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We describe the performance of a superconductor–insulator–superconductor (SIS) mixer operating in the frequency range of 780–950 GHz. Unlike most SIS mixers, the tunnel junction employs two different superconductors, a niobium nitride top and a niobium bottom electrode sandwiching an aluminum nitride barrier layer, fabricated on a niobium titanium nitride ground plane. The mixer was tested in a pulse tube cryostat, with all the optical components, in the signal path, mounted inside the vacuum environment to avoid attenuation of the RF signal as it propagates from the hot/cold loads to the mixer. With this setup, we have measured an RF-corrected noise temperature of $\sim$ 220 K. In this article, we focus on investigating the influence of local oscillator (LO) power heating on the performance of the terahertz mixer. The increase in the junction's physical temperature can be observed experimentally by noting the suppression of the gap voltage in the pumped current–voltage ( $I\text{--}V$ ) curve as the LO pumping level is increased. Similar observation has already been reported, and attempts were made to estimate the effective temperature of the device using equations of heat transfer between the mixer chip layers. Here, we present an experimental method of quantifying this effect by recovering the effective temperature of the junction through comparing the pumped $I\text{--}V$ curves at different pumping levels and fixed bath temperature, with the unpumped $I\text{--}V$ curves obtained at varying bath temperatures. We also estimate, for the first time, the effect of heating on the noise temperature as a function of bath temperature and frequency. We show that for typical experimental parameters, the LO heating can increase the double-sideband receiver noise temperature by as much as 20%, and that in the frequency range of the measurements, the effective temperature of the junction at fixed LO power increases linearly with frequency at a rate of 0.5 K/100 GHz.

The US Accelerator Upgrade for the HiLumi-LHC (US-HL-LHC AUP) project and CERN are designing and fabricating superconducting quadrupole magnets for the interaction regions of the High Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC). The triplet is made of three optical elements: Q1, Q2, and Q3. The Nb3Sn quadrupole magnets operate in superfluid He at 1.9 K with a nominal field gradient of 132.6 T/m. The three inner triplet elements are connected together with superconducting buses. The design and fabrication of the through and local buses is carried out at Applied Physics and Superconducting Technology Division (APS-TD) at Fermilab (FNAL). This paper reports the characterization of the bus-bar thermo-electric properties. The bus was tested with a short Nb3Sn magnet (MQXFS1e) in the vertical test facility of the APS-TD at FNAL. The test demonstrated that the bus design is adequate since no spontaneous quench took place up to 17.89 kA current value. Quench propagation velocities were investigated over a range of currents that is typical for accelerator superconducting magnets. Temperature margins were found above that required for the Hi-Lumi triplet bus. The design guarantees the protection of the bus at operational current value according to the quench detection voltage threshold (100 mV) established for the Hi-Lumi LHC interaction region.

CN-Nb, CN-Ti and CN-Zr that are respectively doped with Nb, Ti and Zr metal in a CN coating are deposited on SKH51 substrate using DC unbalanced magnetron sputtering (DC-UBM). The coatings’ chemical characterization, morphology, mechanical, tribological and corrosion properties are determined. The XRD analysis shows when a low content of metal is added, the coatings exhibit DLC structures. Result from the incorporation of metals, coatings performed denser texture. Simultaneously, the surface became smoother and denser while surface roughness varied from 0.036 to about 0.020 mm. Various properties are improved over CN coating, CN-Ti has a 64% greater hardness at 21.9 Gpa and adhesion 26% better, with a critical load of 87 N. The elastic recovery ranges from 68% (CN) to 100% (CN-Nb and CN-Zr), the wear rate varies from 0.51 10-6mm3/Nm (CN) to 0.1 10-6mm3/Nm (CN-Zr) and the wear depth is reduced by about 73%. An increase in the elastic recovery gives a decreased wear rate. In addition, the corrosion resistance is increased because there is a decrease in the corrosion current density and the CN-Zr coating performed about 35 times better than a CN coating.

In present days, to join the dissimilar material is a challenging task. At the same time, cannot achieve a good welding strength. These problems are rectified through Friction Stir Welding (FSW). In the present concept describes about the estimation of welding strength on chromium molybdenum alloys. Niobium Titanium Chromium (Nb-Ti-Cr) tip is used to enhance the welding strength and its increase the life of the tool. The different composite alloys based tool tip is provided the better welding strength compared to other tool material. The optimal welding parameters have been investigated through Taguchi method. The role of input factors and their effects have been analyzed through variance test and run chart. The comparison of weld strength is discussed with CBN and Nb-Ti-Cr tool tip.

