}$ in the medium field in both fine-grain and large-grain cavities is possible with BCP postprocessing. However, there are differences between performances of large-grain versus fine-grain cavities after BCP. A cavity made from large-grain Nb showed a larger increase in ${Q}_{0}$ and a lower quench field compared to cavities made from fine-grain Nb.

Nb superconducting radio-frequency (SRF) cavities are observed to break down and lose their high-Q superconducting properties at accelerating gradients below the limits imposed by theory. The microscopic origins of SRF cavity breakdown are still a matter of some debate. To investigate these microscopic issues, temperature- and power-dependent local third-harmonic response is measured on bulk Nb and Nb thin-film samples using a novel near-field magnetic microwave microscope between 2.9 and 10 K and 2 and 6 GHz. Both periodic and nonperiodic response as a function of applied rf field amplitude are observed. We attribute these features to extrinsic and intrinsic nonlinear responses of the sample. The rf-current-biased resistively shunted junction (RSJ) model can account for the periodic response and fits very well to the data using reasonable parameters. The nonperiodic response is consistent with vortex semiloops penetrating into the bulk of the sample once sufficiently high rf magnetic field is applied and the data can be fit to a time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau (TDGL) model of this process. The fact that these responses are measured on a wide variety of Nb samples suggests that we are capturing the generic nonlinear response of air-exposed Nb surfaces.

The use of non-evaporable getter (NEG) pumps in particle accelerators has increased significantly over the past few years because of their large pumping speed, particularly for hydrogen, compared to the size of the pump. A concern about using such pumps in superconducting radio-frequency (SRF) accelerators is the possibility of shedding particulates which could then migrate into the SRF cavities and produce field emission, therefore degrading the cavity performance. One option to mitigate such issue is to use sintered getter materials which intrinsically offer superior mechanical and particle retention properties. In this article we present the results from cryogenic RF tests of a high-gradient SRF cavity after being evacuated several times with an NEG pump equipped with sintered getter disks and placed in close proximity to the cavity. The results showed that the cavity performance was not affected by the pump up to the quench gradient of 34 MV/m. As a result of this study, two such NEG pumps have been installed next to a cryomodule in the CEBAF accelerator to maintain ultra-high vacuum in the SRF cryomodule and two adjacent warm girder sections.

Pressure spikes in the fundamental power coupler waveguide are a significant source of trips during the operation of both original and refurbished superconducting radio-frequency cavities installed in the CEBAF accelerator. In its original configuration, two waveguides from a cavity-pair are connected to a single 32 l/s ion pump. In 2017 a new cavity-pair was installed in a refurbished cryomodule in which a NEXTorr® D200-5 combination ion pump and non-evaporable getter pump was installed for each waveguide. It is shown that hydrogen is the dominant residual gas in the waveguide and simulations with Molflow+ indicated that the new pumping scheme allows reducing the pressure at the end of the waveguide by a factor of ∼ 5 , compared to the original configuration. The new cavity-pair has been operating in CEBAF for a total of 431 days and it only had a total of 3 trips due to vacuum spikes in the waveguide.

We present a general method to derive the magnetic field dependence of the surface resistance of superconductors from the Q-curves obtained during the cryogenic tests of cavities. The results are applied to coaxial half-wave cavities, TM-like “elliptical” accelerating cavities, and cavities of more complicated geometries.

The treatment of flue gases from power plants and municipal or industrial wastewater using electron beam irradiation technology has been successfully demonstrated in small-scale pilot plants. The beam energy requirement is rather modest, on the order of a few MeV; however, the adoption of the technology at an industrial scale requires the availability of high beam power, of the order of 1 MW, in a cost effective way. In this article we present the design of a compact superconducting accelerator capable of delivering a cw electron beam with a current of 1 A and an energy of 1 MeV. The main components are an rf-gridded thermionic gun and a conduction cooled $\ensuremath{\beta}=0.5$ elliptical ${\mathrm{Nb}}_{3}\mathrm{Sn}$ cavity with dual coaxial power couplers. An engineering and cost analysis shows that the proposed design would result in a processing cost competitive with alternative treatment methods.

