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Materials science challenges for high-temperature superconducting wire

Nature Materials volume 6, pages 631–642 (2007)Cite this article

Abstract

Twenty years ago in a series of amazing discoveries it was found that a large family of ceramic cuprate materials exhibited superconductivity at temperatures above, and in some cases well above, that of liquid nitrogen. Imaginations were energized by the thought of applications for zero-resistance conductors cooled with an inexpensive and readily available cryogen. Early optimism, however, was soon tempered by the hard realities of these new materials: brittle ceramics are not easily formed into long flexible conductors; high current levels require near-perfect crystallinity; and — the downside of high transition temperature — performance drops rapidly in a magnetic field. Despite these formidable obstacles, thousands of kilometres of high-temperature superconducting wire have now been manufactured for demonstrations of transmission cables, motors and other electrical power components. The question is whether the advantages of superconducting wire, such as efficiency and compactness, can outweigh the disadvantage: cost. The remaining task for materials scientists is to return to the fundamentals and squeeze as much performance as possible from these wonderful and difficult materials.

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Figure 1: There are two main technologies being used in the manufacture of coated-conductor tape.
Figure 2: The critical current density of YBCO decreases sharply with film thickness and applied magnetic field — improvements are needed in both areas to increase the commercial viability of HTS coated conductors.
Figure 3: Transmission electron microscope image of a laser-deposited YBCO film on a SrTiO3-buffered MgO crystal.
Figure 4: Comparison of the angular dependence of different film types at 1 T shows that the situation is complex and no single orientation can tell the full story.
Figure 5: By periodically inserting 30-nm CeO2 layers every 0.5 μm or so in a thick YBCO film (inset: TEM image), a higher critical current density is maintained.
Figure 6: Comparison of the self-field Jc values for enhanced samples from Table 1 with the unmodified PLD films from Fig. 2a.
Figure 7: Many attempts to enhance the performance of YBCO in a magnetic field have produced results that are no better than standard YBCO.
Figure 8: Three factors that determine Jc in a magnetic field are the self-field value, the extent of the plateau, and the rate of decay beyond the plateau.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Superconductivity Technology Center, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, 87545, New Mexico, USA

    S. R. Foltyn, L. Civale, J. L. MacManus-Driscoll, Q. X. Jia, B. Maiorov & M. Maley

  2. Department of Materials Science and Mettallurgy, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3QZ, UK

    J. L. MacManus-Driscoll

  3. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Texas A & M University, College Station, 77843-3128, Texas, USA

    H. Wang

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  1. S. R. Foltyn
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Correspondence to S. R. Foltyn.

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Foltyn, S., Civale, L., MacManus-Driscoll, J. et al. Materials science challenges for high-temperature superconducting wire. Nature Mater 6, 631–642 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat1989

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