We report the development of a superconducting acousto-optic phase modulator fabricated on a lithium niobate substrate. A titanium-diffused optical waveguide is placed in a surface acoustic wave resonator, where the electrodes for mirrors and an interdigitated transducer are made of a superconducting niobium titanium nitride thin film. The device performance is evaluated as a substitute for the current electro-optic modulators, with the same fiber coupling scheme and comparable device size. Operating the device at a cryogenic temperature (T=8K), we observe the length-half-wave-voltage (length-$V_\pi$) product of 1.78 V$\cdot$cm. Numerical simulation is conducted to reproduce and extrapolate the performance of the device. An optical cavity with mirror coating on the input/output facets of the optical waveguide is tested for further enhancement of the modulation efficiency. A simple extension of the current device is estimated to achieve an efficient modulation with $V_\pi=$ 0.27 V., Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures

Superconducting magnets are widely used in accelerator science applications. Muon production solenoids are applications that have recently attracted considerable public attention, after the approval of muon-related physics projects such as coherent muon to electron transition or muon-to-electron-conversion experiments. Based on its characteristics, muon production solenoids tend to be subjected to high radiation exposure, which results in a high heat load being applied to the solenoid magnet, thus limiting the superconducting magnet operation, especially for low-temperature superconductors such as niobium titanium alloy. However, the use of high-temperature superconductors may extend the operation capabilities owing to their functionality at higher temperatures. This study reviews the characteristics of high temperature superconductor magnets in high-radiation environments and their potential for application to muon production solenoids.

Powering superconducting (SC) magnets in particle accelerators remotely through SC links allow to install the power supplies, the current leads, and the ancillary equipment away from the limited space, high radiation areas next to the magnets. Accelerator facilities with SC magnets at 4.5 K always need a significant cryogenic infrastructure; integrating the SC links with the cryogenic system requires a variety of considerations besides the thermal performance of the link's cryostat. In this paper, we describe the main factors and possible choices for cooling SC links for some selected configurations of the cryogenic infrastructure, focussing on cooling schemes applicable to the high luminosity upgrade of the LHC. The study covers SC links using NbTi or higher temperature superconductors like MgB2, interfaces for supply and recovery of the cooling fluid, hardware constraints, and flow requirements for the current leads. We compare in a parametric study the different factors in terms of equivalent refrigeration power at 4.5 K, and also present the economic implications at the refrigerator level in terms of capital and operational costs.

To achieve the goal of increased luminosity, two out of eight main dipole circuits of the accelerator will be reconfigured in the coming LHC upgrade by replacing one standard 14.3-m long, Nb-Ti-based, 8.3 T dipole magnet by two 5.3-m long, Nb 3 Sn-based, 11.2 T magnets (MBH). The modified dipole circuits will contain 153 Nb-Ti magnets and two MBH magnets. The latter will be connected to an additional trim power converter to compensate for the differences in the magnetic transfer functions. These modifications imply a number of challenges from the point of view of the circuit integrity, operation, and quench protection. In order to assess the circuit performance under different scenarios and to validate the circuit quench protection strategy, reliable and accurate numerical transient simulations have to be performed. We present the field/circuit coupling simulation of the reconfigured main dipole magnet chain following the introduction of the MBH magnets. 2-D distributed LEDET models of the MBH's have been created to simulate the electrothermal transient occurring during a quench event, whereas the full electrical circuit of the main dipole chain, containing the 11 T magnets and their trim circuit, is simulated in PSpice. These two models are coupled through the STEAM cosimulation framework, calculating the electromagnetic and thermal transients in the magnets and circuit. The field/circuit coupling simulations performed with STEAM evaluate how the complex circuit affects the quenching magnet and vice versa. The results show a safe fast power abort of the system in the event of a quench in one of the MBH magnets, and support the validation of the correct functioning of the reconfigured main dipole circuit.

The present study deals with strain measurements and their numerical analysis for a niobium titanium wire wounded superconducting sextupole coil in a multi-field operation environment, including cooling down, excitation, and quench. Four low-temperature resistance strain gauges with designed compensation circuits were affixed directly on the surface of the superconducting wires but within glass fiber cloth. Before the sextuple coil’s test was carried out, for the purpose of reliability, based on the designed compensation circuit, some basic experiments were carried out during cooling down, excitation, and quench. The experimental results showed that the shallow embedded low-temperature resistance strain gauges were still highly reproducible with an error of 1% for a variable magnetic field and an error of 5% for a variable thermal field by executing various modes. It shows multi-stage strain monitoring is feasible for the superconducting sextupole. In addition, a numerical multiphysics model for the sextuple coil is also built from Maxwell’s equations and the equilibrium equations for mechanical and thermal deformation. A self-tested elastic modulus of NbTi/Cu stack with epoxy, which is cut from a NbTi/Cu sextupole prototype, at low temperature is used in this simulation. The numerical results have reasonable agreement with the experimental observations and show the multiphysics model with self-tested elastic modulus can be applied to analysis strain behaviors under complicated fields before superconducting magnet assembly. The present results will also provide some strain-measuring technology and multiphysics numerical analysis on an LTS/HTS superconducting magnet developed at the Institute of Modern Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IMP, CAS).

