1) Overview of the industrial chain of low-temperature superconducting materials industry
At present, the global superconducting market is dominated by low temperature superconducting. The industrial chain of the low-temperature superconducting industry mainly includes four links: upstream raw materials, superconducting wires, superconducting magnets, and superconducting equipment. The upstream industry is mainly Nb, Ti, Sn, Cu and other raw materials. Due to the low consumption of raw materials in the low-temperature superconducting wire industry, the impact of upstream raw materials on the superconducting wire industry is not obvious. The development of the superconducting wire industry is mainly Depends on technological progress. The downstream industry is mainly superconducting equipment. With the development of MRI, MCZ, NMR and other fields, the market space for low-temperature superconducting wires in the future is huge.
(2) Market application analysis of low-temperature superconducting materials
At present, most of the applications of low-temperature superconducting materials are based on the strong magnetic field generated by superconducting magnets. The main application fields include MRI, MCZ, NMR, ITER, accelerators, and special magnets for scientific research.
1) Superconducting magnet for MRI
MRI is currently the most important application field of superconducting materials. MRI has become one of the most important medical imaging diagnostics at present. At present, the Chinese MRI market is basically monopolized by foreign companies (GE, PHILIPS, SIEMENS), and the price is high, making most small and medium hospitals unable to use MRI equipment. To this end, the country clearly lists magnetic resonance imaging equipment as one of the priority areas for the development of high-tech industrialization.
MRI will not cause radioactive damage to the human body, can achieve three-dimensional scanning, high image resolution, and high clinical value for early diagnosis of tumors. It has been widely used in the diagnosis of organs in various parts of the body. Compared with the permanent magnetic MRI, the superconducting MRI imaging area has a high magnetic field, so higher resolution can be obtained, and the spatial and temporal stability of the magnetic field is achieved through the closed-loop operation mode, which can generally be unchanged for more than 10 years. This determines that superconducting MRI has unparalleled advantages of permanent magnetic MRI.
The demand for MRI in China has been increasing in recent years, but the number and amount of imported MRI have shown a downward trend. According to statistics from China Customs, the number of imported MRI units in 2014 was 460, with a total import value of 567 million US dollars; the number of imported MRI units fell to 384 in 2017, and the total import value fell to 463 million US dollars, mainly due to many international Enterprises such as GE and SIEMENS and other large international medical equipment companies have set up factories in mainland China, and nuclear magnetic resonance equipment has gradually achieved domestic production. On the other hand, after years of development by Chinese local manufacturers, the market competitiveness of domestic nuclear magnetic resonance equipment has continued to increase and began to gradually To achieve the substitution of imported equipment; in addition, considering the current development status of the medical nuclear magnetic resonance industry, the position of domestic products in the domestic market will gradually increase in the future.
2) Superconducting magnet for MCZ
The physical basis of the MCZ technology is to suppress the formation of impurities and defects during the growth of single-crystal silicon by the magnetic field on the formation of thermal convection of the conductive silicon fluid, the crystal integrity and uniformity are greatly improved, and high-quality large-size singles can be realized Crystalline silicon grows rapidly. Among them, the MCZ technology that uses a superconducting magnet to provide a stable magnetic field of 5,000Gs is currently the most important method for producing large-scale semiconductor-grade single-crystal silicon above 300mm in the world.
Japan, the United States, Germany and China are the main silicon material producers. China's silicon material industry started at the same time as Japan, but the production technology level is still relatively low, and most of them are 100-150mm silicon ingots and small diameter silicon wafers. At present, the mainstream silicon wafer product in the world is 300mm, and the magnetic field part of the semiconductor grade MCZ production equipment of more than 300mm in China is mainly provided by the permanent magnet (magnetic field strength is less than 0.2T). Cooling system (there are problems such as pipeline corrosion), and the generation of impurities and defects cannot be efficiently controlled. The superconducting material has the characteristics of zero resistance, and the superconducting magnet prepared by the superconducting material can realize the resistance-free current-carrying operation. Compared with the normal conductive magnet, the superconducting magnet has a greatly reduced volume and operating cost, which can reduce the energy consumption of 300mm single crystal silicon manufacturing by 20% and increase the yield by 30%.
With the rapid development of the semiconductor industry, China has become the world's fastest growing monocrystalline silicon production and consumption country, of which MCZ products account for 70% -80% of the total output. At present, large-size monocrystalline silicon wafers with a size of more than 300 mm are internationally Has become mainstream. It is expected that China's investment in the semiconductor industry will reach 3 billion US dollars in 2020. Especially for the monocrystalline silicon industry, 75% of China's demand depends on imports. China urgently needs to develop a manufacturing technology that satisfies the 300mm MCZ single crystal silicon preparation superconducting magnet and realizes large-scale application, in order to promote the industrial technology upgrade of China's single crystal silicon industry.
3) Superconducting magnet for NMR
At present, domestic NMR systems are completely dependent on imports. 300-400MHz NMR is conventional equipment in China. However, according to the increasing demand of domestic pharmaceutical, petrochemical and other application units, 500MHz-1GHz high-resolution NMR has become the main procurement target.
4) Superconducting magnet for ITER
The main part of the ITER device is a ring-shaped vacuum container that uses magnetic confinement to achieve controlled nuclear fusion. At present, ITER design has a total of 48 superconducting large magnets. Generate a magnetic field of up to 13T, more than 200,000 times the geomagnetic field. China undertakes the production tasks of 69% NbTi superconducting wire and 7% Nb3Sn superconducting wire, all provided by SXXB Superconducting Technology Group. The China Fusion Engineering Experimental Reactor (CFETR) project, independently designed and developed in China and carried out in conjunction with international cooperation, has been approved by the National Development and Reform Commission.
5) Superconducting magnet for accelerator
High-energy proton accelerators include superconducting linear accelerators, superconducting cyclotrons, superconducting synchrotrons, etc. This is a promising new type of accelerator that has gradually matured with the development of superconducting technology since the 1960s. It uses superconducting magnets It can generate a strong confinement magnetic field under a small excitation power, which can greatly reduce the size of the accelerator and reduce the power consumption of the accelerator, so that the superconducting accelerator has great advantages in economy and technology.
The large scientific project represented by accelerators has been a symbol of high-tech development level and comprehensive national strength since the 1980s. The accelerator system with superconducting magnets as the core is the core of related devices. As the market demand for accelerators increases, there will be a clear demand for superconducting wires and superconducting magnets.