Breakthrough Achieved in the Development of High-Temperature Superconducting Cables for CEPC Detector Magnets (2023-07-06)

Recently, important progress has been made in the development of small-sized prototype high-temperature superconducting (HTS) cables for the detector magnets of the Circular Electron Positron Collider (CEPC). Detector magnets are key components in particle detectors, and superconducting cables serve as the fundamental material for detector magnets. As early as 2017, the Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP) proposed an HTS solution for the detector's superconducting magnets. Combining its experience in aluminum-stabilized low-temperature superconducting cables with the characteristics of high-temperature superconductivity, IHEP has innovatively designed an aluminum-stabilized laminated HTS cable and launched the development of its small-sized prototype.

Led by Ning Feipeng from the Superconducting Magnet Group of the Accelerator Center, the project team has overcome multiple technical challenges in the development of this special cable over the past three years, including conductor breakage, the configuration of superconducting laminations, and the control of high temperature and stress. The team has initially mastered the fabrication and processing technologies of the aluminum-stabilized laminated HTS cable. Tests show that the aluminum-stabilized laminated HTS cable with 14 layers of 4mm-wide ReBCO superconducting tapes has a critical current of 905 amperes at 77K in self-field, with the performance degradation of the superconducting tapes being less than 20%. These indicators meet the expected requirements, laying a solid foundation for the advancement of the HTS solution for CEPC detector magnets.

This special cable was fabricated and developed by Wuxi Tongli Electric Co., Ltd., and we express our sincere gratitude for its strong support. This research was funded and supported by the From 0 to 1 Original Innovation Program of the Basic Frontier Science Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Innovation Program of IHEP, the Xie Jialin Fund, and the Wang Yifang Scientist Studio.