Artificial Pinning Centers

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This Phase II SBIR award is concerned with increasing the maximum current that can be carried by superconducting wire. The superconducting wire material is Niobium-Titanium (NbTi), a material commonly used in superconducting magnets. The approach is to introduce artificial pinning centers, impurity material introduced to prevent the movement of magnetic flux lines. A factor of 2 in the maximum current carrying capacity of superconducting wires at medium to high magnetic fields is sought. The increase in maximum current carrying capacity together with the reduction in processing costs through the new approach to introduction pinning centers is expected to reduce the superconductor costs is such applications as Magnetic Resonance Imaging in medicine. The Phase II research is based on Phase I research in which a record current density of 7500 amperes per square millimeter at 3 Tesla, a relatively low magnetic field, was achieved in NbTi.