Simon C. Hopkins

Trapped fields greater than 7 T in a 12 mm square stack of commercial high-temperature superconducting tape

Superconducting bulks can be magnetized to act as powerful permanent magnets; however, for high trapped fields at temperatures below 77 K, bulks have poor thermal stability and are limited by low mechanical strength. The trapped fields reported in this paper are between two stacks of commercial high-temperature superconducting tape each with 120 layers, magnetized by field cooling. 7.34 T was trapped at approximately 4.2 K, the highest field ever achieved for such a sample. The trapped field also continued to increase below 20 K showing high thermal stability, largely due to the silver over-layer which effectively dissipates heat.

Trapped fields up to 2 T in a 12?mm square stack of commercial superconducting tape using pulsed field magnetization

The ability of superconductors to sustain persistent currents has been well exploited with (RE)BCO superconducting bulks, which can be magnetized to form a compact source of high magnetic field. However, thin films can also sustain persistent currents, which can be utilized by stacking them in layers to create a type of composite bulk. Such a stack is capable of trapping higher fields than a bulk, as reported in this paper. 12 mm wide, 55 m thick commercial (RE)BCO tape from Superpower Inc was cut into 12 mm by 12 mm squares, stacked together and magnetized at temperatures between 10 and 77.4 K using a sequence of pulsed magnetic fields. The results are compared to a commercial 14 mm diameter YBCO bulk, showing that the stack of tapes outperformed the bulk at temperatures below approximately 60 K. Particularly high trapped fields were achieved below 50 K, with a maximum of 2.0 T at 10 K measured 0.8 mm from the stack surface. The maximum trapped field possible for a stack of tapes increases significantly with decreasing temperature down to 10 K, rather than saturating at a higher temperature as in the case of a bulk, due to superior thermal stability. The Jc, thermal and mechanical properties of commercial (RE)BCO tapes give them great potential for use as trapped field magnets activated by pulsed magnetic fields. (Some figures may appear in colour only in the online journal)

Deposition of photocatalytically active TiO2 films by inkjet printing of TiO2 nanoparticle suspensions obtained from microwave-assisted hydrothermal synthesis

In this paper, we present an inkjet printing approach suited for the deposition of photocatalytically active, transparent titanium oxide coatings from an aqueous, colloidal suspension. We used a bottom-up approach in which a microwave-assisted hydrothermal treatment of titanium propoxide aqueous solutions in the presence of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid and triethanolamine was used to create suspensions containing titania nanoparticles. Different inkjet printing set-ups, electromagnetic and piezoelectric driven, were tested to deposit the inks on glass substrates. The presence of preformed titania nanoparticles was expected to make it possible to reduce the heating temperature necessary to obtain the functionality of photocatalysis which can widen the application range of the approach to heat-sensitive substrates. We investigated the crystallinity and size of the obtained nanoparticles by electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering. The rheological properties of the suspensions were evaluated against the relevant criteria for inkjet printing and the jettability was analyzed. The photocatalytic activity of the obtained layers was analyzed by following the decomposition of a methylene blue solution under UV illumination. The influence of the heat treatment temperature on the film roughness, thickness and photocatalytic activity was studied. Good photocatalytic performance was achieved for heat treatments at temperatures as low as 150 °C, introducing the possibility of using this approach for heat-sensitive substrates.

Chemical solution deposition using ink-jet printing for YBCO coated conductors

This paper reports the successful application of ink-jet printing to the deposition of both continuous coatings and multi-filamentary structures of YBCO. Stable inks have been prepared using both the established TFA-MOD route and novel fluorine-free precursors with appropriate rheological properties for ink-jet printing. Continuous and well textured coatings with lengths exceeding 100?m and a thickness of 0.5??m have been deposited by electromagnetic ink-jet printing from TFA precursors on LZO-buffered Ni?W substrates and samples have achieved a Jc around 1.5?MA?cm?2 (self-field, 77?K). On single crystal substrates, continuous coatings and multi-filamentary structures have been deposited using piezoelectric ink-jet printing both from TFA-?and water-based precursors, achieving Jc values up to 3?MA?cm?2.

Ink-jet printing of YBa2Cu3O7 superconducting coatings and patterns from aqueous solutions

The objective of this paper is the development of ink-jet processing as a new technique for chemical solution deposition of YBCO coatings and patterns. Our research is mainly focused on the investigation and determination of the rheological parameters towards the printability of water-based inks in order to produce continuous YBCO coatings or multi-filamentary patterns on SrTiO3 substrates. A 0.185 mol L−1YBCO ink with a viscosity of 4.77 mPa s and a surface tension of 67.9 mN m−1, resulting in a ratio Re/We1/2 of 7.37, is developed. Its printing behaviour is further verified using a camera with strobed illumination to quantify the droplet velocity and volume. After optimization of the deposition parameters, a 350 nm thick YBCO coating showing preferential c-axis orientation could be grown on SrTiO3. This layer exhibits a critical current of 0.67 MA cm−2 at 77 K in self-field. Finally, the shape and dimensions of printed YBCO tracks were determined using optical microscopy and non-contact profilometry, showing 200 nm thick and 200 μm wide tracks.

