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Date of Issue: October 15, 2004

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Published by International Superconductivity Technology Center
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Contents:
Topics- SMES Project Won the 60th IEEJ Technical Development Award- SRL and Nagoya Institute of Technology Jointly Developed A Magneto-Optical Thin Film by
LPE for Superconductor Evaluation- NEDO Determined to Commission FY 2004 project “Development of Superconducting Power
Network Control Technology” to ISTEC and Other Two Institutions- Forum on Superconductivity Technology Trends 2004
- What’s New in the World of Superconductivity (August)Feature Articles : Superconducting Electronics- Extending SQUID Application- Immunoassay Method Using SQUID- Mobile Whole-head SQUID Magnetoencephalograph (MEG) in a High-Temperature
Superconducting Magnetic Shield- Semiconductor Inspection by HTS Laser SQUID Microscope- Application of Scanning SQUID Microscope to Digital Device Process- Development of Geological Survey Technology Using Superconducting SQUID- Superconductivity Related Product Guide: Superconducting Quantum Interference Device(SQUID) Related Products Feature Articles : Fusion Reactor and Superconductivity- Superconductive Materials to Be Used for Superconducting Coils in the International
Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) and Their Required Performance- Superconductive Materials for Demonstration Power Reactor- Large Helical Device (LHD) and Superconducting Technology- Prospects for Realization of Fusion Energy Utilization- Patent Information- Standardization Activities
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This work was subsidized by the Japan Keirin Association using
promotion funds from the KEIRIN RACE

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Date of Issue: October 15, 2004

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SMES Project Won the 60th IEEJ Technical Development Award
The SMES project (Project Leader: Yoshinori Tatsuta) “Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage
System (hereinafter called “SMES”) Technical Development (FY 1999 to 2003)” has received the 60th IEEJ
Academic Promotion Award (IEEJ Technical Development Award) from the Institute of Electrical Engineersof Japan (IEEJ, Chairperson: Tadashi Fukao) at the ordinary general meeting of IEEJ held on May 21, 2004.
The recipients are five people representing the project: Naoki Hirano (Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc.)*,Satoshi Hanai (Toshiba Corp.), Kan-ichi Terazono (Kyushu Electric Power Co., Inc.), Hiroyuki Ohsaki (The
University of Tokyo) and Yoshinori Tatsuta (ISTEC).
The IEEJ Technical Development Award is one of the old-line IEEJ Academic Promotion Awards datingback to 1942 at IEEJ (examples of other awards are IEEJ Distinguished Paper Award and IEEJ Book of theYear Award). This time, this award was given to eight cases that contributed to the development andadvancement of electrical science and technology. This award was given as the technical development
results of the SMES project, which International
Superconductivity Technology Center (ISTEC) has been
entrusted from New Energy and Industrial Technology
Development Organization(NEDO), contributed
significantly to the development of electrical science andtechnology.
This SMES project has a target to the SMES for
small-scale power system control for which there aremarket needs and its practical application is expected, andhas developed a cost reducing technology focusing at
superconducting coils. In particular, cost minimum designof superconductive metal coils, manufacturing of model
coils considering the performance equivalent toactual equipment’s and performance verification test
were carried out on both the SMES for
100MW/15kWh system stabilization and the SMES
for 100MW/500kWh load change/frequency
adjustment. In the results, they succeeded in 5kA/s
4-pulse high-speed current passage test of themodel coils for system stabilization, in 10,000-time
repeated current passages of model coils for loadchange compensation unequaled anywhere in theworld, and verified the compatibility between costcompetitiveness and technical performance of
SMES.
Photo: Recipients of the 60th IEEJ Academic
These technical development results havealready spread to the development of SMES for
instantaneous voltage drop compensation* at
private companies, and are developing to a

Fall, 2004

Promotion Award (IEEJ Technical Development
Award)
From the left, Messrs. Satoshi Hanai, Yoshinori
Tatsuta, Naoki Hirano, Hiroyuki Ohsaki, Kan-ichi
Terazono© ISTEC 2004 All rights reserved.

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technical development of superconducting power network control intending also the application of oxide
superconductors which have hidden potential to achieve the further improvement in economical efficiency.
These facts are expected to boost the early practical application of SMES as power equipment.
* Mr. Naoki Hirano received the distinguished presented paper award from Cryogenic Association of Japanon May 24, 2004 for his presented paper “Development of 5MVA-5MJ Instantaneous Voltage Drop
Compensating SMES System” (2003 Autumn conference, 1B-p01).
(Yasuzo Tanaka, Editor)(Published in a Japanese version in the June 2004 issue of Superconductivity Web 21)

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SRL and Nagoya Institute of Technology Jointly Developed
A Magneto-Optical Thin Film by LPE for Superconductor Evaluation
Morioka Laboratory for Applied Superconductivity Technology of Superconductivity Research Laboratory(SRL) and Nagoya Institute of Technology succeeded in growth of Bi-substituted iron garnet film
(Bi,Lu)3(Ga,Fe)5O12 that shows substantial Faraday effect in the optical region and good magnetic fieldsensitivity on a (100) oriented 1-inch diameter single-crystal substrate of Gd3Ga5O12 (GGG) as the results ofjoint development for Year 2003. This film is “in-plane” magnetized film having a spatial resolution of about
1µm as magnetic flux density distribution.
The magneto-optical imaging method that enables the observation of flux density’s spatial distribution isplaying important role in superconductor’s critical current density evaluation and weak coupling inspection.
Generally used as a detection medium is the magnetized garnet film having in-plane magnetization
direction and large Faraday rotation angle, however, it is getting unavailable recently on a global scale.
SRL carried out this development as a part of the technological development of high-temperature
superconducting wire evaluation promoted by a NEDO project “Research and Development on BasicTechnologies for Superconductivity Applications” (started in Year 2003), and developed thismagneto-optical thin film by Liquid Phase Epitaxy (LPE) method, jointly with Nagoya Institute of Technology.
At the beginning of the LPE growth, a PbO-B2O3 flux agent and garnet-component oxide are agitated at atemperature higher than the saturation temperature by 100°C or more and left at rest for the first step sothat the garnet component will melt completely in platinum crucible. When growing a film, single-crystal
substrate of GGG is soaked in melt with being kept in a horizontal position in a supercooled state in order tokeep supersaturated condition, and rotated for epitaxial growth until a film of desired thickness is formed.
To grow a high-quality film, melt composition and film growth conditions (temperature of melt, growth time,
rotation speed, etc.) are important factors, and the (Bi,Lu)3(Ga,Fe)5O12 film exhibits various characteristics
depending on such conditions. To grow a film having in-plane axis of easy magnetization, the lattice
constant difference between the (Bi,Lu)3(Ga,Fe)5O12 film and GGG single -crystal substrate is an importantvariable. As the lattice constants ofboth film and substrate become smaller
by cooling and the lattice constantdifference also varies, the film
preparation
shallbeconducted
considering the temperature range to10mm
use. Figure shows the observation
result of YBCO/IBAD wire’s magnetic
flux density distribution at 40K by using
the (Bi,Lu)3(Ga,Fe)5O12 film developedfor evaluating superconducting wires. It
300G
600G
900G
shows the picture of the flux getting
branched and proceeding into with inFig.: Observation of YBCO/IBAD Wire’s Magnetic Flux
step with the increase of magnetic field.
The issue in the future is thedevelopment of a Bi-substituted iron

Fall, 2004

Density Distribution at 40K by Magneto-Optical Imaging
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garnet film that enables the flux observation with higher spatial resolution. Such magnetized garnet film is
considered to contribute to the improvement of the wire characteristics by being utilized for clarifying
superconducting wire’s defects, grain boundary’s flux pinning behaviors, etc.

