Economical Manufacture of Seamless High-Purity Niobium

An efficient, reproducible, and cost-effective fabrication process is needed for the large-scale production of superconducting radio frequency (SRF) cavities, in support of numerous U.S. and international high-energy accelerator projects. In previous work, the use chemical vapor deposition (CVD) for the construction of seamless niobium superconducting radio frequency cavity cells on low-cost removable mandrels was demonstrated. This project will expand on the previous work and focus on process optimization to yield SRF-grade CVD niobium. Commercial Applications and other Benefits as described by the awardee The economic fabrication of superconducting radio frequency cavities would further open accelerator technology to fields as diverse as ion implantation, high-energy physics, surface analysis, medical treatment, waste sterilization, airport security, food preservation, spallation neutron physics, and coherent light research.