Russian scientists have come up with a new way to manufacture superconductors

A new method of manufacturing superconductors was invented by Rosatom scientists. They propose an accelerated method — the method of magnetron sputtering followed by crystallization.

"At the Institute. Bochvar completed the technical re-equipment of the site where they will make high-temperature superconductors of HTS‑2. They are associated with plans for the large—scale introduction of devices of the electric power industry of the future," the corporate publication Strana Rosatom reports.

Today, the most common technology for applying the HTS‑2 superconducting layer is laser ablation: a laser beam is fired at a ceramic target containing gadolinium or yttrium, barium and copper.

"The sprayed material is deposited on the substrate tape. But it is long and expensive," writes "Country Rosatom".

But Russian scientists have proposed another option.

"We hope that our method of magnetron sputtering with subsequent crystallization will speed up the process. We have been working on this technology for several years. At the new stage, it is planned to obtain superconducting layers of oxide ceramics on a substrate tape using a new installation," said the head of the Laboratory of high-temperature superconductors of the Institute. Bochvara Daria Novosilova.

According to the "Rosatom Country", for the manufacture of metal substrate tapes, the Institute acquired a rolling mill and related equipment. Now scientists have the opportunity to obtain both tape and superconductors.

Superconductors are widely used in medicine (MRI scanners), transport (Maglev trains), power engineering (lossless power lines, transformers, current limiters), scientific research (particle accelerators, tokamaks for thermonuclear fusion, radio telescopes) and high-tech electronics (quantum computers, Josephson junctions, SQUIDs for ultra-precise measurements of magnetic fields). In the defense industry, superconductors are used in electromagnetic pulse systems and silent engines for submarines, and in space technology — for cooling infrared detectors of telescopes and energy storage systems.