Objectives: The purpose of this prospective, double-blind, randomized clinical trial was to compare the clinical efficiency of nickel-titanium (NiTi) and niobium-titanium-tantalum-zirconium (TiNbTaZr) archwires during initial orthodontic alignment. Materials and Methods: All subjects (ages between 12 and 20 years) underwent nonextraction treatment using 0.022-inch brackets. All patients were randomized into two groups for initial alignment with 0.016-inch NiTi archwires (n = 14), or with 0.016-inch TiNbTaZr archwires (n = 14). Digital scans were taken during the course of treatment and were used to compare the improvement in Little's Irregularity Index and the changes in intercanine and intermolar widths. Results: There was approximately a 27% reduction in crowding during the first month with the use of 0.016-inch TiNbTaZr (Gummetal) wire, and an additional 25% decrease in crowding was observed during the next month. There was no significant difference between the two treatment groups in the decrease in irregularity over time (P = .29). There was no significant difference between the two groups in the changes in intercanine and intermolar width (P = .80). Conclusions: It can be concluded that Gummetal wires and conventional NiTi wires possess a similar ability to align teeth, and Gummetal wires have additional advantages over conventional NiTi, such as formability and use in patients with nickel allergy.

Uniformity in thickness and electronic properties of superconducting niobium titanium nitride (NbTiN) thin films is a critical issue for upscaling superconducting electronics, such as microwave kinetic inductance detectors for submillimeter wave astronomy. In this article we make an experimental comparison between the uniformity of NbTiN thin films produced by two DC magnetron sputtering systems with vastly different target sizes: the Nordiko 2000 equipped with a circular $\varnothing$ 100 mm target, and the Evatec LLS801 with a rectangular target of 127 mm $\times$ 444.5 mm. In addition to the films deposited staticly in both systems, we have also deposited films in the LLS801 while shuttling the substrate in front of the target, with the aim of further enhancing the uniformity. Among these three setups, the LLS801 system with substrate shuttling has yielded the highest uniformity in film thickness ( $\pm$ 2%), effective resistivity (decreasing by 5% from center to edge), and superconducting critical temperature ( $T_{\mathrm{c}}$ = 15.0 K–15.3 K) over a $\varnothing$ 100 mm wafer. However, the shuttling appears to increase the resistivity by almost a factor of 2 compared to static deposition. Surface SEM inspections suggest that the shuttling could have induced a different mode of microstructural film growth.

The foreseen upgrade of the large hadron collider (LHC) for high-luminosity operation will incorporate a new generation of high field superconducting magnets. In particular, the current inner triplet magnets in LHC experiments A Toroidal LHC Apparatus (ATLAS) and Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) in points 1 and 5 will be replaced by novel large aperture Nb 3 Sn quadrupole magnets. In addition, there will be a variety of new magnets based on NbTi conductors. For the magnet powering, the novel MgB 2 based superconducting links will be used, thus allowing the installation of sensitive equipment such as power converters in radiation-free areas of the LHC. The protection of the superconducting elements will be ensured by various elements such as quench heaters and the recently developed coupling-loss induced quench system, which are triggered by a dedicated set of quench detection systems. These custom-made systems are the result of a complete new development and adapted to the specific features of the newly installed superconducting elements. This concerns in particular the Nb 3 Sn based magnets, requiring an effective rejection of voltage spikes resulting from flux jumps and a dynamic setting of detection parameters when energizing the magnet. The new detection systems will be complemented by data acquisition systems, offering significantly higher sampling rates and resolution than previously installed systems.

The large aperture superconducting beam separation dipole (D1) must be developed as part of the high luminosity upgrade of the Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC) at CERN. The most important specifications of the D1 are a coil aperture of 150 mm and field integral of 35 T·m at 12.0 kA and 1.9 K. The technical challenges of this magnet include predicting the changes in the size of the coils during fabrication, achieving a high radiation resistance, and management of the iron saturation. KEK is in charge of developing the D1. After conducting a series of design studies, a design consisting of a single-layer coil based on Nb-Ti technology with a collared yoke structure was selected. The fabrication of the first 2 m model of the D1 started at KEK in 2015. Newly developed radiation resistant glass-fiber-reinforced-plastics were utilized as coil parts in the accelerator magnets for the first time. The 2 m model was subjected to two cycles of cold test in the vertical cryostat at KEK. In this paper, we report on the fabrication of the 2 m model. We also present and discuss the quench test results from the perspective of the coil prestress.

