boron nanopowder for mgb2 superconductors · doped boron nanopowder byproduct gases to plant...

Boron nanopowder for MgB2 superconductors

Specialty Materials, Inc.1449 Middlesex Street1449 Middlesex Street

Lowell, Massachusetts 01851

prepared by J.V. Marzik, Feb '08

Specialty Materials’ boron nanopowder for M B d tMgB2 superconductors

• SMI starts with nano-sized boron powder by RF p yplasma synthesis

• The boron nanopowder is reacted to make• The boron nanopowder is reacted to make magnesium diboride (MgB2) superconducting wire

• Goals of projectProduce a high quality source of nano sized doped– Produce a high quality source of nano-sized doped boron powder

– Provide to powder-in-tube (PIT) wire manufacturers for superconductor applications


for superconductor applications

SMI’s Products• Boron• Boron

• CVD fiber (100 m and 142 m)• Fiber-reinforced composites for

(F 15 h li taerospace (F-15, helicopters, satellites)

• Boron-carbon hybrid composites (H B ®) f(Hy-Bor®) for aerospace (unmanned Predator) and sporting goods B d (R&D) f• Boron powder (R&D) for superconducting wire

• Silicon Carbide• CVD monofilament (142 m) for

solar energy and aerospace industries


MgB2 wire from plasma synthesized boron powderpowder

BCl3 + H2 + dopant(s) MgBCl3 + H2 + dopant(s) Mg powder

Powder-in-tube wire

Doped boron powder

Plasma torchMgB2

superconducting wires and coilspowder wires and coils


Project Description

• Develop boron powder compositions that maximize material property performance for p p y pcommercial (e.g. MRI magnets) and military applications (e.g. motors for the Navy)

• Demonstrate the production processes required to achieve a scalable capability

• Distribute optimized boron nanopowder to wire manufacturers for incorporation into improvedmanufacturers for incorporation into improved superconductor-based equipment


Pilot plant facility for plasma synthesized doped boron nanopowderdoped boron nanopowder

Byproduct gases to plant scrubbing system

Plasma synthesis process for doped boron nanopowder

Cyclone

Byproduct gases to plant scrubbing system

Filter

SynthesisCh b

ElectrostaticPrecipitators

Chamber

Product Collection

CycloneFilter


MgB2 powder via Plasma Synthesis

Specialty Materials Inc. (SMI) has developed a plasma synthesis process for boron powders. The nano-sized boron powder is utilized to make MgBboron powder is utilized to make MgB2wire.

SMI has made boron nanopowder that resulted in the best magnetic properties for MgB2 wire ever demonstrated.

If SMI can accelerate its development of boron powder, it could lower the cost and increase the availability of MgB2superconducting wires leading tosuperconducting wires, leading to better superconductor-based equipment for commercial (e.g. MRI magnets) and military applications.


Boron nanopowder plasma h i isynthesis equipment

RF plasma torch during powder synthesis run


Boron nanopowder plasma h i isynthesis equipment

Collection filter housings Filter cartridge with powder in glove box


Doped boron powder from RF plasma synthesis: SMI resultsp y

• Successfully produced pure nano-sized boron powder using the RF plasma synthesis technique

• Successfully produced carbon-doped nano-sized boron powder

• C-doped powder converted to MgB2 superconductor with high critical current densities and high upper critical g g ppmagnetic fields– Jc = 105 A/cm2 at 6 tesla, 5K– Jc = 105 A/cm2 at 2.5 tesla, 20K– Hc2(0) = 37 tesla - highest to date (2/05) observed in MgB2

superconductors

• Process amenable to atomic scale dispersion of other


• Process amenable to atomic scale dispersion of other dopants (Ti, Ti + C, SiC, etc.)

Properties of doped MgB2 made from RF plasma synthesized doped boron powderplasma synthesized doped boron powder

X-ray diffraction patterns (Cu Kα radiation) of MgB2 made from pure and doped plasma synthesized boron powder; the a-axis shift of the (110) peak corresponds to approximately

Properties of MgB2 made from plasma synthesized carbon-doped boron powder showing Tc vs atomic % C


the (110) peak corresponds to approximately 7.4% carbon substituted into the MgB2 lattice.


C iti l tCritical current density vs field at 5K (solid symbols) and at 20K (open ( psymbols) of carbon-doped MgB2 made from plasma synthesized carbonsynthesized carbon-doped boron powder



Upper critical magnetic field data for samples prepared from C-doped boron powder showing Hc2(T=0) ~ 37 tesla, the highest value

Nb3Sn

the highest value reported to date (2/05) for MgB2materials

NbTi


Powder-in-tube wire cross section made f l th i d b dfrom plasma synthesized boron powder

Iron sheathing

MgB2

Iron sheathing

Copper-nickel sheathing

Wire OD ~ 1 mm


Properties of MgB2 from plasma synthesized boron powdery p

M B i d bMgB2 wire made by powder-in-tube (PIT) method using plasma synthesized p yundoped boron powder. Sheathed wire was HIP’d at 30 ksi at 950°Cksi at 950°C.


