Presentation Information
[WB8-01-INV]Cryogenic irradiation of REBCO coated conductors for fusion magnets
*David X Fischer1, Alexis R Devitre1, Kevin B Woller1, Ben C Clark1, Zoe L Fisher1, Zachery S Hartwig1 (1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (United States of America))
Keywords:
cryogenic irradiation,REBCO tapes,fusion magnets,in-situ measurements
Fusion energy could contribution to the de-carbonization of the world’s energy supply – if some major technological challenges can be overcome. Many stem from the nature of the deuterium-tritium reaction, the fusion process that requires the least extreme conditions of “only” 100 Mio K. It however creates a high energy neutron of 14 MeV that deteriorates many reactor components. This issue is exacerbated in compact high-field fusion devices because the higher neutron fluxes. These reactors require high-temperature superconducting fusion magnets, which are typically are designed to operate at 20 K and at fields of up to 20 T or more. Under these environmental condition radiation damage will be inflicted to magnet components like Rare Earth Barium Copper Oxide (REBCO) tapes.
To test the radiation resistance of REBCO tapes under fusion relevant conditions, we have commissioned an accelerator based cryogenic ion irradiation facility with in-situ transport current measurement capability [1]. With this setup, we irradiated REBCO tapes from two different manufacturers with 1.2 MeV to fluences of up to 1021 m-2 and found a significant influence of the irradiation temperature on the degradation of the superconducting parameters. Irradiations at 20 K degrade the critical current, n-value and transition temperature at a 1.6 times higher rate compared to irradiations at 300 K [2]. This has significant implications on how previous room temperature irradiation have to be evaluated regarding their fusion relevance.
Currently the ion irradiation facility is upgraded and a 14 T magnet is installed on the beam line. We hope to present at the conference the first ever cryogenic irradiation results of REBCO tape degradation measured in-situ and in high magnetic background fields. We further will give a status update on our cryogenic neutron irradiation facility that is currently under construction.
References [1] Devitre et al, Rev. Sci. Instrum. 95, 063907 (2024) [2] Fischer et al, SuST 38 055019 (2025)
To test the radiation resistance of REBCO tapes under fusion relevant conditions, we have commissioned an accelerator based cryogenic ion irradiation facility with in-situ transport current measurement capability [1]. With this setup, we irradiated REBCO tapes from two different manufacturers with 1.2 MeV to fluences of up to 1021 m-2 and found a significant influence of the irradiation temperature on the degradation of the superconducting parameters. Irradiations at 20 K degrade the critical current, n-value and transition temperature at a 1.6 times higher rate compared to irradiations at 300 K [2]. This has significant implications on how previous room temperature irradiation have to be evaluated regarding their fusion relevance.
Currently the ion irradiation facility is upgraded and a 14 T magnet is installed on the beam line. We hope to present at the conference the first ever cryogenic irradiation results of REBCO tape degradation measured in-situ and in high magnetic background fields. We further will give a status update on our cryogenic neutron irradiation facility that is currently under construction.
References [1] Devitre et al, Rev. Sci. Instrum. 95, 063907 (2024) [2] Fischer et al, SuST 38 055019 (2025)