SGER: To Manufacture Superconducting Accelerator Cavities by Electron-Beam Assisted Physical Vapor Deposition

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

SRF cavities in high energy accelerator application are very costly to produce, at $44,000 per meter, however the reduced operating costs with these cavities creates the need to investigate means of producing these cavities in new and efficient fashion. This SGER aims to consider the deposition of textured niobium films on molybdenum structures by electron beam assisted PVD. The modification of the PVD adds addition process driver that can be used to produce higher quality conforming thin films. This is a high potential proposal considering the applications, and the advantage that would be gained if these SRF cavities could be produces in quantity and lower cost. The high risk is related to the uncertainty of producing relatively defect-free Nb films, where surface defects and grain boundaries would be extremely deleterious. This exploratory research will test the feasibility of creating these films on the moldy substrates, exploring the processing issues related to high performance thin films. If this proof of principle can be established, then further research will be needed to determine optimization conditions for high quality film producibility. The PIs will include undergraduate research assistants on this program through REUs. A subaward to Penn State will provide the necessary materials characterization capability and the collaboration will give students a chance to visit / conduct research at either campus