SUPERCONDUCTORS

High-temperature superconducting (HTS) wire and cables that operate at temperatures above liquid nitrogen have great commercial potential in electrical transmission and in motors, generators, transformers and fault current limiters.  The key challenges facing the technology are increasing the current-carrying ability of the conductors and reducing their cost to be attractive in the various applications.  E2TAC is working with several industrial partners on projects aimed at achieving these goals. 

Superconductor Technology Development Areas

Process optimization of metalorganic deposition (MOD)

• E2TAC researchers are developing the MOD-TFA (Trifuluoroacetete) approach to making YBCO films as a low-cost manufacturing technique

Characterization of HTS films and multi-layer structures

• Non-destructive, XRD, FE-SEM, RBS, AFM
• Destructive: FIB, AES, SIMS