Pulsed-Field Magnetization of Superconducting Tape Stacks for Motor Applications

The potential of (RE)BCO superconducting bulks in rotating machine designs has been explored through numerous experimental prototypes, with the bulks being magnetized to act as held poles. However, stacks of superconducting tapes have emerged as a promising alternative for trapped held magnets partly because of their suitability for the pulsed-field method of magnetization, which is considered the most practical method of trapping flux. The benefits of using a stack of tapes as rotor held poles suitable for motors are reported. The ability to have a long rectangular stack allows for motor designs with more efficient held poles in terms of the flux produced per unit area of the pole and easy scalability. Such a rectangular stack was experimentally magnetized for the first time using a race-track-shaped pulsed-held coil giving a highly uniform and well-defined trapped held. The unique self-supporting 120 mm by 12 mm stack was produced by compressing a high-temperature-superconducting tape coated with a thin layer of solder. Shorter rectangular stacks were pulse magnetized over a temperature range of 10-77 K using a fully automated pulsed magnetization system.

Full angular critical current characteristics of coated conductors studied using a two-axis high current goniometer

Coated conductors are considered to be the most suitable candidates for applications in various devices. Recently, the critical current anisotropy of (RE)BCO (rare earth barium copper oxide) has become the focus of particular research interest, due to the changes in the angular dependence of the critical current density, Jc(), resulting from different tape architectures and pinning landscapes. In this work, we present advanced anisotropy studies of coated conductors in low magnetic fields using a two-axis high current goniometer. Two different commercially available coated conductors were characterized and will be discussed: the first is based on an IBAD (ion beam assisted deposition) template with the YBCO (yttrium barium copper oxide) ab planes slightly tilted, and the second is highly symmetric with a template grown by the RABiTS (rolling assisted biaxially textured substrate) method. In addition, the requirements to be met by coated conductors for applications will be discussed.

The effect of stabilizer on the trapped field of stacks of superconducting tape magnetized by a pulsed field

Stacks of high temperature superconducting tape, magnetized using pulsed fields, provide a new type of permanent magnet using superconductors. To optimize the trapped field in such stacks, the role of stabilization layers was investigated by pulse magnetizing a 12 mm square stack of 15 tape layers over a temperature range of 15-77 K. The stacks consisted of commercial tape with a silver stabilizer of 1-3 mu m or tape with an additional 20 mu m layer of copper on top of 1 mu m of silver. It was found that the trapped field and flux are relatively insensitive to the stabilizer thickness, and 1 mu m of silver only, led to the highest trapped field. An FEM model was also developed for a stack that considered for the first time both the actual thickness of metallic and superconducting layers, to investigate the effect of heating and heat transfer when a stack of tapes is magnetized.

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Both MgB2 and (RE)BCO bulk materials can provide a highly compact source of magnetic field when magnetized. The properties of these materials when magnetized by a pulsed field are potentially useful for a number of applications, including magnetic levitation. This paper reports on pulsed field magnetization of single 25 mm diameter (RE)BCO bulks using a recently constructed pulse magnetization facility, which allows an automated sequence of pulses to be delivered. The facility allows measurement of force between a magnetized (RE)BCO bulk and a bulk MgB2 hollow cylinder, which is field cooled in the field of the magnetized (RE)BCO bulk. Hysteresis cycling behavior for small displacement is also measured to extract the stiffness value. The levitation forces up to 500 N were obtained, the highest ever measured between two bulks and proves the concept of a bulk-bulk superconducting bearing design.

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Magnetic materials can help to improve the performance of practical superconductors on the macro/microscale as magnetic diverters and also on the nanoscale as effective pinning centres. It has been established by numerical modelling that magnetic shielding of the filaments reduces ac losses in self-field conditions due to decoupling of the filaments and, at the same time, it increases the critical current of the composite. This effect is especially beneficial for coated conductors, in which the anisotropic properties of the superconductor are amplified by the conductor architecture. However, ferromagnetic coatings are often chemically incompatible with YBa2Cu3O7 and (Pb,Bi)2Sr2Ca2Cu3O9 conductors, and buffer layers have to be used. In contrast, in MgB2 conductors an iron matrix may remain in direct contact with the superconducting core. The application of superconducting–magnetic heterostructures requires consideration of the thermal and electromagnetic stability of the superconducting materials used. On the one hand, magnetic components reduce the critical current gradient across the individual filaments but, on the other hand, they often reduce the thermal conductivity between the superconducting core and the cryogen, which may cause the destruction of the conductor in the event of thermal instability. A possible nanoscale method of improving the critical current density of superconducting conductors is the introduction of sub-micron magnetic pinning centres. However, the volumetric density and chemical compatibility of magnetic inclusions has to be controlled to avoid suppression of the superconducting properties.