Radio-frequency cavities made of bulk niobium are one of the components used in modern particle accelerators. The mechanical stability is an important aspect of cavity design, which typically relies on finite-element analysis simulations using material properties from tensile tests on sample. This contribution presents the results of strain and resonant frequency measurements as a function of a uniform pressure up to 620 kPa, applied to single-cell niobium cavities with different crystallographic structure, purity and treatments. In addition, burst tests of high-purity multi-cell cavities with different crystallographic structures have been conducted up to the tensile strength of the material. Finite-element analysis of the single-cell cavity geometry is in good agreement with the observed behavior in the elastic regime assuming a Young’s modulus value of 88.5 GPa and a Poisson’s ratio of 0.4, regardless of crystallographic structure, purity or treatment. However, the measured yield strength and tensile strength depend on crystallographic structure, material purity and treatment. In particular, the results from this study show that the mechanical properties of niobium cavities made from ingot material with large crystals are comparable to those of cavities made of fine-grain niobium.

We demonstrate fiber optic, multiplexible temperature sensing using a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) with an operational range of 2-400 K, and a temperature resolution better than 10 mK for temperatures

As a result of collaboration between Jefferson Lab and niobium manufacturer Companhia Brasileira de Metalurgia e Mineracao (CBMM), ingot niobium was explored as a possible material for superconducting radiofrequency (SRF) cavity fabrication. The first single cell cavity from large-grain high purity niobium was fabricated and successfully tested at Jefferson Lab in 2004. This work triggered research activities in other SRF laboratories around the world. Large-grain (LG) niobium became not only an interesting alternative material for cavity builders, but also material scientists and surface scientists were eager to participate in the development of this technology. Many single cell cavities made from material of different suppliers have been tested successfully and several multi-cell cavities have shown performances comparable to the best cavities made from standard fine-grain niobium. Several 9-cell cavities fabricated by Research Instruments and tested at DESY exceeded the best performing fine grain cavities with a record accelerating gradient of Eacc=45.6 MV/m. The quality factor of those cavities was also higher than that of fine-grain (FG) cavities processed with the same methods. Such performance levels push the state-of-the art of SRF technology and are of great interest for future accelerators. This contribution reviews the development of ingot niobium technology and highlights some of the differences compared to standard FG material and opportunities for further developments.

A strong degradation of the unloaded quality factor with field, called high field $Q$ slope, is commonly observed above ${\mathrm{B}}_{p}\ensuremath{\cong}100\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{mT}$ in elliptical superconducting niobium cavities at 1.3 and 1.5 GHz. In the present experiments several 3 GHz niobium cavities were measured up to and above ${\mathrm{B}}_{p}\ensuremath{\cong}100\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{mT}$. The measurements show that a high field $Q$ slope phenomenon limits the field reach at this frequency, that the high field $Q$ slope onset field depends weakly on the frequency, and that the high field $Q$ slope can be removed by the typical empirical solution of electropolishing followed by heating to 120\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}C for 48 hrs. In addition, one of the cavities reached a quench field of 174 mT and its field dependence of the quality factor was compared against global heating predicted by a thermal feedback model.

Funding is being requested pursuant to a proposal that was submitted and reviewed through the Portfolio Analysis and Management System (PAMS). PAMS Proposal ID: 222439. The proposed project consists of the design of a novel superconducting continuous-wave accelerator capable of providing a beam current of ~1 A at an energy of 1-2 MeV for the treatment of flue gases and wastewater streams. The novel approach consists on studying the feasibility of using a single-cell Nb cavity coated with a thin Nb3Sn layer of the inner surface and conductively cooled by to 4.2 K by cryocoolers inside a compact cryomodule. The proposed study will include beam transport simulations, thermal and mechanical engineering analysis of the cryomodule and a cost analysis for both the fabrications costs and the operational and maintenance costs of such accelerator. The outcome of the project will be a report summarizing the analysis and results from the design study.

We report the rf performance of a single cell superconducting radiofrequency cavity after low temperature baking in a nitrogen environment. A significant increase in quality factor has been observed when the cavity was heat treated in the temperature range of $120--160\text{ }\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}\mathrm{C}$ with a nitrogen partial pressure of $\ensuremath{\sim}25\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{m}\text{ }\mathrm{Torr}$. This increase in quality factor as well as the $Q$-rise phenomenon (anti-$Q$-slope) is similar to those previously obtained with high temperature nitrogen doping as well as titanium doping. In this study, a cavity ${\mathrm{N}}_{2}$-treated at $120\text{ }\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}\mathrm{C}$ and at $140\text{ }\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}\mathrm{C}$ showed no degradation in accelerating gradient, however the accelerating gradient was reduced by $\ensuremath{\sim}25%$ with a $160\text{ }\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}\mathrm{C}$ ${\mathrm{N}}_{2}$ treatment, compared to the baseline tests after electropolishing. Sample coupons treated in the same conditions as the cavity were analyzed by scanning electron microscope, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and secondary ion mass spectroscopy revealed a complex surface composition of ${\mathrm{Nb}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{5}$, NbO and ${\mathrm{NbN}}_{(1\ensuremath{-}x)}{\mathrm{O}}_{x}$ within the rf penetration depth. Furthermore, magnetization measurements showed no significant change on bulk superconducting properties.