(Editorial Staff/Morioka Laboratory for Applied Superconductivity Technology of Superconductivity
Research Laboratory, SRL-ISTEC)(Published in a Japanese version in the June 2004 issue of Superconductivity Web 21)

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NEDO Determined to Commission FY 2004 project “Development ofSuperconducting Power Network Control Technology” to ISTEC andOther Two Institutions
New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) had accepted candidates fortrustee of FY 2004 project “Development of Superconducting Power Network Control Technology” from thegeneral public, and determined to commission the project to three institutions: International
Superconductivity Technology Center (ISTEC, President: Hiroshi Araki), Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. andKyushu Electric Power Co., Inc. as of June 8, 2004 after a review by the review committee.
This project is a four-year program from FY 2004 to 2007, and the budget scale for the first FY 2004 is
684 million yen. The objectives of this project are the cost reduction of total SMES (Superconducting
Magnetic Energy Storage) system aiming for practical application, and the development/verification of a
network control system technology by actual system linkage test.
The following items are clarified specifically as contents of research and development. Among them,
ISTEC examines these items concretely while recommissioning part of the research of applied technology
standardization of SMES system to Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry, as well as
manages a committee of experts to promote the project consistently and efficiently, and ensures the mutual
collaboration and total coordination among the institutions to carry out the research and development.
The objective for the last year of this project is to establish a 100MW-class (15kWh for systemstabilization, 500kWh for load change compensation and frequency adjustment) power network control
system technology using SMES.
(1) Development of SMES system- Development of system configuration technology
・ Low-cost large-capacity power conversion system
・ SMES coil made of a high-magnetic-field oxide
・ Highly-reliable cryocooler
・ High-withstand-voltage conduction cooling current lead system- System performance verification by actual system linkage operation test
- Development of system coordination technology(2) Research of applied technology standardization of SMES system(Editorial Staff)(Published in a Japanese version in the July 2004 issue of Superconductivity Web 21)

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Forum on Superconductivity Technology Trends 2004

ISTEC held a forum on superconductivity technology trends, entitled “Superconductivity Industry Entered
the Dawn”, on Thursday, May 20, 2004 at the Toshi Center Hotel, Tokyo. Some 240 people fromJapanese government, business, and academic circles, mass media and public participated in the forum,
where the results, challenging issues and trends in superconductivity technology development aiming at
industrialization were presented and there were keen discussions.
Director Akira Kubota of the Research and Development Division at the Industrial Science andTechnology Policy and Environment Bureau in the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and Director
Masahiro Okuda of New Energy Technology Development Department in the New Energy and Industrial
Technology Development Organization (NEDO) made congratulatory speeches at the opening of the forum.
Their speeches focused on the expectations for the
results of research and development which getting tobear fruit and expressed hopes for practical application
as early as possible.
Director General Shoji Tanaka of Superconductivity
Research Laboratory (SRL) offered the perspective in
his keynote speech titled “Rise of Superconductivity
Industry” that the results of high-temperature
superconductivity
fundamental
technology
development for the past dozen years or so entered
the harvest time recently. The applications to newareas "from quantum computer to nuclear fusion”
came to visible, and the visions of the future for theyears from 2010 to 2020 that he showed last year
started to move.

Director General Shoji Tanaka of SRL gave
the keynote speech

Director Setsuko Tajima of the Division of Material Science and Physics of SRL reported that thedevelopment of high-temperature superconducting wires reached the stage where accumulated findings inbasic research can be utilized to improve the characteristics by controlling the composition more precisely.
Senior Staff Masato Murakami of SRL introduced magnetic separation, magnetic levitation, magnet
application as specific examples that have reached a practical application level for industry. These
applications were based on the successful development of process technology that enabled dramatic
improvement in trapped magnetic fields and the improvement in mechanical strength due to resin
impregnation etc.
Hidemi Hayashi of Kyushu Electric Power Co., Inc. made a presentation entitled “Practical Application ofEnvironment-Conscious Superconductivity Technology for a New Water-Treatment System” to introduce
the design and trial manufacture of mobile magnetic separator using bulk superconductor, its purification
characteristics and future issues, etc.

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Deputy Director Naoki Koshizuka of the Morioka Laboratory for Applied Superconductivity Technology of
SRL reported the technical perspective on superconducting bearing for 100kWh-class flywheel , factory teston 10kWh-class power storage system, success in the power storage by superconducting levitation using
radial-type bearing, etc. as the results of technology development project of superconducting bearing forflywheel power storage.
Director Yuh Shiohara of the Division of Superconducting Tapes & Wires of SRL reported on the
progress of increasing high critical current density, the progress of technology development for the longtape/wire manufacturing process, which are objectives of fundamental application project, and possible
efforts for their practical applications in the future.
Ryosuke Hata of Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. introduced a success story towards practicalapplication of second-generation superconducting tape, on condition that high-temperature
superconducting cables are a kind of OF cable and wires are part of the cable system.
Director Keiichi Tanabe of the Division of Electronic Devices of SRL reported the successes in realizationof 40GHz operation of 4x4 switch, 16GHz operation of microprocessor, etc. due to the establishments ofelemental technologies such as planarizing technology and automatic wiring tool during the
low-temperature device development as the results of the low-power-consumption type superconducting
network device development project, as well as the recent results with high-temperature devices, examples
of applications, etc.
Kazunori Yamanaka of Fujitsu Laboratories introduced about the results of design and trial manufactureof superconductor filter for the receiver of mobile base transceiver station, trial-manufactured basetransceiver station equipment using superconductor filter, etc.
Managing Director Yoshinori Tatsuta of ISTEC reported on the design and manufacture of model coils
and the establishment of SMES coil technology that provides compatibility between economical efficiency
and performance through various kinds of tests as the results of NEDO SMES project, the possibility offurther cost reduction by using a high-temperature superconducting SMES, and on future issues.
Shigeo Nagaya of Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. reported on the SMES system at the stage of practicalapplication by introducing about the design, manufacture, installation and verification result of a SMES
system for instantaneous voltage drop compensation.
As a wrap-up speech, Professor Osami Tsukamoto at Yokohama National University made a keynote
speech entitled “Applications of superconductivity technology to Industrial Electric Machinery andApparatus”, and introduced the application to ships that requires low-speed large-torque, space saving andhigh efficiency as the prospective superconducting motor markets in transportation sector, the introductionof superconducting DC cable to data centers that allows expectations for merits of large reductions intransmission loss and space occupancy in the telecommunications sector, and the roadmap regarding wiredevelopment and its applicable sectors.
Additionally, Ex-Professor Hisao Hayakawa at Nagoya University made a keynote speech on recent
development of superconducting digital equipments, and expressed his conviction that the advantages ofsuperconducting digital technology are abilities to enable high-speed operation and low power consumption

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at a level that any of the conventional technologies such as CMOS could not realized, and its application
field will extend to A/D converters by SFQ, switches for high-end router, and further to high-end computers.
The R&D of Fundamental Superconducting Application Technologies project has entered the time toharvest the results and the hope for early practical applications is growing. This forum made theparticipants realize the significance and importance of the ongoing integrated research and development
projects among academic, business, and governmental circles.

Lecture scene(Masaharu Saeki, Director, Research & Planning Department, ISTEC)(Published in a Japanese version in the June 2004 issue of Superconductivity Web 21)

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What’s New in the World of Superconductivity (August)PowerIntermagnetics General Corporation (August 4, 2004)
SuperPower, Inc. announced that it has obtained a world-record performance of 70 amperes
using a highly uniform, 100-m length of second-generation (2G) HTS wire. This record surpasses
SuperPower’s previous world record of 6,000 amp-meters announced last March. The achievement of
100-m lengths of 2G wire is of particular importance, since this is the minimum length required for the
fabrication of commercial devices. Predicted Glenn H. Epstein, chairman and chief executive officer ofIntermagnetics (SuperPower’s parent company), “We expect to achieve a milestone of 100 amperes, 100
meters before the end of 2004 and thus be commercially viable in 2005 and in full-scale production by 2006.
Annual production capacity in 2006 is planned to be about 1,000,000 meters, which can easily be scaled up
or down to meet market requirements…”
SuperPower also announced the first shipment of 2G HTS wire to Sumitomo Electric Industries
for use in the Albany HTS cable project. The shipment consisted of more than 60 meters of wire that will be
used to construct a one-meter test cable, in advance of the 30-meter cable section that will be installed in2006. The AC loss of the 4-mm wide wire that was shipped was 20 times lower than previously
demonstrated, a feature of great importance for minimizing the associated cryogenic refrigeration
requirements. In total, SuperPower expects to supply a total of 8,000 meters of 2G wire to the Albany cableproject by the fall of 2005.
Thirdly, SuperPower, in cooperation with X-Ray Optical Systems, Inc. and using funding from the
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), has received a prestigious
R&D 100 Award for the development of a quality control system. The system consists of a tabletop X-ray
diffraction system for measuring the uniformity of both the buffer and superconducting layers of 2G wire.
Pellegrino commented, "This invention will enhance SuperPower's ability to provide a high-quality,
high-performance end product, which is absolutely critical to establishing our commercial viability."
Also reported at the 2004 Department of Energy Peer Review, SuperPower has provided fourelectrical coils, containing about 25 m of 2G HTS wire, to Rockwell Automation Power Systems. These coils
were used in a small demonstration HTS generator, thought to be the world’s first demonstration of 2G wire
in a rotating machine. Rockwell Automation reported that the test generator had been operated at 1800 rpm
and 1.2 horsepower.
Source:“Intermagnetics' Superpower Subsidiary Achieves New World-Record Performance in Second-Generation
HTS Wire”
Intermagnetics General Corporation press release (August 4, 2004)
http://ir.thomsonfn.com/InvestorRelations/PubNewsStory.aspx?partner=10215&storyId=118611
American Superconductor Corporation (August 5, 2004)
American Superconductor Corporation announced the successful operation and testing of anadvanced prototype SuperVAR synchronous condenser in a First Energy power transmission grid in
Mansfield, Ohio. The SuperVAR condenser generated 8 mega-VAR of reactive power on a continuous
basis, improving on an earlier model that was installed in a Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) grid in