Advantages of plasma synthesized boron powderboron powder

• Potential of producing greater quantities of high purity boron powder than is currently available t dtoday

• Ability to introduce dopants in the gas phase, resulting in well-controlled, finely dispersed, homogeneous dopinghomogeneous doping


Associated Benefits• Advances in MgB2 technology can lead to

i d hit t MRI itimproved open architecture MRI units» More patients » Better diagnostics» Better diagnostics» Better economics

Leads toLeads to

SMI’s plasma technology Better, cheaper MRI units SMI’s plasma technology Better, cheaper MRI units


Historical Perspective: MgB2 from Specialty Materials CVD boron fiber

Conversion of boron to MgB2 fiber demonstrated at Ames Laboratory /BCl3 + H2 + dopant(s)

Payout spool for tungsten wire

Ames Laboratory / Iowa State UniversityDoped boron

fiberMg vapor Individual

doped MgB2superconducting

fiber

Glasstube

Conversion of

Variable DC supply

Pressure cast in

lt M

1200-1400°C

Conversion of boron to MgB2composite wire demonstrated at Northwestern U i it

Exhaust gases

molten Mg

University

Take-up spool for boron fiber on tungsten boride substrate

Mercury electrode(top & bottom)

Wire consisting of doped MgB2

superconducting fibers in Mg matrix


Cover ArtMgB2 made from Specialty Materials boron fiber has been featured prominently on the covers of Physics Today (March, 2003), Physics World (January, 2002) and in the April, 2005 issue of y ( y, ) p ,Scientific American. (To access these articles, click Press Page on website)


Specialty Materials, Inc. Collaborations

• Ames Laboratory / Iowa State University (D. Finnemore, P. Canfield et al)– Conversion of doped boron fiber in Mg vapor– Measurement of superconducting properties, conversion kinetics

• DOE Center of Synthesis and Processing (CSP) Center of Excellence for High Field Intermetallic Superconductors

– SMI is part of DOE consortium, and will provide CVD and powder samples for MgB2superconductor developmentp p

• SUNY-Stony Brook (Center for Thermal Spray Research)– Plasma assisted synthesis of boron powder

H T h R h (M T i )• Hyper Tech Research (M. Tomsic)– Powder-in-tube wire technology

• Northwestern University (D. Dunand) & Northeastern University (J. Blucher)– Pressure casting method to produce MgB2 / Mg composite wire– Pressure casting method to produce MgB2 / Mg composite wire

• Harvard University (W. Croft, W. MoberlyChan)– Microstructural characterization of doped boron fibers and interface of MgB2

superconducting composite wire


MgB2 Publications co-authored bySpecialty Materials, Inc. (as of March, 2006)Specialty Materials, Inc. (as of March, 2006)

D.K. Finnemore, W.E. Straszhiem, S.L. Bud’ko, P.C. Canfield, N.E. Anderson Jr., and R.J. Suplinskas, “CVD routes to MgB2conductors”, Physica C 385, 278 (2003).

N.E. Anderson Jr., W.E. Straszhiem, S.L. Bud’ko, P.C. Canfield, D.K. Finnemore, and R.J. Suplinskas, “Titanium additions to MgB2conductors”, Physica C 390, 11 (2003).

R.H.T. Wilke, S.L. Bud’ko, P.C. Canfield, D.K. Finnemore, Raymond J. Suplinskas, and S.T. Hannahs, “Systematic effects of carbon doping on the superconducting properties of Mg(B1-xCx)2”, Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 217003 (2004).

R H T Wilke S L Bud’ko P C Canfield M J Kramer Y Q Wu D K Finnemore R J Suplinskas J V Marzik S T HannahsR.H.T. Wilke, S.L. Bud ko, P.C. Canfield, M.J. Kramer, Y.Q. Wu, D.K. Finnemore, R.J. Suplinskas, J.V. Marzik, S.T. Hannahs, “Superconductivity in MgB2 doped with Ti and C”, Physica C 418, 160 (2005).

J.V. Marzik, R.J. Suplinskas, W.J. Croft, W.J. MoberlyChan, J.D. DeFouw, and D.C. Dunand, “The effect of dopant additions on the microstructure of boron fibers before and after reaction to MgB2”, Mat. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. 848, FF6.2.1-FF6.2.6 (2005).

J.V. Marzik, R.J. Suplinskas, R.H.T. Wilke, P.C. Canfield, D.K. Finnemore, M. Rindfleisch, J. Margolies, and S.T. Hannahs, “Plasma synthesized doped B powders for MgB2 superconductors”, Physica C 423, 83 (2005).

J. DeFouw, D. Dunand, J. Marzik, R. Suplinskas, J. Quintana, “Processing, Microstructure, and Properties of Doped and UndopedMgB2 Fibers”, presented at the March Meeting of the American Physical Society, Los Angeles, CA, March, 2005.

R.H.T. Wilke, S.L. Bud’ko, P.C. Canfield, D.K. Finnemore, R.J. Suplinskas, and S.T. Hannahs, “Synthesis and optimization of Mg(B1-xCx)2 wire segments”, Physica C 424, 1 (2005).

J.V. Marzik and A.J.Kumnick, “Towards the development of a high quality doped boron precursor and the effect on the superconducting properties of MgB ” presented at the March Meeting of the American Physical Society Baltimore MD March


superconducting properties of MgB2 presented at the March Meeting of the American Physical Society, Baltimore, MD, March, 2006.

boron nanopowder for mgb2 superconductors · doped boron nanopowder byproduct gases to plant...

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