Experimental investigation of the thermal conductivity of large grain and its dependence on the trapped vortices in parallel magnetic field with respect to the temperature gradient $\nabla T$ was carried out on four large-grain niobium samples from four different ingots. The zero-field thermal conductivity measurements are in good agreement with the measurements based on the theory of Bardeen–Rickayzen–Tewordt (BRT). The change in thermal conductivity with trapped vortices is analysed with the field dependence of the conductivity results of Vinen et al for low inductions and low-temperature situation. Finally, the dependence of thermal conductivity on the applied magnetic field in the vicinity of the upper critical field H c2 is fitted with the theory of pure type-II superconductor of Houghton and Maki. Initial remnant magnetization in the sample shows a departure from the Houghton–Maki curve whereas the sample with zero trapped flux qualitatively agrees with the theory. A qualitative discussion is presented explaining the reason for such deviation from the theory. It has also been observed that if the sample with the trapped vortices is cycled through T c, the subsequent measurement of the thermal conductivity coincides with the zero trapped flux results.

A fundamental limitation towards achieving high quality factors in superconducting radio-frequency cavities is the so-called residual resistance. Understanding and controlling the residual resistance has important implications towards improving the efficiency and reduce the operating cost of continuous wave superconducting linear accelerators. In this contribution we will report on the residual resistance values obtained from measurements of the quality factor of a large set of cavities, with resonant frequency between 805 MHz and 1.5 GHz, all of them processed and tested at Jefferson Lab. Surface treatments included both buffered chemical polishing and electropolishing. The results indicate an approximate value of the residual resistance of about 7-10 nΩ.

The presence of magnetic impurities in native niobium oxides have been confirmed by Point contact spectroscopy (PCT), SQUID magnetometry and Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR). All niobium (Nb) samples displayed a small impurity contribution to the magnetic susceptibility at low temperatures which exhibited Curie-Weiss behavior, indicative of weakly coupled localized paramagnetic moments. By examining Nb samples with widely varying surface-to-volume ratios (rods, foils, wires, powders) it was found that the impurity contribution is correlated with surface area. Tunneling measurements which use the native oxide layers as barriers exhibit a zero-bias conductance peak which splits in a magnetic field >; 4T, consistent with the Appelbaum-Anderson model for spin flip tunneling. Viewed together the experiments strongly suggest that the native oxides of Nb are intrinsically defective, and consistently exhibit localized paramagnetic moments caused by oxygen vacancies in Nb2O5. The computation of the surface impedance (Rs) in presence of magnetic impurities in the Shiba approximation reveals the saturation at low temperature of Rs, suggesting that magnetic impurities are responsible for the so-called residual resistance. These properties may have an impact on Nb based superconducting devices and shine a new light on the origin of the paramagnetic Meissner effect (PME).

The standard preparation of superconducting radio-frequency (SRF) cavities made of pure niobium include the removal of a “damaged” surface layer, by buffered chemical polishing (BCP) or electropolishing (EP), after the cavities are formed. The performance of the cavities is characterized by a sharp degradation of the quality factor at high surface magnetic field, a phenomenon referred to as “Q-drop”. In some cases, the Q-drop can be significantly reduced by a low-temperature (~120 °C) “in situ” baking of the cavity. As part of the effort to understand this phenomenon, the effect of introducing a polarization potential during BCP, creating a process which is between the standard BCP and EP, was investigated. The focus of this contribution is on the characterization of this novel electrochemical process by measuring polarization curves, etching rates, surface finish, and electrochemical impedance. In particular, it is shown that the anodic potential of Nb during BCP has a plateau region in the polarization curve and the impedance diagrams on the plateau can be described with a “surface charge” model found in the literature. By applying an anodic potential to Nb, a lower etching rate and better the surface finish than by standard BCP process have been obtained.