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January 2004. The advanced prototype reflects an improvement in the condenser’s rotor design to increase
the robustness of the machine and further reduce manufacturing costs. The prototype was operated at
1,800 rpm and13.8 kilovolts under no-load and load conditions. At present, the prototype is being shipped toTennessee for installation in a TVA power grid.
Source:“American Superconductor's SuperVAR™ Synchronous Condenser Successfully Generates Reactive
Power on Ohio Transmission Grid”
American Superconductor Corporation press release (August 5, 2004)
http://www.amsuper.com/newsEvents/news.html
American Superconductor Corporation (August 5, 2004)
American Superconductor Corporation reported their financial results for the first quarter of fiscal
2005, ending June 30, 2004. Net revenues increased 63% to a record US $12.7 million, compared to net
revenues of $7.8 million for the same quarter in the previous fiscal year. The net loss for the quarter was$4.9 million, compared with $8.4 million for the same period in the previous fiscal year. The company
received $12.1 million in new orders and contracts during the first quarter; their order and contract backlog
as of June 30, 2004, was $64.2 million, of which $42 million is expected to be recognized as revenue infiscal 2005.
Source:“American Superconductor Reports Fiscal 2005 First Quarter Results”
American Superconductor Corporation press release (August 5, 2004)
http://www.amsuper.com/newsEvents/news.html
Intermagnetics General Corporation (August 30, 2004)
SuperPower, Inc. and other dignitaries have announced the completion of successful
proof-of-concept tests in the matrix fault current limiter (MFCL) development program. The devices being
developed will eventually be used to protect utility transmission grids from power surges. SuperPower isleading the development project, in partnership with Nexans SuperConductors, GmbH. The project issponsored by the Superconductivity Partnerships with Industry (SPI) program, under which the US
Department of Energy will contribute half of the project’s projected US $12.2 million development cost. The
Electric power Research Institute (EPRI) has also committed $600,000 to the project. The proof-of concept
tests complete the first major milestone of the development program and will provide the basis for ascale-up in design to transmission level operating voltages. Philip J. Pellegrino, president of SuperPower (asubsidiary of Intermagnetics General Corporation), elaborated, "The tests also showed that the MFCL
provides significant current limiting (as much as 50% limitation) within about 50 milliseconds, which is thetime at which conventional circuit breakers start to open to isolate a short circuit. This feature could obviate
the need to upgrade multiple circuit breakers in transmission substations because, without the addition of an
MFCL, their interrupting capability would eventually be exceeded. Depending upon the number of breakerreplacements, or in a worse case, the necessity to build a new substation, the avoided cost could be many
millions of dollars.” The next prototype, which will be capable of withstanding transmission level voltage
requirements, is scheduled for completion in late 2005.
Source:“Intermagnetics' SuperPower Subsidiary Reports Successful Testing Of Prototype Superconducting 'power
valve' Device”
Intermagnetics General Corporation press release (August 30, 2004)
http://ir.thomsonfn.com/InvestorRelations/PubNewsStory.aspx?partner=10215&storyId=119594

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MedicalCardioMag Imaging™ (August 9, 2004)
CardioMag Imaging™ (CMI) announced that is has received comprehensive approvals andinternational quality certificates, such as CE certification, for the distribution of its magnetocardiograph(MCG) medical diagnostic systems in Europe, Canada, and elsewhere. These certificates ensure customer
quality assurance, supporting the US Food and Drug Administration’s recent approval of CMI’s MCG
systems for sale to the cardiology diagnostic market in the USA. CMI’s MCG systems are expected to be ofinterest to hospitals, diagnostic imaging centers, and research institutions, enabling the rapid, accurate, andnoninvasive diagnosis of a variety of cardiac conditions, particularly coronary artery disease. Several
institutions are already using MCG to monitor cardiac events and to detect the sources of arrhythmias, andunits installed in Germany, Italy, and China, as well as in the USA, are being used for groundbreaking
research in the field of cardiology.
Source:“CardioMag’s Heart-Health Scanner Receives International Marketing and Product Quality Certification”
CardioMag Imaging™ press release (August 9, 2004)
http://www.cardiomag.com/about/news/CE_Press_Release_8-9-04.pdf

Material
Superconductive Components, Inc. (August 18, 2004)
Superconductive Components, Inc. (SCCI) has reported their financial results for the second
quarter ending June 30, 2004. Total revenues increased by 5.3% to US $661,162, compared to $627,765
for the same period in the previous fiscal year. The growth in revenue was mainly due to an increase inproduct shipments. Contract research revenue also increased by 6.5%, compared to the same period in theprevious fiscal year, mainly due to a Phase II Department of Energy grant for the development of amanufacturing method for producing continuous reacted lengths of HTS wire. Dan Rooney, Chairman,
President and Chief Executive Officer of SCCI, commented, "Market conditions began to gradually improve
during the second quarter. Total revenues increased 29.7% on a sequential quarter basis and were also
above the same period last year. Solid contributions to the second quarter revenues were realized fromfocused marketing initiatives. We are working diligently to improve our margins and also achieve sustained
revenue growth, despite mixed signals from the economy at the end of the second quarter."
Source:“Superconductive Components, Inc. Reports Second Quarter Results”
Superconductive Components, Inc. press release (August 18, 2004)
http://www.targetmaterials.com/ne/earnings/scci24.htm

Communication
Superconductor Technologies Inc. (August 5, 2004)
Superconductor Technologies Inc. (STI) reported their financial results for the second quarter,

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ending July 3, 2004. Net commercial product revenues amounted to US $4.6 million, compared to $8.9
million for the same quarter in the previous fiscal year. Government and other contract revenue amounted
to $1.8 million, compared to $2.3 million for the same period in the previous fiscal year. Net loss for thequarter was $8.9 million, including restructuring charges of $2.5 million, compared to $3.1 million of thesame period in the previous fiscal year. M. Peter Thomas, president and chief executive officer of STI,
commented, “In the second quarter, we improved STI's financial flexibility by taking measures to lower ourbreakeven point, and by successfully concluding a public offering of common stock. Our cost reduction
efforts will save STI about $1.7 million per quarter beginning in the third quarter, relative to our expenditurerate in the first quarter. Our public offering raised net proceeds of $16.8 million for the company." As of July 3,
2004, STI had a commercial product backlog of $1.8 million. The company expects third quarter total
revenues to increase to $7.0 to $8.0 million, with a greater contribution from commercial revenues to theoverall mix than what was realized in the second quarter.
Source:“Superconductor Technologies Announces Second Quarter 2004 Results”
Superconductor Technologies Inc. press release (August 5, 2004)
http://ir.thomsonfn.com/InvestorRelations/PubNewsStory.aspx?partner=5951&storyId=118731
Superconductor Technologies Inc. (August 19, 2004)
Superconductor Technologies, Inc. (STI) has been named to the Deloitte & Touche’s prestiogious
Los Angeles Technology Fast 50 program for the third consecutive year. The Technology Fast 50 program
ranks the fastest growing technology companies in the Los Angeles area. The rankings are based on the
average percentage of growth in fiscal year revenue over a five-year period. Commented M. Peter Thomas,
president and chief executive officer of STI, "We are honored and very proud to achieve this prestigious
milestone for the third year in a row. Despite a sluggish start in the first half of 2004, we now are cautiously
optimistic about the future. Our customers have reported improving results and are showing signs ofrebounding. As they enter into an upgrade cycle to expand coverage and capacity and introduce
next-generation data networks, we look forward to helping them in these endeavors."
Source:“Superconductor Technologies Inc. Again Named One of LA's Fastest Growing Tech Companies in Deloitte& Touche 'Technology Fast 50' Program”
Superconductor Technologies Inc. press release (August 19, 2004)
http://ir.thomsonfn.com/InvestorRelations/PubNewsStory.aspx?partner=5951&storyId=119282

