Nb3Sn Wound Superconducting Undulators for Synchrotron Light Sources

These requirements demand that the undulators have short periods (around 1.5 cm) and high peak magnetic fields (around 1.6 tesla). For the windings of such undulators the solicitation also requests the use of new superconducting materials such as improved Nb3Sn superconductors and high temperature superconductor such as YBCO tape, and the development of appropriate coil manufacturing techniques. Hyper Tech addresses these needs with its new Tube Type Nb3Sn superconductor and undulator coil fabrication techniques. Hyper Techs Nb3Sn Tube Type strands are high Jc, small deff strands thus they are stable at low fields. These strands have the potential to enable much improved superconducting undulators. In Phase I, we successfully modeled, designed and wound, using state-of-the-art tube-type Nb3Sn wire, a short demonstration undulator in the form of a planar coil set, and measured its electromagnetic properties at 4.2 K. The maximum on-axis magnetic field achieved was 2.3 T which reached the targeted modeled wire and coil performance. In this Phase II, we will continue to improve the wire properties and optimize the design of multi-pole planar undulator coil set, and make the multi-pole planar coil set. We will improve our wire for higher field undulator coils. We will continue to make extensive use of both electromagnetic and thermal FE modeling for optimizing the coil designs. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits: For undulators and wiggler magnets in accelerators, the Nb3Sn strands have relatively high Tc (thermal margin), hence radiation tolerance, and its use will lead to the development of more potent synchrotron light sources. As radiation sources, these machines find use in research, medicine, and industry. According to a U.S. EPA article, more than 97% of the 15,000 accelerators in use around the world have commercial applications, e.g. in diagnosing and treating cancer, locating oil and minerals in the earth, processing semiconductor chips for computers, determining the age of materials through radiocarbon dating and sterilizing medical equipment and food products.