SBIR/STTR Award attributes
High energy physics research, modern medicine and advanced materials are continually demanding stronger magnetic fields. Efforts to generate fields in excess of 25 Tesla have been a principal driver of High Temperature Superconductor research. Although HTS materials were discovered decades ago and have always shown significant potential for high field use, until recently magnets using the technology have remained elusive. Great progress has been made in recent years in HTS wire performance so now attention is turned to the significant technical challenges of making very high field magnets using the wire. In this STTR program Cryomagnetics is collaborating with the Applied Superconductivity Center of the U.S. National High Magnetic Field Laboratory to develop a compact, very high field superconducting magnet based upon a new superconductor, “Bi-2212”. Phase I involved design and fabrication of sub-scale coils using the novel material and testing them in high field background magnets. In Phase II additional investigation identified superconductor strain issues in coils and addressed how to manage it in high field magnets. Phase IIA will endeavor to solve remaining engineering and fabrication process challenges, culminating in construction and test of the world’s first commercial 25 Tesla all-superconducting magnet based upon Bi-2212. Cryomagnetics is a leading supplier of high field superconducting magnets for high energy physics, medical and materials research applications worldwide. Technology developed in this program will be used in accelerators, cancer treatment devices and numerous other applications.
