As a result of a collaboration between Jefferson Lab and niobium manufacturer CBMM, ingot niobium was explored as a possible material for superconducting radiofrequency (SRF) cavity fabrication. The first single cell cavity from large grain high puri
ty niobium was fabricated and successfully tested at Jefferson Lab in 2004. This pioneering work triggered research activities in other SRF laboratories around the world. Large grain niobium became not only an interesting alternative material for cavity builders, but also material scientists and surface scientists were eager to participate in the development of this material. Most of the original expectations for this material of being less costly and allowing less expensive fabrication and treatment procedures at the same performance levels in cavities have been met. Many single cell cavities made from material of different suppliers have been tested successfully and several multi-cell cavities have shown the performances comparable to the best cavities made from standard poly-crystalline niobium. Several 9-cell cavities fabricated by Research Instruments and tested at DESY exceeded the best performing fine grain cavities with a record accelerating gradient of Eacc = 45.6 MV/m. Recently- at JLab- by using a new furnace treatment procedure a single cell cavity made of ingot niobium performed at a remarkably high Q0-value (~5x10^10) at an accelerating gradient of ~20 MV/m, at 2K. Such performance levels push the state-of-the art of SRF technology to new limits and are of great interest for future accelerators. This contribution reviews the development of ingot niobium technology and attempts to make a case for this material being the choice for future accelerators.
Large-grain Nb has become a viable alternative to fine-grain Nb for the fabrication of superconducting radio-frequency cavities. In this contribution we report the results from a heat treatment study of a large-grain 1.5 GHz single-cell cavity made o
f medium purity Nb. The baseline surface preparation prior to heat treatment consisted of standard buffered chemical polishing. The heat treatment in the range 800 - 1400 C was done in a newly designed vacuum induction furnace. Q0 values of the order of 2x1010 at 2.0 K and peak surface magnetic field (Bp) of 90 mT were achieved reproducibly. A Q0-value of (5+-1)1010 at 2.0 K and Bp = 90 mT was obtained after heat treatment at 1400 C. This is the highest value ever reported at this temperature, frequency and field. Samples heat treated with the cavity at 1400 C were analyzed by secondary ion mass spectrometry, secondary electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray, point contact tunneling and X-ray diffraction and revealed a complex surface composition which includes titanium oxide, increased carbon and nitrogen content but reduced hydrogen concentration compared to a non heat-treated sample.
We have fabricated C-Ga-O nanowires by gallium focused ion beam-induced deposition from the carbon-based precursor phenanthrene. The electrical conductivity of the nanowires is weakly temperature dependent below 300 K, and indicates a transition to a
superconducting state below Tc = 7 K. We have measured the temperature dependence of the upper critical field Hc2(T), and estimate a zero temperature critical field of 8.8 T. The Tc of this material is approximately 40% higher than that of any other direct write nanowire, such as those based on C-W-Ga, expanding the possibility of fabricating direct-write nanostructures that superconduct above liquid helium temperatures
