PLASMA-ENHANCED THERMAL REACTION COATINGS OF NBN FOR CONDUC-TOR APPLICATIONS

FOR SEVERAL YEARS THE FUSION COMMUNITY HAS RECOGNIZED THE NEED FOR A RADIATION RESISTANT, HIGH FIELD SUPERCONDUCTOR. NIOBIUM NITRIDE DEMONSTRATES THESE CAPABILITIES. HOWEVER, BULK MANUFACTURE OF NBN CONDUCTORS HAS YET TO BE ACCOMPLISHED. THERMAL NITRIDING OFFERS THE BULK PROCESSING CAPABILITY BUT FALLS SHORT IN THE AREA OF SUPERCONDUCTING PROPERTIES. PLASMA-ENHANCED THERMAL REACTION (PETR) NITRIDING EMPLOYING BATCH PROCESSING TECHNIQUES HAS THE POTENTIAL TO PROCESS NBN CONDUCTORS AT LOWER TEMPERATURES THAN CONVENTIONAL THERMAL NITRIDING. ITS ABILITY TO NITRIDEMATERIALS AT THESE LOWER TEMPERATURES HAS ALREADY BEEN DEMONSTRATED. THE LOWER TEMPERATURE OF PETR NITRIDING WILL RESULT IN SMALLER GRAINS WHEN COMPARED TO THERMAL NITRIDING. GRAIN SIZE DIRECTLY AFFECTS THE SUPERCONDUCTING PROPERTIES, AND SMALL GRAINS ARE REQUIRED FOR BEST RESULTS. PETR NITRIDING HAS THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE LONG LENGTHS OF MULTIFILAMENT NBN WIRE, WITH GOOD SUPERCONDUCTING PROPERTIES, IN BULK FORM. THE PETR PROCESS ELIMINATES THE SLOW AND COSTLY METHOD OF SPUTTERING FILMS ON SUBSTRATES, WHICH CAN INHIBIT LARGE SCALE PROCESSING. THIS PROJECT TAKES ADVANTAGE OF TECHNOLOGY PREVIOUSLY DEVELOPED (ION NITRIDING) AND INTEGRATES THIS KNOWLEDGE TO OVERCOME PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED IN SCALING UP OPERATIONS TO PRODUCE COMMERCIAL LENGTHS OF NBN CONDUCTOR.