Niobium is used to fabricate superconducting radio frequency accelerator modules because of its high critical temperature, high critical magnetic field, and easy formability. Recent experiments have shown a very significant improvement in performance (over 100%) after a high-temperature bake at 1400 °C for 3 h. SIMS analysis of this material showed the oxygen profile was significantly deeper than the native oxide with a shape that is indicative of diffusion. Positive secondary ion mass spectra showed the presence of Ti with a depth profile similar to that of O. It is suspected that Ti is associated with the performance improvement. The source of Ti contamination in the anneal furnace has been identified, and a new furnace was constructed without Ti. Initial results from the new furnace do not show the yield improvement. Further analyses should determine the relationship of Ti to cavity performance. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Very powerful RF cavities are now being developed for future large-scale particle accelerators such as the International Linear Collider (ILC). The basic model for the cavity quality factor Q-slope in high gradient SRF cavities, i.e. the reduction of Q with increasing operating electric and magnetic fields, is the so-called thermal feedback model (TFBM). Most important for the agreement between the model and experimental data, however, is which different surface resistance contributions are included in the TFBM. This paper attempts to further clarify if the non-linear pair-breaking correction to the BCS resistance [A. Gurevich, in: Pushing the Limits of RF Superconductivity Workshop, ANL, September 2004; A. Gurevich, This conference.] is among those surface resistance contributions, through a comparison of TFBM calculations with experimental data from bulk Nb cavities built and tested at several different laboratories.

Over the last few years, significant progress has been made to produce field emission free niobium surfaces. Nowadays, the major limitation towards achieving the critical field in radio-frequency (rf) superconducting cavities made of bulk niobium of high purity is represented by the so-called “high field Q -slope” or “ Q -drop”. This phenomenon is characterized by a sharp decrease of the cavity quality factor, in absence of field emission, starting at a peak surface magnetic field of the order of 100 mT. It has been observed that these losses are usually reduced by a low-temperature “in situ” baking, typically at 100–120 °C for 24–48 h. Several models have been proposed to explain the high field Q -slope and many experiments have been conducted in different laboratories to validate such models. A three-day workshop was held in Argonne in September 2004 to present and discuss experimental and theoretical results on the present limitations of superconducting rf cavities. In this paper, we will focus on the high field Q -slope by reviewing the results presented at the workshop along with other experimental data. In order to explain the Q -drop and the baking effect we will discuss an improved version of the oxygen diffusion model.

Radio-frequency superconducting (SRF) cavities are widely used to accelerate a charged particle beam in particle accelerators. The performance of SRF cavities made of bulk niobium has significantly improved over the last ten years and is approaching the theoretical limit for niobium. Nevertheless, RF tests of niobium cavities are still showing some “anomalous” losses that require a better understanding in order to reliably obtain better performance. These losses are characterized by a marked dependence of the surface resistance on the surface electromagnetic field and can be detected by measuring the quality factor of the resonator as a function of the peak surface field. A low-temperature (100–150°C) “in situ” bake under ultrahigh vacuum has been successfully applied as final preparation of niobium RF cavities by several laboratories over the last few years. The benefits reported consist mainly of an improvement of the cavity quality factor at low field and a recovery from “anomalous” losses (so-called “...

The physical and mechanical metallurgy underlying fabrication of large grain cavities for superconducting radio frequency accelerators is summarized, based on research of 1) grain orientations in ingots, 2) a metallurgical assessment of processing a large grain single cell cavity and a tube, 3) assessment of slip behavior of single crystal tensile samples extracted from a high purity ingot slice before and after annealing at 800 °C / 2 h, 4) development of crystal plasticity models based upon the single crystal experiments, and 5) assessment of how thermal conductivity is affected by strain, heat treatment, and exposure to hydrogen. Because of the large grains, the plastic anisotropy of deformation is exaggerated, and heterogeneous strains and localized defects are present to a much greater degree than expected in polycrystalline material, making it highly desirable to computationally anticipate potential forming problems before manufacturing cavities.

Future continuous wave (CW) accelerators require the superconducting radio frequency cavities with high quality factor and medium accelerating gradients (≤20 MV/m). Ingot niobium cavities with medium purity fulfill the specifications of both accelerating gradient and high quality factor with simple processing techniques and potential reduction in cost. This contribution reviews the current superconducting radiofrequency research and development and outlines the potential benefits of using ingot niobium technology for CW applications.

Several Nb ingots have been provided by CBMM to Jefferson Lab since 2004 as part of an R&D collaboration aimed at evaluating the performance of superconducting radio-frequency cavities built from ingots with different purity, as a results of different ingot production processes. Approximately 32 multi- and single-cell cavities with resonant frequency between ∼1.3-2.3 GHz were built, treated and tested at 2 K at Jefferson Lab between 2004 and 2014. The average peak surface field achieved in cavities made of RRR∼260 and RRR∼100-150 ingots was (119 ± 4) mT and (100 ± 8) mT, respectively. Higher quality factor values at 2.0 K have been measured in medium-purity, compared to higher purity material.

