High-temperature superconductors (HTS) are the key technology to achieve super-high magnetic field nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometers with an operating frequency far beyond 1GHz (23.5T). (RE)BaCuO (REBCO, RE: rare earth) conductors have an advantage over BiSrCaCuO (Bi-2223) and BiSrCaCuO (Bi-2212) conductors in that they have very high tensile strengths and tolerate strong electromagnetic hoop stress, thereby having the potential to act as an ultra-compact super-high field NMR magnet. As a first step, we developed the world's first NMR magnet comprising an inner REBCO coil and outer low-temperature superconducting (LTS) coils. The magnet was successfully charged without degradation and mainly operated at 400MHz (9.39T). Technical problems for the NMR magnet due to screening current in the REBCO coil were clarified and solved as follows: (i) A remarkable temporal drift of the central magnetic field was suppressed by a current sweep reversal method utilizing ∼10% of the peak current. (ii) A Z2 field error harmonic of the main coil cannot be compensated by an outer correction coil and therefore an additional ferromagnetic shim was used. (iii) Large tesseral harmonics emerged that could not be corrected by cryoshim coils. Due to those harmonics, the resolution and sensitivity of NMR spectra are ten-fold lower than those for a conventional LTS NMR magnet. As a result, a HSQC spectrum could be achieved for a protein sample, while a NOESY spectrum could not be obtained. An ultra-compact 1.2GHz NMR magnet could be realized if we effectively take advantage of REBCO conductors, although this will require further research to suppress the effect of the screening current.

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We have started to develop a superconducting bridge joint between two GdBa2Cu3O7−δ (Gd123)-coated conductors, where both conductors are placed in an end-to-end arrangement on the surface of a melt-textured YBCO (including Y2BaCuO5 and YBa2Cu3O7−δ) bulk, which acts as a superconducting medium between the coated conductors. As a first step in the development, one half of the bridge joint assembly was modeled and investigated. Experimental results achieved are as follows: (a) the higher-melting-temperature textured Gd123-coated conductor acts as a seed for the melt texture of the YBa2Cu3O7−δ (Y123) bulk, and (b) the superconducting phase continues across the Y123/Gd123 boundary. The critical current of the joint model is 10 A, which is about 10% of the original Gd123-coated conductor, at 77 K in a self-magnetic field. These results are considered to be extensible to the superconducting bridge joint between the Gd123-coated conductors.

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An advanced Bi-2223 conductor with Ni–Cr reinforcement is a likely candidate to achieve a compact super-high field nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) magnet capable of operation beyond 1 GHz (23.5 T). However, the conductors must show both high hoop stress tolerance, typically >300 MPa, and a small screening current-induced magnetic field, both of which are essential for a compact magnet generating a highly accurate field. These two conditions have not yet been demonstrated in a working coil. This is the first paper to systematically investigate both characteristics for a layer-wound coil made with the advanced Bi-2223 conductor operated mainly at 4.2 K in an external field of ≤17 T. The coil tolerated a hoop stress of 370 MPa, even though the conductor had a bending strain corresponding to a diameter of 120 mm. On the other hand, the coil showed a notable screening current-induced field in a low external field, which may be explained by weak-link and direct contacts between highly packed Bi-2223 filaments in the silver matrix. The field sharply decreased with increasing external field between 0–1 T. Thus, the conductor should be useful for inner coils in compact super-high field NMR magnets.