The effect of in situ irradiation on the superconducting performance of REBa2Cu3O7−δ-coated conductors

Abstract

Commercial fusion power plants will require strong magnetic fields that can only be achieved using state-of-the-art high-temperature superconductors in the form of REBa2Cu3O7−δ-coated conductors. In operation in a fusion machine, the magnet windings will be exposed to fast neutrons that are known to adversely affect the superconducting properties of REBa2Cu3O7−δ compounds. However, very little is known about how these materials will perform when they are irradiated at cryogenic temperatures. Here, we use a bespoke in situ test rig to show that helium ion irradiation produces a similar degradation in properties regardless of temperature, but room-temperature annealing leads to substantial recovery in the properties of cold-irradiated samples. We also report the first attempt at measuring the superconducting properties while the ion beam is incident on the sample, showing that the current that the superconductor can sustain is reduced by a factor of three when the beam is on. Impact statement REBa2Cu3O7−δ high-temperature superconductors are an enabling technology for plasma confinement magnets in compact commercial fusion power plants, owing to their ability to carry very high current densities when processed as quasi-single crystals in the form of coated conductors. In service in a fusion device, the magnet windings will be exposed to a flux of fast neutrons that will induce structural damage that will adversely affect the superconducting performance, but very little data are currently available on the effect of irradiation at the cryogenic temperatures relevant for superconducting magnets. Moreover, even room-temperature annealing substantially affects superconducting properties after irradiation, so to obtain key technical data for fusion magnet designers, it is important to measure these properties in situ, under irradiation. This work shows that for the first time, it is important to consider how energetic particles directly influence superconductivity during irradiation because we observe a reduction in zero-resistance current by a factor of as much as three when an ion beam is incident on the sample. Although neutrons will not interact with the material in the same way as charged ions, primary knock-on ions from neutron damage are expected to have a similar effect to the He+ ions used in our study. Graphical abstract