Optical bandgap mapping of Nb-Ti mixed oxides anodically grown on a thin film parent metallic combinatorial library was performed via variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry (VASE). A wide Nb-Ti compositional spread ranging from Nb-90 at.% Ti to Nb-15 at.% Ti deposited by cosputtering was used for this purpose. The Nb-Ti library was stepwise anodized at potentials up to 10 V SHE, and the anodic oxides optical properties were mapped along the Nb-Ti library with 2 at.% resolution. The surface dissimilarities along the Nb-Ti compositional gradient were minimized by tuning the deposition parameters, thus allowing a description of the mixed Nb-Ti oxides based on a single Tauc-Lorentz oscillator for data fitting. Mapping of the Nb-Ti oxides optical bandgap along the entire compositional spread showed a clear deviation from the linear model based on mixing individual Nb and Ti electronegativities proportional to their atomic fractions. This is attributed to the strong amorphization and an in-depth compositional gradient of the mixed oxides. A systematic optical bandgap decrease toward values as low as 2.0 eV was identified at approximately 50 at.% Nb. Mixing of Nb

The requirements in quantum optics experiments for high single-photon detection efficiency. low timing jitter, low dark count rate and short dead time have been fulfilled with the development of superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors. Although they offer a detection efficiency above 90%, achieving a high time resolution in devices made of amorphous materials is a challenge, particularly at temperatures above 0.8 K. Devices made from niobium nitride and niobium titanium nitride allow us to reach the best timing jitter but. in turn, have stronger requirements in terms of film quality to achieve a high efficiency. Here we take advantage of the flexibility of reactive co-sputter deposition to tailor the composition of NbxTi1-xN superconducting films and show that a Nb fraction of x = 0.62 allows for the fabrication of detectors from films as thick as 9 nm and covering an active area of 20 mu m. with a wide detection saturation plateau at telecom wavelengths and in particular at 1550 nm. This is a signature of an internal detection efficiency saturation, achieved while maintaining the high time resolution associated with NbTiN and operation at 2.5K. With our optimized recipe, we reliably fabricated detectors with high critical current densities reaching a saturation plateau at 1550 nm with 80% system detection efficiency and with a FWHM timing jitter as low as 19.5 ps. (C) 2019 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement

Superconducting joints are essential for persistent-mode operation in a superconducting magnet system to produce an ultra-stable magnetic field. Herein, we report rationally designed niobium-titanium (Nb-Ti) superconducting joints and their evaluation results in detail. For practical applications, superconducting joints were fabricated by using a solder matrix replacement method with two types of lead-bismuth (Pb-Bi) solder, including Pb42Bi58 as a new composition. All the joints attained a critical current of >200 A below 1.43 T at 4.2 K. Our optimized superconducting joining method was tested in a closed-loop coil, obtaining a total circuit resistance of 3.25 × 10−14 Ω at 4.2 K in self-field. Finally, persistent-mode operation was demonstrated in an Nb-Ti solenoid coil with a persistent-current switch. This work will pave the way to developing high-performance Nb-Ti superconducting joints for practical applications.

Certain materials lose all resistance to the flow of electricity when cooled to within a few degrees of absolute zero. The phenomenon is called superconductivity, and the materials exhibiting this phenomenon are called superconductors. Superconductors can carry a high current density without any electrical resistance; thus, they can generate the very high magnetic fields that are desirable in many applications: magnetic resonance imaging, high-energy physics, and fusion energy programs. Other fields of application include magnetic levitation vehicles, magneto hydrodynamic generators, rotating machines, and magnets in general. Kamerlingh Onnes discovered the phenomenon of superconductivity in mercury in 1911. Since then, some 27 elements and hundreds of solid solutions or compounds have been discovered that show this phenomenon of total disappearance of electrical resistance below a critical temperature, Tc. Figure 9.1 shows the variation of electrical resistivity with temperature of a normal metal and that of a superconducting material, Nb3Sn. The critical temperature is a characteristic constant of each material. Kunzler et al. (1961) discovered the high critical field capability of Nb3Sn and thus opened up the field of practical, high-field superconducting magnets. It turns out that most of the superconductors came into the realm of economic viability when techniques were developed to put the superconducting species in the form of ultrathin filaments in a copper matrix as described below. A similar development route is used for the newer oxide superconductors.

Metal nitrides are potential electrode materials for supercapacitors because of their high conductivity, high capacitance and good corrosion resistance. Herein, we present a general strategy to prepare self-standing bimetallic nitride thin film nanostructures using magnetron co-sputtering and further to boost their electrochemical performance for supercapacitors. Using niobium titanium nitride (TiNbN) as an example, we show that the synergy of Ti and Nb greatly boosts the capacitive performance to a high specific capacitance of up to 59.3 mF cm−2 at 1.0 mA cm−2, along with outstanding cycling stability for at least 20000 cycles. We further demonstrate an all metal nitride based asymmetric device by combing TiNbN with a vanadium nitride (VN) negative electrode. The asymmetric device operates at a voltage window of 1.6 V and achieves a maximum energy density 74.9 mWh cm−3 at a power density of 8.8 W cm−3. Our work not only presents a first demonstration of employing TiNbN as supercapacitor electrode material, but also opens up new possibility for the rational construction of all nitride based high performance asymmetric supercapacitors.

