At the end of March 2024, the Institute of Modern Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Dongjiang Laboratory made important progress in the application of radio frequency superconductivity of Nb3Sn materials.
The Nb3Sn solid conduction cooled superconducting electron accelerator they collaborated on has achieved stable beam loading for the first time internationally. The on-site test results show that the maximum energy of the accelerated electron beam reaches 4.6 MeV (megaelectron volts), and the macro pulse current intensity exceeds 100mA (milliamperes).
In this project, The global leading superconducting technology provider:XBCD provided superconducting materials and technical solutions.
Niobium tin superconducting alloy (Nb3Sn) is one of the important superconducting materials, and XBCD is the only manufacturer in China to achieve commercial production.
Solid state conduction cooled Nb3Sn electron superconducting accelerator
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The superconducting transition temperature of Nb3Sn superconducting material is twice that of metallic niobium, which is the main breakthrough direction of the next generation of RF superconducting materials and also the forefront research hotspot and competitive high ground in the field of RF superconductivity.
The application of Nb3Sn can significantly reduce thermal load, increase the operating temperature of RF superconducting accelerators, and simplify their system complexity. It can not only reduce the demand for large-scale low-temperature systems and maintenance costs of superconducting accelerators, but also promote the miniaturization and industrial application of RF superconducting accelerators.
Since 2018, the Institute of Modern Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has taken the lead in carrying out research on Nb3Sn radio frequency superconductivity technology in China, realizing the whole process of Nb3Sn superconducting film from equipment, mechanism to process, completing the key technology breakthrough in the system integration application of Nb3Sn radio frequency superconductivity technology, and completing the successful development and stable beam carrying of the solid conduction cooled Nb3Sn superconducting electron accelerator for the first time in the world.
This achievement provides a demonstration and verification for the system integration and beam stable acceleration of Nb3Sn superconducting accelerators, helping China seize the RF superconducting technology to break free from the constraints of liquid helium and occupy the technological peak in the industrial accelerator field.