Basic
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (July 30, 2004)
Scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have identified a large particle-holeasymmetry in the density of excitation states in HTS tunnel junctions embedded in a single crystal
heterostructure. Since current theories predict that superconductors possess particle-hole symmetry, theseresults are unusual and, as yet, unexplained. Professor James Eckstien, leader of the research group,
explained, "Below the superconducting transition, the tunneling conductance showed a large unexpected
asymmetrical feature near zero bias. This is evidence that crystals of high-temperature (cuprate)
superconductors, atomically truncated with a titanate layer, have intrinsically broken particle-hole symmetry."
The spectra exhibited the expected superconducting gap at a negative bias, corresponding to the tunneling

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of electrons from states with a particle-like character, but exhibited a step-like increase at a positive bias,
corresponding to the tunneling of electrons into states with a hole-like character. Thus, the symmetry
between particle-like and hole-like excitations was broken at this interface in the superconducting state.
The heterostructures in which the experiments were performed were grown by oxide molecularbeam epitaxy and optimized using in situ monitoring techniques, resulting in the unprecedented crystalline
perfection at the superconductor/insulator interface that led to the present results. "The presence of thiswell-defined interface obviously perturbs the superconductivity," Eckstein said. "So these results can provide
a new test for theories of high-temperature superconductivity." The research will be published in an
upcoming issue of Physical Review Letters.
Source:“Asymmetric feature shows puzzling face for superconductivity”
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign press release (July 30, 2004)
http://www.news.uiuc.edu/news/04/0730eckstein.html
University of California, Berkeley (August 16, 2004)
Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory, in collaboration with The University of Tokyo, have demonstrated that crystal lattice vibrations
play a significant, but unconventional, role in superconductivity. Conventional high-temperature
superconductor theory generally ignores these lattice vibrations, known as phonons, centering instead
around the idea that superconductivity arises from the movement of “holes”, left by the depletion ofelectrons, over a background of magnetic moments. However, the possible role of phonons inhigh-temperature superconductivity has not been completely discarded and continues to be a topic ofdebate. To shed light on this issue, the researchers substituted heavier oxygen-18 for oxygen-16 in a
Bi-2212 superconductor, believing that the heavier and stiffer lattice would affect the electron cloud in the
superconductor. Using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (APRES), which measures the velocityof the electrons in a material, information was obtained that unambiguously shows the direct influence of thelattice on the single electron dynamics in the cuprate material. The results showed that the action ofphonons can no longer be excluded from working theories describing high-temperature superconductivity
and may help to identify new, as yet undiscovered, classes of superconductors. The research was
published in the July 8 issue of Nature.
Source:“Vibrations in crystal lattice play big role in high-temperature superconductors”
University of California, Berkeley press release (August 16, 2004)
http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2004/08/16_Lanzara.shtml(Akihiko Tsutai, Director, International Affairs Department, ISTEC)

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Feature Articles: Superconducting Electronics- Extending SQUID* Application- Immunoassay Method Using SQUID Keiji Enpuku, Professor
Research Institute of Superconductor Science and Systems
Kyushu University
In medical diagnosis, a biological immunoassay as shown in Fig. 1 (a) is used for detecting pathogenic
bacteria, cancer cell, etc. The substances to detect are named generically as antigen, and a test reagent(antibody) that combines selectively with antigen is used for its detection. In this case, the antibody islabeled with something called marker, and the antigen-antibody binding reaction can be detected bymeasuring the signal from the marker.

SQUID sensor

0Pathogenic bacteria/virus
Cancer/AIDS cell
DNA gene
Environmental ToxicsΦs(m Φ )The popular markers
Signal fieldcurrently used are optical
Magnetic marker
markers such as fluorescent
Polymerenzyme. As another new
immunoassay,magnetic
Magnetic
nanoparticle
immunoassays
tousemagnetic marker and SQUID Detected antibody
Antigensensor are attracting attention
recently. As weak magnetic
Bound antibody
signals from markers can bemeasured by using SQUID,SQUID is expected to enable(a)very
high-sensitive
3
10
immunoassays. To improve the sensitivity ofthis magnetic immunoassay; (1) magnetic
IL8
2
marker to generate a large magnetic signal (2)10SQUID system of which the distance from a1
sample at room-temperature is adjacent to the10extent of approx. 1 mm, (3) optimization of0
magnetic field detection method (magnetic
10
susceptibility, magnetic relaxation, magnetic-1
remanence), etc. are required.
10

10

Fig. 1 (b) shows the results of immunoassay
using magnetic remanence. As antigen, theprotein used for diagnoses of cancer etc. called“Interleukin 8 (IL8)” was used. The horizontal
axis in the figure shows the weight of IL8(=w(pg)), and the vertical axis shows the flux
signal detected by SQUID (=Φs). There was agood correlation between the two. In thisexperiment, the IL8 up to 0.03 pg could be
Fall, 2004

-2

10

-1

10

0

10

1

10

2

10

3

w (pg)(b)
Fig.1 (a) Magnetic immunoassay using magnetic
marker and SQUID(b) Relationship between weight of antigen (IL 8)
obtained by immunoassay (=w) andsignal flux (=Φs).

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detected. This results shows that this system is 30 times or more sensitive than the conventional opticalmethod. In addition, this system will be able to detect IL8 of 0.01 pg or smaller when a proper
improvement is done. Once this improvement is realized, the system becomes 100 times or moresensitive than the conventional one, and turns to an innovative system in immunoassay field.
References
1) K. Enpuku, D. Kuroda, A. Ohba, T. Q. Yang, K. Yoshinaga, T. Nakahara, H. Kuma and N. Hamasaki,
Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. Vol. 42, No. 12A, p. L1436 (2003)*

SQUID stands for Superconducting QUantum Interference Device.

(Published in a Japanese version in the July 2004 issue of Superconductivity Web 21)

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Feature Articles: Superconducting Electronics- Extending SQUID Application- Mobile Whole-head SQUID Magnetoencephalograph (MEG) in a
High-Temperature Superconducting Magnetic Shield Hiroshi Ohta
Millimeter-Wave Devices Group, Wireless Communications Dept.
National Institute of Information and Communications Technology
National Institute of Information and Communications
Technology (NICT) made the MEG (Fig. 1) of SQUID of SNS(Superconductor/Normal Metal/Superconductor) mesoscopic
junction and superconducting magnetic shield, anddemonstrated that it is more than100 times more sensitive
than a SQUID system in a standard magnetically shieldedroom of Permalloy below 1 Hz. We have successfully
conducted demonstration experiments twice; during “NanoTech 2003” held from February 26 to 28, 2003 at Nippon
Convention Center “Makuhari Messe”; and during “NanoTech 2004” held from March 17 to 19, 2004, at Tokyo
International Exhibition Center “Tokyo Big Sight”, andsucceeded in observing brain magnetic fields in the large
crowds both times. At the demonstration experiment at

Fig. 1 Developed MEG

In a magnetically shielded room
パーマロイシールド室内
of Permalloy
Noise
spectra[fT/Hz1/2]

Insuperconducting
超伝導体磁気シールド内
magnetic shield

0.1

1

10

Frequency[Hz]
周波数[Hz]Fig. 2 Comparison of noise spectra of a same SQUID both measured in a magnetically shielded room ofPermalloy and in the superconducting magnetic shield.
(The same color corresponds to the same SQUID in the different magnetic shields.)

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Tokyo Big Sight in March 2004, the signal-to-noise ratio (S/N ratio) was much better than that in the lastdemonstration experiment at Makuhari Messe. This time, both of the site-schedule and the time-schedule
forced us to start operation of the SQUID system by using a 20kVA generator and a coolant chiller,
mounted on a 10-ton truck with air suspension. As a result, we have learnt a lot about what are required tomake a mobile SQUID. The success in this experiment could be a step toward a mobile clinic for mental
care.
Magnetic fields generated by nerve currents in brains are much weaker than the earth magnetic field, andmagnetically shielded rooms of Permalloy have been used conventionally. However, environmental
magnetic noises by traffic of cars and trains(movement of steel blocks) within several kilometers in radius
have the maximum peak around 0.1Hz. The superconducting magnetic shield of high-temperature phaseof BSCCO is perfectly diamagnetic and its shielding factor does not degrade even at lower frequencies than
1Hz . Figure 2 shows comparison of the noise spectra measured in the magnetically shielded room ofPermalloy and in the superconducting shield by using the same SQUID sensors. The SQUID sensors inthe superconducting magnetic shield are more than 100 times more sensitive than those in a magneticallyshielded room of Permalloy below 1 Hz. Up to the present, more than 200 subjects were measured
using this SQUID system.