The stability of transport current introduced into a niobium titanium superconducting composite subjected to an external pulsed thermal perturbation has been studied. Stable states have been theoretically analyzed by solving Fourier and Maxwell equations that describe the thermoelectrodynamic states of lowtemperature superconductors with flux creep. It has been shown that, if the transport current is permanently introduced, subcritical thermal perturbations, i.e., perturbations that do not take the composite to a normal state provided that the current does not exceed the quench current, may result in the appearance of unstable current states. The higher the energy of the external thermal perturbation, the lower the instability onset current. It has been found that the degradation of the current-carrying capacity of the superconducting composite is due to intense heat release inside the superconductor, which is initiated by the thermal perturbations, and depends on the current input rate, the instant of time the current input is terminated, and cooling conditions.

The Mu2e experiment at Fermilab is designed to measure the rare process of direct muon-to-electron conversion in the field of a nucleus. The experiment comprises a system of three superconducting solenoids, which focus secondary muons from the production target and transport them to an aluminum stopping target, while minimizing the associated background. The Detector Solenoid (DS) is the last magnet in the transport line and its main functions are to provide a graded field in the region of the stopping target as well as a precision magnetic field in a volume large enough to house the tracker downstream of the stopping target. The Detector Solenoid coils are designed to be wound using NbTi Rutherford cables conformed in high purity aluminum for stabilization and then cold-worked for strength. Two types of Al-stabilized conductor are required to build the DS coils, one for the gradient section and one for the spectrometer section of the solenoid. The dimensions are optimized to generate the required field profile when the same current is transported in both conductors. The conductors contain NbTi Rutherford cables with 12 (DS1) and 8 (DS2) strands respectively and are manufactured by two different vendors. This paper describes the results of themore » manufacturing of production lengths of the Al-stabilized cables needed to build the Mu2e Detector Solenoid as well as the testing campaigns and main results. The main cable properties and results of electrical and mechanical tests are summarized and discussed for each stage of the cable development process. Results are compared to design values to show how the production cables satisfy all the design criteria starting from the NbTi wires to the Al-stabilized cables.« less

An NT50 alloy of the composition Nb–(48.5 ± 1.5)% Ti is studied after severe plastic deformation and subsequent 100-h annealing. During heating at a rate of 2 K/min, the NT50 alloy subjected to this thermomechanical treatment demonstrates two internal friction peaks at 493 K and 573 K. As the heating rate increases by a factor of three, both peaks shift to higher temperatures and the peak height at 573 K increases. A diffusion mechanism of the temperature-dependent internal friction in the strongly deformed NT50 alloy is proposed. Using this mechanism, the effect of the heating rate on the internal friction in this alloy is explained as the volume titanium diffusion due to the diffusion growth of α-Ti precipitates in subgrains in the alloy. In this case, the first peak is related to the bulk diffusion that accompanies grain-boundary diffusion in subgrains, and the second peak, to usual bulk diffusion in subgrains.

In this paper, a hybrid method is proposed to design an air-core superconducting solenoid system for 6 T axial uniform magnetic field using Niobium Titanium (NbTi) superconducting wire. In order to minimize the volume of conductor, the hybrid optimization method including a linear programming and a nonlinear programming was adopted. The feasible space of solenoid is divided by several grids and the magnetic field at target point is approximated by the sum of magnetic field generated by an ideal current loop at the center of each grid. Using the linear programming, a global optimal current distribution in the feasible space can be indicated by non-zero current grids. Furthermore the clusters of the non-zero current grids also give the information of probable solenoids in the feasible space, such as the number, the shape, and so on. Applying these probable solenoids as the initial model, the final practical configuration of solenoids with integer layers can be obtained by the nonlinear programming. The design result illustrates the efficiency and the flexibility of the hybrid method. And this method can also be used for the magnet design which is required the high homogeneity within several ppm (parts per million).

The extraordinary superconductivity has been observed in a pressurized commercial niobium-titanium alloy. Its zero-resistance superconductivity persists from ambient pressure to the pressure as high as 261.7 GPa, a record-high pressure up to which a known superconducting state can continuously survive. Remarkably, at such an ultra-high pressure, although the ambient pressure volume is shrunk by 45% without structural phase transition, the superconducting transition temperature (TC ) increases to ≈19.1 K from ≈9.6 K, and the critical magnetic field (HC2 ) at 1.8 K has been enhanced to 19 T from 15.4 T. These results set new records for both the TC and the HC2 among all the known alloy superconductors composed of only transition metal elements. The remarkable high-pressure superconducting properties observed in the niobium-titanium alloy not only expand the knowledge on this important commercial superconductor but also are helpful for a better understanding on the superconducting mechanism.