IEEE transactions on applied superconductivity 19, 1416-1418 (2009). doi:10.1109/TASC.2009.2019650, The availability of a superconducting connection between adjacent niobium radio-frequency (RF) cavities with the capability to carry up to 30 mT of the magnetic flux would be particularly of great benefit to layouts of long accelerators like the International Linear Collider (ILC). It would shorten the distances between structures and therefore the total length of an accelerator with the associated cost reductions. In addition, the superconducting connection would be ideal for a superstructure-two multi-cell cavities connected through a half wavelength long beam pipe providing the coupling. Two single-cell niobium cavities have been designed with Nb-1Zr flanges welded to one of the irises to allow a connection between them with a niobium gasket. A transition to the normal-conducting state of the connection due to the applied RF field causes a reduction of the cavities' quality factor. The cavity design will be presented in this contribution along with possible choices of materials for the joint., Published by IEEE, New York, NY

An increase in the quality factor of superconducting radiofrequency cavities is achieved by minimizing the surface resistance during processing steps. The surface resistance is the sum of temperature independent residual resistance and temperature/material dependent Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) resistance. High temperature heat treatment usually reduces the impurities concentration from the bulk niobium, lowering the residual resistance. The BCS part can be reduced by selectively doping non-magnetic impurities. The increase in quality factor, termed as Q-rise, was observed in cavities when titanium or nitrogen thermally diffused in the inner cavity surface., Comment: Manuscripts submitted to the Special Issue of the IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity

We present detailed experimental and theoretical investigations of hotspots produced by trapped vortex bundles and their effect on the radio-frequency (rf) surface resistance R{sub s} of superconductors at low temperatures. Our measurements of R{sub s}, combined with the temperature mapping and laser scanning of a 2.36-mm-thick Nb plate incorporated into a 3.3-GHz Nb resonator cavity cooled by the superfluid He at 2 K, revealed spatial scales and temperature distributions of hotspots and showed that they can be moved or split by thermal gradients produced by the scanning laser beam. These results, along with the observed hysteretic field dependence of R{sub s} which can be tuned by the scanning laser beam, show that the hotspots in our Nb sample are due to trapped vortex bundles which contain ∼10{sup 6} vortices spread over regions ∼0.1–1 cm. We calculated the frequency dependence of the rf power dissipated by oscillating vortex segments trapped between nanoscale pinning centers, taking into account all bending modes and the nonlocal line tension of the vortex driven by rf Meissner currents. We also calculated the temperature distributions caused by trapped vortex hotspots, and suggested a method of reconstructing the spatial distribution of vortex dissipation sources from the observed temperaturemore » maps. Vortex hotspots can dominate the residual surface resistance at low temperatures and give rise to a significant dependence of R{sub s} on the rf field amplitude H{sub p}, which can have important implications for the rf resonating cavities used in particle accelerators and for thin-film structures used in quantum computing and photon detectors.« less

Raman microscopy/spectroscopy measurements are presented on high purity niobium (Nb) samples, including pieces from hot spot regions of a tested superconducting rf cavity that exhibit a high density of etch pits. Measured spectra are compared with density functional theory calculations of Raman-active, vibrational modes of possible surface Nb-O and Nb-H complexes. The Raman spectra inside particularly rough pits in all Nb samples show clear differences from surrounding areas, exhibiting enhanced intensity and sharp peaks. While some of the sharp peaks are consistent with calculated NbH and ${\mathrm{NbH}}_{2}$ modes, there is better overall agreement with C-H modes in chain-type hydrocarbons. Other spectra reveal two broader peaks attributed to amorphous carbon. Niobium foils annealed to $g2000\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}\mathrm{C}$ in high vacuum develop identical Raman peaks when subjected to cold working. Regions with enhanced C and O have also been found by SEM/EDX spectroscopy in the hot spot samples and cold-worked foils, corroborating the Raman results. Such regions with high concentrations of impurities are expected to suppress the local superconductivity and this may explain the correlation between hot spots in superconducting rf (SRF) cavities and the observation of a high density of surface pits. The origin of localized high carbon and hydrocarbon regions is unclear at present but it is suggested that particular processing steps in SRF cavity fabrication may be responsible.