Fabrication and test of a 6-tesla-class high-temperature superconducting dipole magnet at 4.2 K
Open Access
- 14 August 2026
- journal article
- Published by American Physical Society (APS) in Physical Review Accelerators and Beams
- Vol. 29 (8)
Abstract
Superconducting magnets enable energy-frontier accelerators by generating strong magnetic fields to steer and focus the particles. Although high-temperature superconductors such as REBa 2 Cu 3 O x (, RE = rare earth) hold a strong potential for generating a higher magnetic field than Nb-Ti and Nb 3 Sn , the associated magnet and conductor technology for accelerator applications is still in its infancy. The U.S. Magnet Development Program is developing magnet technology in collaboration with industry. Here we report an experiment of making a dipole magnet called C3 using commercial high-temperature superconducting wires. The magnet, following a canted cos θ design, generated a dipole field of 5.99 T at 4.2 K in its clear aperture of 65 mm at 6.795 kA when a resistive voltage of 105 μ V appeared across one of the coils in the magnet. The stored energy was 53 kJ at the peak field. The magnet showed no degradation in the current-carrying capability at 4.2 K after the thermal cycle. We report on the detailed design, fabrication, and performance of the C3 magnet that can be of interest to potential users of this emerging technology. We also discuss issues and research needs to inform future magnet development. The experiment represented another step to addressing if the high-temperature superconducting accelerator magnet technology can increase the discovery capability of future particle accelerators.Keywords
Funding Information
- Office of Science, Office of High Energy Physics of the U.S. Department of Energy (DE-AC02-05CH11231))
- Department of Energy, Office of Science (DE-SC0014009)
- Department of Energy, Office of Science (DE-SC0018127)
- Department of Energy, Office of Science (DE-SC0024159))
This publication has 104 references indexed in Scilit:
- Field uniformity enhancement in a prototype high-temperature superconducting dipole magnetScientific Reports, 2026
- Current distribution monitoring enables quench and damage detection in superconducting fusion magnetsScientific Reports, 2022
- Design and test of a curved superconducting dipole magnet for proton therapyNuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, 2020
- Stable, predictable and training-free operation of superconducting Bi-2212 Rutherford cable racetrack coils at the wire current density of 1000 A/mm2Scientific Reports, 2019
- 45.5-tesla direct-current magnetic field generated with a high-temperature superconducting magnetNature, 2019
- Smaller & Sooner: Exploiting High Magnetic Fields from New Superconductors for a More Attractive Fusion Energy Development PathJournal of Fusion Energy, 2016
- Magnetization ac loss reduction in HTS CORC®cables made of striated coated conductorsSuperconductor Science and Technology, 2015
- Multifilament, copper-stabilized superconductor tapes with low alternating current lossApplied Physics Letters, 2013
- Superconductivity: its role, its success and its setbacks in the Large Hadron Collider of CERNSuperconductor Science and Technology, 2010
- A new configuration for a dipole magnet for use in high energy physics applicationsNuclear Instruments and Methods, 1970