Aiming to introduce NbTi alloy superconducting joints for REBa2Cu3O7−δ (REBCO, RE: rare-earth element) superconducting wires, NbTi alloy thin films were deposited at room temperature on SrTiO3 (STO) (001) single-crystal substrates, which have a high lattice matching with REBCO (001). The strain, crystallinity, surface morphology, and superconducting property of the films with various thicknesses were investigated. The NbTi films grew in the orientation with (110)NbTi//(001)STO:[001]NbTi and [11–0] NbTi//[100]STO; that is, the NbTi lattices had two directions in the (110) of NbTi. The strain decreased and the crystallinity improved as the film thickness increased. The films were found to crystallize immediately at the interface between the films and substrates by cross-sectional scanning transmission electron microscopy. The flat surfaces of the films have mesh-like morphologies due to the growth of elongated NbTi grains along the [100] and [010] of the STO, reflecting the in-plane two directions of the NbTi lattices. The superconducting transition temperature of the films increased with improvement in the crystallinity of the films. The preparation of superconducting NbTi alloy thin films with sufficient crystallinity at room temperature suggested the possibility of forming the films on REBCO and the applicability of the films as superconducting joints.

The possibility of using a pulse current during cold rolling for obtaining monofilamentary and multifilamentary composite superconductors based on a NbTi alloy has been investigated. It has been established that a superconductor is greatly strengthened in the course of treatment. It has been shown that an increase in superconductor strength and hardness is caused not only by strain hardening, but also by precipitation hardening due to the action of current. It has been discovered that, during deformation with pulse current, a structure consisting of parent-phase nanosized grains and α-Ti precipitates forms in the alloy.

The Muon-to-Electron conversion experiment, under development at Fermilab, utilizes a complex superconducting solenoid magnet system. Usage of high temperature superconductor (HTS) power leads and reliable superconducting bus system and splice joints are essential to the assuring safe, continuous and cost effective operation of the magnets. Left over HTS power leads from the Tevatron era combined with superconducting bus (made from aluminum-clad NbTi Rutherford cable) and three different types of splices were successfully tested in a single dewar test configuration up to 10150 A. In this paper we summarize the test results.

We report the fabrication and characterization of a niobium titanium nitride (NbTiN)-based superconducting nanowire single-photon detector (SSPD or SNSPD) on the Si waveguide toward the realization of waveguide-coupled SSPD. The device consists of a silicon optical waveguide fabricated using a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate and a 100-nm-wide NbTiN nanowire constructed on the waveguide, with an inductor to prevent latch operation. For the fabricated device, the observed superconducting critical temperature and critical current were 7.85 K and 34.4 μA at 0.3 K, respectively. We investigated the optical response of the fabricated device and found that the device exhibited a single-photon response by measuring of the input power dependence of the output count rate. Furthermore, the fabricated device showed a clear bias current dependence of the output counts similar to conventional SSPDs, and the pulse-generation probability is estimated to be 90.1% based on two assumptions: a sigmoidal model to the detection efficiency and the device has a 100% pulse-generation probability at the saturated region.

The Bi 1.5 Mg 0.5 Nb 0.5 Ti 1.5 O 7 (BMNT) thin films with cubic pyrochlore structure were prepared on Pt/TiO x /SiO 2 /Si substrates by rf magnetron sputtering. The effects of deposition pressure on the structure and dielectric properties of BMNT thin films were investigated. As the deposition pressure decreases, the crystallinity becomes better, and the dielectric properties and tunability have an obvious improvement. The BMNT thin film deposited at 1 Pa exhibited a dielectric constant of 107.86, a tunability of 30.0% at 1 MV/cm, low tangent loss of 0.0017, and the largest FOM of 176.47. The excellent dielectric properties make BMNT thin films promising for potential tunable capacitor applications.

The effect of combined deformation, including equal-channel multiangle pressing (ECMAP), low-temperature (77 K) drawing, and thermal processing, on the critical current density of superconducting wires based on Nb-Ti alloys is investigated. Reasonable parameters are established for deformation-thermal processing of NT-50 alloy using ECMAP that will ensure improved functionality of superconductors based on this alloy. Vortex pinning on structural inhomogeneities of these alloys is analyzed qualitatively.

High conductive Niobium-Titanium alloy has the advantages of good corrosion resistance, high specific strength, good thermal stability, etc. The rotary forging technology of Nb-Ti alloy ingot with type prepared by vacuum smelting method was studied. The results show that coarse and homogeneous casting-microstructure becomes strip deformation microstructure after rotary forging. With the increase of deformation degree and deformation velocity, the space of strip deformation microstructure decreases and yield strength of alloy increases. Nb-Ti alloy bar after deformation is still type alloy with a thermal stability.