200
0
-200
-400

Magnetic flux [femto Tesla]

400

600

Figure 3 shows data of 64 channels together using the common time axis. In longer latencies than
250ms, theta rhythms of 6Hz are observed. In particular, nodes of the theta rhythm oscillations in longlatencies are very narrow just inducating that the low-frequency noise of this SQUID system is very small.
Responses in brains evoked by sensory stimulations such as median nerve stimulation generally phase out
by around 250ms. The signals in longer latencies than 250ms appear in the second somatosensory areaetc., and are related with higher functions of the brains. These rhythmic after-discharges observed in longlatencies could be caused by afterdepolarization or afterhyperpolarization. The thalamo-cortical network
will be understood better by investigating brain function in long latencies.

-200

20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 220 240 260 280 300 320 340 360 380 400 420 440 460 480 500 520-600Time [msec]

Fig. 3 Data of 64 channel SQUID in the superconducting magnetic shield vs. the common time axis.

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The time constant of hyperpolarization-activated cation current Ih is about 1 sec, and the current controls
not only thalamus and hippocampus, but also heartbeat. In addition, time constants of calcium ion
channels involved with memory and learning are much longer than 1 sec requiring good magnetic shield at
low frequencies.
It is expected that the SQUID system will be used for the experimental confirmation of neural networkmodels that manifest our understanding of human brain.
This new MEG using the high-temperature superconducting magnetic shield, which has been
experimentally proved to have technological advantages, could be used more popularly both inneuroscience researches and clinical researches in the near future. The organizer of Biomag2004
expressed a strong interest in this equipment made by years of continuous efforts by many researchers.
Details of this research are published in Proceeding of the 14th International Conference on Biomagnetism(Biomag2004) held in Boston from August 8 to 12, 2004.

(Published in a Japanese version in the July 2004 issue of Superconductivity Web 21)

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Feature Articles: Superconducting Electronics- Extending SQUID Application- Semiconductor Inspection by HTS Laser SQUID Microscope Masahiro Daibo
Electronic System Engineering Course
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Faculty of Engineering
Iwate University
SQUID (Superconducting Quantum Interference Device) is the most sensitive magnetic sensor in thesolid devices, however, it will face a big problem when, for example, trying to measure the magnetic field
distribution of a semiconductor. The problem is the inability to measure with spatially detailed distribution.
The main cause is the distance to the observation object arising from the fact that the object is at room
temperature whereas SQUID shall be kept at low temperature by vacuum insulation. In addition, if reduce
the size of SQUID, its good sensitivity as a feature will be sacrificed. To solve this problem, we aredeveloping a laser SQUID microscope applying the principle that the object is irradiated with a focused laser
beam and the induced change in magnetic field will be measured by using SQUID. The observable
objects are limited to those which will bring changes in magnetic field by laser beam, however, as the laser
can be focused to the extent of wavelength in principle, the spatial resolution will be improved to the extent
of the total of focusing area and the blur of magnetic signal source.
Fig. 1 shows the block diagram oflaser SQUID microscope. HTS-SQUID
magnetometer is used in the magnetic
shield.
As a lock-in detection is
executed in synchronization with laser
beam amplitude modulation, themagnetic shield is not required to bestrict one such as for biomagnetism
measurement.
Various wavelengths
from ultraviolet to near-infrared are
selectable for the laser according to thebandgap of target semiconductor. To
minimize the magnetic noise, theservocontrol by piezoactuator is
executed to a location accuracy of 0.3µm by using a ceramics sample stage.

Fig. 1 Block diagram of laser SQUID microscope

Fig. 2 shows a measurement example of a power diode formed in silicon wafer by thermal diffusion.
This sample in manufacturing process has the structure that p-n junctions are arranged concentrically, andthe corresponding magnetic field distribution was obtained. In this figure, it can be confirmed that theminimum diffusion layer line width of this sample 20µm was identified sufficiently. In addition, we aredeveloping a method to measure the diffusion length of minority carrier from the wavelength dependence ofphotocurrent (magnetic field) by using 4 different laser wavelengths.

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In the next place, regarding the multi-crystalline silicon substrate to be used for solar battery etc., theevaluation of crystal grain boundary becomes important as it may cause an effect lowering. As themagnetic field changes rapidly in the crystal grain boundary, the magnetic field distribution wassecond-order-differentiated spatially (Fig. 3). The laser SQUID method does not remove the current tooutside, so all the photo-generated carriers recombined. The merit of application to solar battery is theability to measure the magnetic field distribution when the internal recombination current is maximum.
Summary
The combination of laser and SQUID is effective for improving the spatial resolution of SQUID. In
addition, with this semiconductor measurement by using laser SQUID microscope, the information about
electric structure is obtainable without contact, measurement is available even when insulative surface
oxide film or nitride film is existing, there is no concern about metal pollution due to a probe contact, thus,
this measurement method is useful for evaluation in process of manufacturing or rapid feedback.

Fig.2 p-n junction of diode inside silicon wafer

Fig.3 Crystal grain boundary of polycrystalline
silicon wafer (second-order-differential image ofmagnetic field distribution)

References
1) M. Daibo et al., Physica C, Vol.357-360, pp.1483-1487, 2001.
2) M. Daibo et al., Physica C, Vol.372-376, pp.263-266, 2002.
3) M. Daibo et al., IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercon., Vol.13, No.2, pp.223-226, 2003.
4) M. Daibo et al., The 64th semiannual meeting of JSAP (the Japan Society of Applied Physics), 2a-X-4,
pp. 222, 2003.
5) M. Daibo et al., SICE (the Society of Instrument and Control Engineers) Trans. on Industrial Application,
Vol.2, No.3, pp.19-26, 2003.
(Published in a Japanese version in the July 2004 issue of Superconductivity Web 21)

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Feature Articles: Superconducting Electronics- Extending SQUID Application- Application of Scanning SQUID Microscope to Digital Device Process The scanning SQUID microscope unit is the equipment that enables the observation of a local flux
condition by making SQUID scan the sample surface. This equipment is known for being used in the
research of the superconducting energy gap symmetry, etc. in the early 1990’s. Currently, this equipment
is already commercialized by SII NanoTechnology Inc. etc. here in Japan as well. The scanning SQUID
microscope unit displays its greatest force especially in the superconducting device field. The
superconducting SFQ (Single Flux Quantum) circuit is very susceptible to magnetic field. Given this factor,
it is very important to design a magnetic-field-resistant and much more reliable circuit by observing flux
condition with the use of a scanning SQUID microscope and feeding back the results to the circuit design.
Introduced here is the flux image observation results of the SFQ sampler circuit1) that has the moat array2)
for flux trapping being designed by such process. Fig.1 shows the flux density image observed by using
the Nb-dc-SQUID-equipped scanning SQUID microscope system after cooling the YBa2Cu3Oy (YBCO)SFQ sampler circuit with superconducting ground-plane designed and manufactured in Superconductivity
Research Laboratory, to 10K or lower in the magnetic field of about 1µT. The peak structure is the flux
quantum Φ0(=2.07×10−15Wb) trapped in the circuit when cooling. In contrast, you can see that the flux
was trapped in the 5µm-width narrow moat
structures formed into ground-plane for flux
trapping, and no flux was trapped in the mainpart of the circuit, which includes Josephson
junctions etc. as being surrounded by moats.
Moreover, the required magnetic shield levelcan be found out by investigating the thresholdof magnetic field from which a flux enters into
the area surrounded by moats. Describedhere is just an example. The scanning SQUID
microscopic observation is an avenue ofFlux trapped
research that provides important guidelines onin moats
circuit design for the development ofFlux quantum
superconducting devices. With the practicalapplication of superconducting device circuit
Fig.1 Flux density image of the YBCO SFQ sampler
circuit having the superconducting ground-plane withapproaching, such observation is considered tomoats, observed by using the scanning SQUID
be getting more important in the future.
microscope system (made by SII NanoTechnology Inc.)
References
1) M. Hidaka, M. Maruyama, T. Satoh: IEICE(the Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers) Trans., Nov. 2003, 1128-1135.
2) K. Suzuki, H. Suzuki, S. Adachi, T. Utagawa, U. Kawabe, K. Tanabe: Physica C, vol.378-381 (2002)
1301-1305.
(Koji Suzuki, Division of Electronic Devices, SRL/ISTEC)(Published in a Japanese version in the July 2004 issue of Superconductivity Web 21)
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Feature Articles: Superconducting Electronics- Extending SQUID Application- Development of Geological Survey Technology Using
Superconducting SQUID Tatsuoki Nagaishi, Senior Engineer
Hajime Ohta
Development Group, System & Electronic Equipment Division
Sumitomo Electric Hightechs Co., Ltd.
Eiichi Arai, Deputy Director
Exploration Technical Development Team
Metal Exploration Group
Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation
In the recent exploration of metallic ore deposits, the case of hidden head of ore deposit is getting moreprobable, and the location is moving farther inland. These facts are raising the hopes for the geophysicalexploration, a remote sensing method. Commonly used is the method using induction coil, but the
exploration
technology
using
Inductive magnetic
Current
high-sensitive SQUID as sensor isfield
generation loop SQUID
誘導磁界発生ループ(bipolarrectangular wave)
expected to improve the exploration
電流（両極矩形波）
accuracy. In addition, while theinduction coil measures the timechange of magnetic field, SQUID
measures the magnetic field
地中In the grounddisplacement itself, thus SQUID is
抵抗率の相違Difference
in resistivity
considered to have an advantage inthe measurement of induction
current that attenuates rapidly in the
Inductive
誘導磁界
ground.
Magneticfield

