No particle accelerator without YBCO superconductors

Yttrium barium copper oxide (YBa2Cu3O7-x, or YBCO for short) is one of the most researched superconducting materials. Superconducting means that the electrical resistance is almost zero and electrical current can be transported without loss in very small conductor cross-sections, as long as the superconductor is cooled below its specific transition temperature TC.

YBCO was the first material found in which superconductivity was observed at a temperature of -181 °C. YBCO is therefore a high-temperature superconductor and can be cooled with liquid nitrogen at -196 °C. It is used in particle accelerators and fusion reactors.

For cooling sensors with liquid nitrogen or helium, ILK Dresden has developed application-specific cryostats made of metal or, as non-metallic variants, glass fiber reinforced epoxy resin material (GRP). These cryostats are versatile and can be adapted to customer requirements. In particular, metal-free GRP cryostats with special properties have been developed for cooling superconducting current limiters and SQUIDs (highly sensitive magnetic field sensors), which can also be designed as pressure vessels. We have many years of experience in the design of cryostats and the necessary expertise for their manufacture and testing.

ILK Dresden cryostat product portfolio:

https://www.ilkdresden.de/leistungen/forschung-und-entwicklung/projekt/kryostate-aus-gfk-oder-metall