Field-induced quantum breakdown of superconductivity in magnesium diboride

The quantum breakdown of superconductivity (QBS) is the reverse, comprehensive approach to the appearance of superconductivity. A quantum phase transition from superconducting to insulating states tuned by using nonthermal parameters is of fundamental importance to understanding the superconducting (SC) phase but also to practical applications of SC materials. However, the mechanism of the transition to a nonzero resistive state deep in the SC state is still under debate. Here, we report a systematic study of MgB2 bilayers with different thickness ratios for undamaged and damaged layers fabricated by low-energy iron-ion irradiation. The field-induced QBS is discovered at a critical field of 3.2 Tesla (=Hc), where the quantum percolation model best explains the scaling of the magnetoresistance near Hc. As the thickness of the undamaged layer is increased, strikingly, superconductivity is recovered from the insulating state associated with the QBS, showing that destruction of quantum phase coherence among Cooper electron pairs is the origin of the QBS.

About Magnets and Superconductors of Mr Scanners

The topic of this paper are parts of modern MR devices, in which the magnet windings are located. MR scanner magnets are made of four types of electromagnetic windings: 1) The main magnet, made of superconducting material, creates a variable magnetic field; 2) X coil, made of a resistive material, creates a variable magnetic field, horizontally, from left to right, across scanning tube; 3) Y coil creates varaing magnetic field, vertically, from botom to top; 4) Z coil creates varaing magnetic field, longitudinally, from head to toe, within scanning tube.Superconductors, which create the main magnetic field, should be cooled by liquid helium and liquid nitrogen. Main magnets made of superconductors should use cryostat, with cooling vessels with liquid helium and liquid nitrogen, thermal insulation and other protective elements of magnet system. The types of magnets that exist in the basic configurations of MR scanners are analyzed. Scanners in the form of a closed cylindrical cavity create their own, magnetic, fields by passing current through the solenoid, which is held at the temperature of the superconductor. The superconductors used exclusively are: niobium-titanium (NbTi), niobium-tin (Nb3Sn), vanadium-gallium (V3Ga) and magnesium-diboride (MgB2). Only magnesium diboride is a high temperature superconductor, with a critical temperature Tc = 390K. The three remaining superconductors are low temperature. New high-temperature superconductors have been discovered, as well as room-temperature superconductors. Newly discovered superconducting materials are not used in MR scanners. The magnet structure of the MR scanner is complex. The resonant frequency changes at each point of the field in a controlled manner. The windings of the main magnet made of superconducting material in the form of microsial fibers are built into the copper core. The nonlinear gradient field is created by windings of conductive material. It is added to the main magnetic field. Thus, the resulting magnetic field is obtained.

In-Situ Manufacturing of SiC-Doped MgB2 Used for Superconducting Wire

Magnesium diboride (MgB2) is a highly potential superconducting material, in substitution of Nb3Sn, which has a critical temperature of ~ 39 K. This synthesis and manufacturing of MgB2 wire were conducted by in-situ powder in tube (PIT). The method doped with silicon carbide (SiC) was aimed to study the effect of phase formation on carbon substitution and morphological characteristics with the motivation to improve superconductivity properties. Magnesium, boron, and SiC powders were synthesized and functionally processed with stainless Steel 304 tube. Heat treatment was conducted at 750℃, 800℃, and 850℃ for 2 hours followed by furnace cooling. Characterization was carried out by x-ray diffractometer (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and cryogenic magnet testing. The results showed that 1% SiC optimally increased the zero critical temperature of MgB2 ~ 37.18 K along with the sintering at 750℃ for 2 hours.

Theoretical study of I-V characteristics in a coupled long Josephson junctions based on magnesium diboride superconductor

In the present work, the current-voltage (I-V) characteristics in a coupled long Josephson junction based on magnesium diboride are studied by establishing a system of equations of phase differences of various inter- and intra-band channels starting from the microscopic Hamiltonian of the junction system and simplifying it through the phenomenological procedures such as action, partition function, Hubbard-Stratonovich transformation (bosonization), Grassmann integral, saddle-point approximation, Goldstone mode, phase dependent effective Lagrangian and, finally, Euler-Lagrange equation of motion. The system of equations are solved using finite difference approximation for which the solution of unperturbed sine-Gordon equation is taken as the initial condition. Neumann boundary condition is maintained at both the ends so that the fluxon is capable of reflecting from the end of the system. The phase dependent current is calculated for different tunnel voltage and averaged out over space and time. The current-voltage characteristics are almost linear at low voltage and non-linear at higher voltage which indicates that the more complicated physical phenomena at this situation may occur. At some region of the characteristics, there exist a negative resistance which means that the junction system can be used in specific electronic devices such as oscillators, switches, memories etc. The non-linearity is also sensitive to the layer as well as to the junction thicknesses. Non-linearity occurs for lower voltage and for higher junction and layer thicknesses.