The application of highFig.1 Geological survey technology using superconducting SQUID
temperature
superconducting
SQUID to the geological survey
technology has been studied energetically inAustralia and Germany. 1), 2) In Japan, Japan
Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation(former Metal Mining Agency of Japan) has
been playing a central role in the development
since 1998.
As shown in Fig. 1, in the geological survey
using SQUID, the rectangular wave current isapplied to the magnetic field sending loop set
up on the ground surface, and the inductive
magnetic field made by induction current

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induced underground after turning off the current is measured by using the SQUID installed on the groundsurface. As the diffusion depth at time t of electromagnetic field that diffuses in depth direction is
proportional to the square root of t, the time dependency of magnetic field strength after turning off thecurrent is equal to the profile of underground resistivity in depth direction.
0

10

-1

10

Magnetic field (nT)

For the SQUID to be applied
to geological survey, uniqueperformances are required.
For example, 1Cooling andmagnetic-shieldless operation
under earth’s magnetic field,
2operational
stability
inseveral-handred-nT-order
rectangular magnetic field,
3from the aspect of practicaluse, adjustment of SQUID,
display of measurement dataand integrating data, and data
storagefunctionsusing
personalcomputer,
4battery-operated, etc.

-2

10

-3

10

-4

10 -2
10

noise is 100fT/ Hz or lessunder the earth’s magnetic
field, and the achieved
through rate is 7.3mT/sec.
For details of performanceetc., refer to References3)
-7).

-1

10

0

10

1

10

2

Time (msec)

Fig. 3 A case of measurement by SQUID
6

10

time derivative of magnetic field (nT/s)

The system having beendeveloped pursuing these
performances has achieved
the performances exceeding
thoseofconventional
equipment. Fig.2 shows thesystem of triaxial-3ch (1ch x 2
is also acceptable), consistsof the probe integrated withdrive circuit, liquid nitrogen
dewar,
controller,
A/D
converter, personal computer,and battery. The achieved

10○：induction coils＊：SQUIDs

5

10

4

10

3

10

2

10

1

10

0

10

-1

10

-2

10

-3

10

-3

10

-2

10

10

-1

0

10

10

1

10

2

Time (msec)

To confirm the effectivenessof SQUID system, we
Fig. 4 Data comparison between induction coil and SQUID
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performed field tests at several sites in Japan. Shown here is the test result at the vacant lot of Kosaka Mine in
Akita prefecture. In Fig. 3, the slope changes with time as sharp-gentle-sharp. This indicates that the layers ofhigh-low-high resistivities exist in this order from the ground surface. There was a problem that the information
about the underlying low-resistive layer was hard to obtain with induction coil. With this SQUID, however suchinformation was observed clearly. Fig. 4 shows the result after plotting the differentiated SQUID-measured dataon the same graph for comparison with conventional system. While the values measured by induction-coil typewere saturated at 10msec, SQUID succeeded in measuring on and after 30msec. This means a deeper
exploration depth is available with SQUID.
As described above, the originally expected effectiveness of SQUID was confirmed. In the future, we are planning tocarry out the development toward the practical application by improving the system stability, portability, etc. and increase
the completeness of this system.
This research and development was carried out as part of the project ”Research of Mineral Resources Exploration
Technology Development etc./ The Development of High Precision Geophysical Exploration System” commissioned by
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
References
1) C. P. Foley, K. E. Leslie, R. Binks, C. Lewis, W. Murray, G. J. Sloggett, S. Lam, B. Sankrithyan, N.
Savvides, A. Katzaros, K. -H. Muller, E. E. Mitchell, J. Pollock, J. Lee, D. L. Dart, R. R. Barrow, M. Asten, A.
Maddever, G. Panjkovic, Mark Downey, C. Hoffman and R. Turner, “Field Trials using HTS SQUID
Magnetometers for Ground-based and Airborne Geophysical Applications”, IEEE Trans. Appl.
Superconductivity, vol.9, no.2, pp.3786-3792, June 1999.
2) M. Bick, G. Panaitov, N. Wolters, Y. Zhang, H. Bousack, A. I. Braginski, U. Kalberkamp, H. Burkhardt, U.
Matzander, “A HTS rf SQUID Vector Magnetometer for Geophysical Exploration”, IEEE Trans. Appl.
Superconductivity, vol.9, no.2, pp.3780-3785, June 1999.
3) New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization: Report on the development Item
“Development of Disaster Prediction Technology” (2000)
4) Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry: Report on
Research of Exploration Technical Development in 2002/ Development of High-Accuracy GeophysicalExploration Technology (2002)
5) Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry: Report on
Research of Exploration Technical Development in 2003/ Development of High-Accuracy GeophysicalExploration Technology (2003)
6) Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry: Report on
Research of Exploration Technical Development in 2004/ Development of High-Accuracy GeophysicalExploration Technology (2004)
7) Eiichi Arai, “Development of the Data Acquisition System for Time-Domain Electromagnetic
Method Using SQUID Magnetometer for Mineral Exploration”, Cryogenic Engineering, Vol.38, No.9 (2003)(Published in a Japanese version in the July 2004 issue of Superconductivity Web 21)

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Superconductivity Related Product Guide- Superconducting Quantum Interference Device (SQUID) Related
Products (Company names in Japanese syllabary order)-- SII NanoTechnology Inc.
Nb low-temperature scanning type SQUID microscope and other scientific equipments
Tel: +81-43-211-1338 Fax: +81-43-211-8067 e-mail: yukiya.watanabe@sii.co.jp
Contact: Mr. Yukiya Watanabe, 1st Sales Sec., 1st Sales Dept.
-- Sumitomo Electric Hightechs Co., Ltd.
SQUID beginner’s kit and SQUID experimental kit using high-temperature superconducting magnetic
sensor, SEIQUID II, SQUID microscope, biomagnetometer, antigen-antibody reaction inspection equipment,
detector for magnetic foreign objects mixed in food etc., semiconductor inspection equipment, geologicalsurvey equipment and other scientific equipments
Contact: Mr. Nagaishi, Mr. Ohta; Tel: +81-72-771-3022 Fax: +81-72-771-3023-- Medical Systems Sales & Marketing Div., Life Science Business Group, Hitachi
High-Technologies Corp.
MC-6400 Hitachi Magnetocardiograph system
Technical Contact: Mr. Shigeaki Naito (Hitachi High-Technologies Corp.)
Tel: +81-3-3504-5818 Fax: +81-3-3504-7756
e-mail: naito-shigeaki@nst.hitachi-hitec.com
Sales Contact: Mr. Hiroshi Hanaoka (Fukuda Denshi Co., Ltd.)
Tel: +81-3-5684-1233 Fax: +81-3-5684-1315
e-mail: hanaoka@fukuda.co.jp-- MEG Center, Aerospace Products Business Headquarters, Yokogawa Electric Corp.
Magnetoencephalograph (MEG), small-size weak magnetic field measuring equipment
Tel: +81-422-52-5662 Fax: +81-422-52-5946 e-mail: meg@csv.yokogawa.co.jp
Contact: Mr. Hideaki Tomizawa(Yasuzo Tanaka, Editor)(Published in a Japanese version in the July 2004 issue of Superconductivity Web 21)

