Researchers at the University of Wollongong (UOW), south of Sydney, have made a breakthrough in the fabrication of wires from the superconductor compound magnesium diboride (MgB2) by using nano-scale silicon carbide and carbon doping.
Superconductors are materials that have very low resistance to the flow of electricity below certain temperatures. Finding materials that do transport electricity with very low loss of energy has significant implications for industry and technology in general.
The university's Institute for Superconductivity and Electronic Materials (ISEM) team is said to have achieved a world record high critical current density and upper critical field in superconducting MgB2 wires. The in-field critical current density of MgB2 wires increases by more than an order of magnitude by nano-scale silicon carbide and nano-carbon doping.
Leading the team at the UOW is Prof Shixue Dou, the director of the ISEM. According to the ISEM, the MgB2 technology is expected to be commercially competitive due to its improved performance and its relative low cost and ease of production compared to other superconducting materials.
As a result of this research development, the University of Wollongong has signed a license agreement to allow Hyper Tech Research Inc of Columbus from the US to license the patented technology for use in the superconducting wires.
In January 2001, it was announced that MgB2, a compound that has been around for more than 30 years on chemists' shelves, was superconducting up to 39 Kelvin. In response, Hyper Tech Research was formed that same year to develop MgB2 wire using methods scalable to large production capacity.
Today, Hyper Tech has a large facility which contains the proprietary equipment necessary to manufacture MgB2 superconducting wire of varying diameters and lengths using patented manufacturing processes.
Quantum Leap in Performance
According to deputy vice-chancellor (Research), Prof Margaret Sheil, the agreement between UOW and Hyper Tech represents one of the largest licensing deals ever entered into by the university. She said that credit for the breakthrough goes to the work the professor and his team have conducted at UOW over the past decade.
"Prof Dou and his team have been working on high temperature superconductor technology since the group was first formed, however this new technological breakthrough represents a real quantum leap in performance."
According to Prof Dou, the high performance of the nano-doped MgB2 opens a technical window to a range of electric power applications previously believed to be only accessible to the copper oxide based high temperature superconducting materials.
"This is one of the most important advances since the discovery of superconductivity in MgB2 material and will have an important impact on the development of technological superconductors," he said.
Dou added that there was great potential for this emerging superconductor to be used for various practical applications such as in the wires in metal coils for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines, fault current limiters, power cables, cryogenic motors, energy storage devices, generators, magnetic separators and transformers.
"Widespread applications of this invention will lead to enormous energy savings and environmental benefits," he said.
by Neil Munro
Nikkei Electronics |
Nikkei Monozukuri |
Nikkei Automotive Technology |
|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
| The magazine for electronics designers and managers. | Design You Won't Regret - How to Reduce the Risk of Accidents | The comprehensive automotive technology magazine. |
Copyright © 1995-2012 Nikkei Business Publications, Inc. All rights reserved.
All editorial content and graphics on this Web site may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the express permission of the copyright owner.