A neuroscience research center with very high field magnet resonance imaging (MRI) equipment has been opened in November 2006 in the Neurospin site of French Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies Commission (CEA, Saclay, France). One of the imaging systems, the so-called Iseult project, will require a whole body 11.75 T MRI magnet with a 900-mm warm bore. The coil is made of a niobium-titanium conductor cooled by a He II bath at 1.8 K, permanently connected to a cryoplant. The main coil is made of a stack of 170 double pancakes submitted to a peak field up to 12 T. A demonstrator made of six reduced double pancakes using the conductor developed for this project has been designed, manufactured, and tested at CEA/Saclay. The objective was to demonstrate that the Iseult main coil winding pack is able to sustain the high stress level calculated, 170 MPa azimuthally and 110 MPa radially. This demonstrator has been successfully energized up to 6000 A in a background field. A maximum azimuthal stress of 225 MPa has been reached, much higher than the nominal Iseult value. This paper presents the design, the manufacturing, and the cryogenics test results of this demonstrator.

The European share of the ITER magnet superconductors includes the supply of around 20 km of Toroidal Field and 7 km of Poloidal Field conductors. This represents 20% and 11% of the total conductor amounts respectively needed for all ITER Toroidal Field (TF) and Poloidal Field (PF) coils. For TF conductor, around 97 tons of superconducting niobium tin strand and 60 tons of copper wire are needed to be purchased, cabled and inserted within a stainless steel jacket tube to form the Cable-In-Conduit-Conductor (CICC). For PF conductor, about 45 tons of superconducting multifilamentary niobium titanium wire need to be cabled and jacketed. Altogether, Fusion for Energy (F4E) placed 4 supply contracts for the European TF and PF coil conductors (one for copper strand, two for niobium tin strand and a single contract for cabling and jacketing). In addition, the PF conductor procurement is based on a bi-lateral agreement with the Russian Federation Domestic Agency (RF DA) where NbTi cables are supplied by RF DA and their jacketing is provided by F4E. In this article, the procurement strategy and the current procurement status are reported for the European contribution of TF and PF conductors.

The Italian Institute for Nuclear Physics is working on the development of fast cycled dipoles for the Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research SIS300 synchrotron at Gesellschaft fur Schwerionenforschung, Darmstadt. In this framework the development of high current and low ac loss superconducting wires is an important step of the R&D. The main technique to attain these features is to develop fine filaments for the strands and to design suitable resistive barriers among filament islands within the strands. In this paper, we study a newly developed wire in terms of critical currents and ac losses. The critical current is obtained from magnetization cycle and direct transport current. The ac loss mechanisms caused by the interfilament electromagnetic coupling is related to the ρet, the transverse resistance between adjacent filaments. We measure ρet through ac susceptibility technique.

An optimization formulation has been developed for a superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES) solenoid-type coil with niobium titanium (Nb–Ti) based Rutherford-type cable that minimizes the cryogenic refrigeration load into the cryostat. Minimization of refrigeration load reduces the operating cost and opens up the possibility to adopt helium re-condensing system using cryo-cooler especially for small-scale SMES system. Dynamic refrigeration load during charging or discharging operational mode of the coil dominates over steady state load. The paper outlines design optimization with practical design constraints like actual critical characteristics of the superconducting cable, maximum allowable hoop stress on winding, etc., with the objective to minimize refrigeration load into the SMES cryostat. Effect of design parameters on refrigeration load is also investigated.

Multipoint stress/strain measurement in a simple single layered Niobium Titanium wire wounded superconducting sample coil (SSC) was carried out using fiber Bragg grating sensors (FBGs) at low temperature (4.2 K) and at high background magnetic field (8 T) excited by power supply. Ten gratings with different spatial period were fabricated at various positions along a single mode fibre (SMF). The grating location in the SMF sensing array was then mounted at the measuring points on the SSC using stycast 2850 FT. The change in the strain in the SSC. This induced strain, changes the Bragg wavelength of the mounted FBG sensor, which was then recorded using a FS5100 Bragg meter. Experimental results showed that the FBG sensor array was highly reproducible with error of ±0.8 μm/m for high external magnetic field and high current. Also the Young's modulus of the SSC at 900 A, 8 T, and 4.2 K was calculated to be ~ 117 GPa, which is below to the average Young's modulus of the NbTi/Cu superconducting composite wire, which is in the range of 130 GPa at 4.2 K. The loading and unloading characteristic curves of the SSC exhibit reversible behavior without any hysteresis in the operated range. This ensures that the SSC operates linearly within the elastic limit for the applied current and magnetic field. In this paper, we report the behavior of each single turn of the single layered SSC and its corresponding strain due to Lorentz force. The FBG sensing principle is validated by executing various modes of SSC excitation.

Objective: Ability to achieve sound weld joints is a desirable characteristic for orthodontic archwires. Titanium molybdenum alloy (TMA) has been the only truly weldable orthodontic archwire alloy until now. Titanium-niobium (Ti-Nb) alloy archwires exhibit similar mechanical properties as TMA. Whether sound weld joints can be produced in these wires has not been evaluated thus far. In this study Ti-Nb alloy archwires were compared with TMA and stainless steel (SS) for weld quality, with SS wires serving as the control group. Materials and Methods: Weld joint strength was assessed by subjecting welded samples of TMA, Ti-Nb and SS wires (0.017 Χ 0.025-inch) to a tensile load. The weld joints were also qualitatively assessed by studying the surface characteristics under a scanning electron microscope and the metallographic features under an optical microscope. Results: The weld joint of TMA wire was found to be superior in terms of the strength, surface and metallographic characteristics of the weld joint. Weld joints in Ti-Nb wires had higher strength than those of SS though statistically insignificant. Conclusion: The study concluded that TMA wires are superior to Ti-Nb and SS wires in situations where weldability is a desirable characteristic.