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Date of Issue: October 15, 2004

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Feature Articles: Fusion Reactor and Superconductivity- Superconductive Materials to Be Used for Superconducting Coils in theInternational Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) and Their
Required Performance Kiyoshi Okuno, HeadSuperconducting Magnet Laboratory
Department of Fusion Engineering Research
Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute
The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project started with its conceptual design
activity as a quadripartite international cooperation among Japan, European Union (EU), Russia and USA
in 1988, and through nine-year engineering design activity from 1992, completed with its final design reportin 2001. At present, adding China and Korea, the construction site is under selection by six parties toward
a completion of the construction in the mid-2010s.
As shown in Fig.,
Toroidal field coils
Central solenoid
there are three kinds(18 coils, Nb3Sn)( 6 modules,ofsuperconducting
11.8T, 68kA
Nb3Sn)
coils in ITER: toroidal
13T, 42kA
field (TF) coils, acentral solenoid (CS),and poloidal field (PF)Heightcoils. Used for these
14m
coils
are
forced-flow-cooling
Poloidal field coils
conductors made by(6 coils , NbTi)
bundling approx. 1000
6T, 45kAsuperconducting wires
having0.8mm
diameterandFig. Superconducting coils in the International Thermonuclear Experimental
enclosed in a metal
Reactor (ITER)tube.
For the TF
coils and CS, Nb3Sn isused as superconducting material because they will be operated in a magnetic field of 12 to 13T, whereas
NbTi is used for PF coils because it will be used in a magnetic field of 6T or less.
In the engineering design activity of ITER, we have developed a CS model coil to be operated in the
ITER-relevant conditions of high magnetic field (13T) and high current (46kA). One of the major issues in thisdevelopment was to establish a technology for a high-performance Nb3Sn wire having high current density
and low hysteresis loss. The typical manufacturing processes of Nb3Sn wires are the bronze process andthe internal diffusion process. For the of bronze process, of which the hysteresis loss is originally low,increasing the tin concentration of bronze is necessary for improving the critical current density, and wedeveloped a wire manufacturing technology available for such bronze which was harder due to higher tin
content of 14%. Nowadays, 15% to 16% high-tin-concentration bronze was developed, and higher current
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density became possible. On the contrary, for the internal diffusion process of which increasing current
density is relatively easy, reducing hysteresis loss had been an issue, and we established a method to reduce
the loss by preventing the bridging between filaments. Herewith, we succeeded in the development of ahigh-performance Nb3Sn wire that actualizes high current density and low hysteresis loss at a time, andestablished the mass production technology.
Meanwhile, the design approach and design accuracy were improved by carrying out the tests anddetailed evaluations of the CS model coil. In the result, the required performances shown for Nb3Sn wirein the ITER were the critical current density of 700 A/mm2 or above (bronze process), 800A/mm2 or above(internal diffusion process) at 12T and 4.2K, and 1000mJ/cm3 (±3T) as the upper limit of hysteresis loss.
These requirements are well achievable by extrapolation of the technologies developed with model coils.
The total weight of Nb3Sn wires required for ITER is approx. 500 ton, and NbTi wires approx 250 ton.

(Published in a Japanese version in the August 2004 issue of Superconductivity Web 21)

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Feature Articles: Fusion Reactor and Superconductivity- Superconductive Materials for Demonstration Power Reactor As is well known, the decision on the construction site for International Thermonuclear Experimental
Reactor (ITER) has been much delayed. However, there is no doubt that ITER is the first step indeveloping a commercial fusion reactor. While the mission of ITER is “to demonstrate the fusion reaction
and reactor engineering”, that of ”demonstration power reactor” is literally “to demonstrate the power
generation”. And then, the construction of “thermonuclear power plant” towards “commercial power
generation” will follow.
For the development of fusion reactor also, like a development of other equipment, not only thedemonstration of principle but also the market competitiveness of cost of energy (COE) is strongly called
into question. It is said that the cost of superconductivity-related equipments will constitute one-third of thefusion reactor construction cost, and the magnetic field strength for plasma confinement is known to have alarge impact on COE as shown Fig. 1.
As seen in Fig. 1, COE relates to the magnetic field strength and the β value of plasma. The generated
magnetic field in ITER (the maximum magnetic field applied to the wires composing the magnet) is 13 Tesla(T), and this magnetic field strength is considered to be not competitive with the existing nuclear power
generation in terms of COE. Regarding the superconducting magnet for ”demonstration power reactor”,
two options are now under consideration. One option is the magnetic field of 16T that is regarded to allow
the use of superconducting wires made of Nb3Al. To be cost competitive with this magnetic field, thefurther advancement in plasma physics, that is to say β value enhancement*, is required. The other option
is to generate a magnetic field around 20T for which high-temperature superconducting wires, especially Y

Fig. 1 Relation between magnetic field and β value for unit cost of energy by fusion reactor(Source: Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute)

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wires are front runners. The merit to use such wire is that the high fusion output is available with thecurrent β value. Therefore, a choice of enhancing β value or making magnetic field strength to be around
20T is presented to realize a commercial reactor. Once a long high-temperature superconducting Y wireis developed, as shown in Fig. 2, the generation of magnetic field of 20T or more is possible in principle if
selecting operating temperature properly. There is a potential as wire.

Jｃ [ A / m2 ]Regrettably, the maximum length of existing Y wires in the world is only approx. 100m, however, it isobvious from case of NbTi wire development (ratio of superconducting wire section to copper wire section is1:1) for the magnet for magnetic levitation propulsion system, that huge projects such as the developmentof fusion reactor can play a leading role in the wire development. When generated magnetic field became
higher, the electromagnetic force to be applied to the magnet also becomes larger, and the magnet
manufacturing technology including the development of structural materials seems to be attended withparticular difficulties. Despite such difficulties, the efforts to overcome them and lead the development tosuccess are required. Regarding the“demonstration power reactor”, its
Comparison of Jc-B-T properties: YBCO, （Nb,Ti）3Sn
operation is considered to start around2030. As the full-scale design isregarded to start after R&D for about
10 years from now, to advancing the
20K
1010
R&D of Y wires and to find out theapplicability to “demonstration power
40K
reactor” or “commercial power reactor”
during this period are deemed109
necessary. In addition, as the wire
(Nb,Ti)3Sn@4.2K
manufacturing technologies to be
65K
developed in such process areapplicabletosuperconducting
108
equipments for general industries, the
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
promotion of application/diffusion ofB[T]superconducting
equipments
togeneral industries as well as the Fig. 2 Relation between magnetic field and critical current
solution of energy problems are density of YBCO (comparison with (NbTi)3Sn wires)(Source: Prof. Kiss at Kyushu University)
expected.
β value enhancement*
β value is the index of efficiency of fusion reactors such as Tokamak type to be used to confine magnetic
field.
β value depends on the plasma particle density, plasma temperature and applied magnetic field.
Therefore, a high β value operation in a strong magnetic field is important for higher efficiency of fusion
reactor.
(Osamu Horigami, Director, SRL/ISTEC)(Published in a Japanese version in the August 2004 issue of Superconductivity Web 21)
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Feature Articles: Fusion Reactor and Superconductivity- Large Helical Device (LHD) and Superconducting Technology Toshiyuki Mito, Division Director / Professor
Fusion and Advanced Technology Systems Division
Department of Large Helical Device Project
National Institute for Fusion Science (NIFS)
The Large Helical Device (LHD) is
Poloidal V.B.
NBI #1
Helical V.B.
the world’s first helical type plasma
experimental equipment that adopted
ECH W.G.
superconducting coils to all coils for
LHD Cryostat
ICRF
magnetic confinement, and capable ofconfining currentless steady-state
plasma by heliotron-type magnetic
configuration. The superconducting
NBI #2
coil system, the feature of LHD,
consists of two helical coils and threepairs of poloidal coils. This is the
NBI #3world’slargestsuperconducting
Vacuum Pump
system with a plasma central
magnetic field of 3T and magnetic
Fig. 1 Inside of the main experimental hall in LHD building
stored energy of 0.9 GJ. National
Institute for Fusion Science (NIFS)
completed the eight-year LHD construction program from Year 1991 and started the plasma experimentfrom March 1998. Fig. 1 shows the layout inside the main experimental hall in LHD building. Centering
around LHD cryostat, three kinds of plasma heating equipments (NBI, ECH, ICRF), valve boxes (Helical V.
B., Poloidal V. B.) which control distribution of cryogen from the cryogenic system to each superconducting
coil, etc. are installed.
Fig. 2 shows the internal structure ofcryostat. The helical coil has major
radius of 3.9 m, minor radius of 0.975
m, and the coil does five laps in minor
radius direction while doing one lap inmajor radius direction. The LHD
consists of two helical coils (H1 andH2). To make a complex 3-D shapewinding
toahigh
positionaccuracy—within the tolerance of ±2
mm required by plasma experiment,
we completed such helical coils bycarrying out winding works around theclock for one and a half years fromJanuary 1995 to May 1996, by using a

Fall, 2004

LHD Cryostat

IV Coils

Poloidal Coils
IS Coils OV Coils

Outer dia.