In this paper results of the impulse laser processing impact on structural parameters and mechanical properties of coatings based on nitrides of niobium, titanium, zirconium and aluminum are set out. Structures of multilayer coatings are suggested and the utilization efficiency of carbide-tipped tools with engineered coatings is shown.

Frequency-tunable microwave resonators are in great demand especially in hybrid systems where precise frequency alignment of resonances is required. Here, we present frequency-tunable high-Q superconducting resonators fabricated from thin niobium nitride and niobium titanium nitride films. The resonant frequency is tuned by applying a magnetic field perpendicular to the hole structures in the resonator's inductor wire, whose kinetic inductance is modified by wirelessly induced DC supercurrents. A continuous in situ frequency tuning of over 300 MHz is achieved for a 10 GHz resonator with a moderate magnetic field of 1.2 mT. The planar resonator design and the noncontact tuning scheme greatly ease the fabrication complexity and can be widely applied in many hybrid systems for coupling microwave modes with other forms of excitations such as optical photons, phonons, magnons, and spins.

In the framework of the JT-60SA project, part of the Broader Approach (BA) agreement, EURATOM provides to Japan, the Toroidal Field (TF) magnet system, consisting of 18 superconducting coils. The procurement of the conductor for the TF coils is managed by Fusion for Energy, acting as EU representative in the BA agreement. The TF conductor procurement is split into two contracts, one dedicated to the production of Niobium Titanium (NbTi) and Cu strand and the other to TF conductor production through strand cabling and cable jacketing operations. The TF conductor is a rectangular-shaped cable-in-conduit conductor formed by 486 (0.81 mm diameter) strands (2/3 NbTi–1/3 Cu) wrapped in a stainless steel foil and embedded into a stainless steel jacket. The 18 TF coils require (including spares) 115 ‘Unit Lengths’ (UL) of such conductor, each 240 m long for a total of about 28 km. Correspondingly about 10,000 km for NbTi and 5000 km for Cu strand are produced. The Japanese company Furukawa Electric Co. (FEC) is in charge of TF strand manufacture while the Italian company Italian Consortium for Applied Superconductivity (ICAS) is in charge of cabling and jacketing of TF conductor ULs. In the paper, we provide information on the production stages presently achieved in TF strand and conductor contracts.

We review variable-temperature, transport critical-current (I c) measurements made on commercial superconductors over a range of critical currents from less than 0.1 A to about 1 kA. We have developed and used a number of systems to make these measurements over the last 15 years. Two exemplary variable-temperature systems with coil sample geometries will be described: a probe that is only variable-temperature and a probe that is variable-temperature and variable-strain. The most significant challenge for these measurements is temperature stability, since large amounts of heat can be generated by the flow of high current through the resistive sample fixture. Therefore, a significant portion of this review is focused on the reduction of temperature errors to less than ±0.05 K in such measurements. A key feature of our system is a pre-regulator that converts a flow of liquid helium to gas and heats the gas to a temperature close to the target sample temperature. The pre-regulator is not in close proximity to the sample and it is controlled independently of the sample temperature. This allows us to independently control the total cooling power, and thereby fine tune the sample cooling power at any sample temperature. The same general temperature-control philosophy is used in all of our variable-temperature systems, but the addition of another variable, such as strain, forces compromises in design and results in some differences in operation and protocol. These aspects are analyzed to assess the extent to which the protocols for our systems might be generalized to other systems at other laboratories. Our approach to variable-temperature measurements is also placed in the general context of measurement-system design, and the perceived advantages and disadvantages of design choices are presented. To verify the accuracy of the variable-temperature measurements, we compared critical-current values obtained on a specimen immersed in liquid helium ("liquid" or I c liq) at 5 K to those measured on the same specimen in flowing helium gas ("gas" or I c gas) at the same temperature. These comparisons indicate the temperature control is effective over the superconducting wire length between the voltage taps, and this condition is valid for all types of sample investigated, including Nb-Ti, Nb3Sn, and MgB2 wires. The liquid/gas comparisons are used to study the variable-temperature measurement protocol that was necessary to obtain the "correct" critical current, which was assumed to be the I c liq. We also calibrated the magnetoresistance effect of resistive thermometers for temperatures from 4 K to 35 K and magnetic fields from 0 T to 16 T. This calibration reduces systematic errors in the variable-temperature data, but it does not affect the liquid/gas comparison since the same thermometers are used in both cases.