Cold mass

13 m

820 t

HeightTotal weight1500 t8m

Supporting
Supporting Posts

Structure
Helical Coils

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13-shaft-control special winding machine.
Three kinds of poloidal coils
are called as, from the inside to
the outside, Inner Vertical (IV)coil, Inner Shaping (IS) coil, andOuter Vertical (OV) coil, andeach coil is used in vertical pairs.
The largest OV coil has thecenter diameter of 11.1 m andthis is the world’s largest
existing
forced-cooling-type
superconducting coil.
For
LHD,
we
have
developed and used asuperconducting bus line as
power line to supply current
from the power supply tosuperconducting coils. Having
the maximum rated current of
31.3kA and total extended
length of 497m, this is arealization of the world’s largest
direct current superconducting
power line.
Fig. 3 shows the operating
history of LHD cryogenic
system. For six years up to
the spring of 2004, we carried• Long-term continuous
operations carried out:
7 times for 6 years fromFeb. 1998.
• Steady operation insuperconducting state:
21,887 hours• Total operation of LHD
cryogenic system:
31,963 hours• Coil excitation: 804 times
Plasma shot: 48,721 times

Fig. 3 Operation histories of LHD superconducting system

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out stable long-term continuous operations seven times and enabled a high-performance plasma
experiment. One operation consists of cryogenic system’s purification operation, cool-down operation fornearly one month, steady operation for about five months, warm-up operation for nearly one month, thus,
around the clock continuous operations were carried out for more than two-thirds of a year. During thisperiod, nothing to disrupt the stable continuous operation such as system failure and characteristic
degradation of superconducting coils across the ages was observed, and the high reliability and stability oflarge superconducting system for fusion experiments has been demonstrated continuously.

(Published in a Japanese version in the August 2004 issue of Superconductivity Web 21)

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Feature Articles: Fusion Reactor and Superconductivity- Prospects for Realization of Fusion Energy Utilization Satoshi Morozumi, Research Director
Energy Policy and Technology Research Division
Mitsubishi Research Institute, Inc.

As a global environment problem, it is considered to be almost certain that the global warming due to thegreen house effect by the carbon dioxide emissions resulting from fossil energy consumption is going on,
and to reduce this carbon dioxide emissions is essential for global environment conservation. Accordingly,
the focus of the current energy problems is to hold down the fossil energy consumption and shift over toenergy sources that do not emit carbon dioxide. The nuclear fusion has been a focus of attention as anenergy source that does not release carbon dioxide, in addition, its fuel sources--deuterium and lithium
metal are contained nearly exhaustlessly in seawater without locating eccentrically in specific area. As thisis also an advantage in problems over resources, the nuclear fusion has been a focus of attention as anultimate energy source.
Human beings have already actualized a nuclear fusion on earth in form of hydrogen bomb. However,
the time to undergo nuclear fusion is instantaneous, and to extract and utilize energy by this method isextremely difficult. For utilization of nuclear fusion energy, a steady heat extraction by undergoing,
maintaining and controlling nuclear fusion reaction is necessary. Therefore, to confine these materials inplasma state and control the reaction will be an important technology for utilizing nuclear fusion as energy.
To generate a strong magnetic field that confines plasma state, a powerful coil is required. There areseveral methods for nuclear fusion by magnetic field confinement such as Tokamak method or Helicalmethod. To realize a power generation by nuclear fusion, the critical plasma condition, which depends on
the product of plasma core temperature, plasma confinement density and confinement time (heat retention
characteristic) shall be cleared as a first step, and then generating plasma and long-time confinement shallbe achieved as a second step.
One of Tokamak method fusion experimental facilities is JT-60 installed at Naka Fusion Research
Establishment of Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute in 1985. Right now, the critical plasma condition
has been achieved at the world’s big three Tokamak reactors including JT-60 in Japan. The project
following JT-60 is International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). ITER is the equipment toachieve burning plasma in full scale and demonstrate a continuous energy generation of 500MW by
nuclear fusion. This ITER is an international collaborative project being started as a new experimental
reactor to achieve generating plasma and realize long-time confinement. After the success in ITER, thenext step is considered to be a prototype reactor to demonstrate the power generation by nuclear fusion.

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Objectives of experimental fusion reactor

Fusion
Power
Plant

1021
ITER

Ignitioncondition
Break-evencondition

Plasma coreDensityX
confinement
timenD(0)τE (s/m3)

1020
JET(EU)

JT-60(Jpn)

DIII-D(USA)
TFTR(USA)1019

1990's
JFT-2M(Jpn)

1980's1018
JFT-2a(Jpn)

1970's
JFT-2(Jpn)

1017
1

10

100

1000

Ti(0) (million degrees centigrade)Fig. Position of ITER in development of commercial fusion reactor
Source: Naka Fusion Research Establishment of Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute/
Website of International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER)(Published in a Japanese version in the August 2004 issue of Superconductivity Web 21)

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Patent Information
Introduction of Published Unexamined Patents in the 1st Quarter of Fiscal 2004
The following are ISTEC’s patents published from April through June in 2004. For more information,access the homepage of the Patent Office of Japan and visit the Industrial Property Digital Library (IPDL).
1) Publication No. 2004-111203: “Manufacturing method of MgB2 superconducting wires”
This invention relates to MgB2 superconducting wires with critical temperature of 39K. The method is toencapsulate the mixed powder prepared by adding appropriate amount of Ti powder to powdery Mg and B,
in a metal tube such as copper tube, and after a wire drawing such as dice-work, heat it in the atmosphereof inert gas under high pressure. By repeating the wire drawing and heat treatment several times, the
MgB2 superconducting wires having the critical current density no less than 2x105/cm2 at the temperature of
4.2K can be obtained.
2) Publication No. 2004-149378: “Method to form a thin film on a substrate via interlayer”
This invention relates to the method to form superconducting thin film on a substrate via an interlayer andprovides a method to select an interlayer material that enables the formation of a high-quality
superconducting thin film (epitaxial thin film). This invention is characterized by the steps to calculate theinterfacial energy(Ea) of interface A between the substrate and the interlayer, the interfacial energy(Eb) ofinterface B between the interlayer and the superconducting thin film, and the interfacial energy(Ec) of thesubstrate-superconducting thin film interface C when forming the superconducting thin film directly on thesubstrate, then select an interlayer material that meets both conditions Ea<Ec and Eb<Ec.
3) Publication No. 2004-149380: “Single crystal thin film”
This invention provides a high-quality single crystal superconducting thin film on a substrate, having thesame or better properties than single crystal bulk material. When forming superconducting thin film
(Sm123 for example) on a substrate (BaZrO3 substrate for example), this invention makes an atomic layer(BaO for example) in the interface between the substrate and the thin film so that it can be shared by bothlayers, because of existing of the atomic layer in the both layers. Furthermore, this invention ischaracterized by the epitaxial growth percentage of no less than 50% at a deviation angle within ±2° for thethin film layer within the thickness of 100 unit cells from the interface.
4) Publication No. 2004-161504: “RE-Ba-Cu-O superconductor precursor and RE-Ba-Cu-O
superconductive material and method for manufacturing the same”
This invention relates to a manufacturing method of a large-size bulk superconductor, and provides asimple and easy method to manufacture an Ag-added large-size superconductor by adopting a new
precursor structure. The new precursor structure has a layer B stacked on a layer A, in which the layer A
is comprised of the RE-Ba-Cu-O-system mixture containing a given amount of Ag or Ag-compound, andlayer B comprised of the RE-Ba-Cu-O-system mixture containing reduced amount of Ag or Ag-compound.
The manufacturing method is comprised of locating/burring a seed on/in the layer B, heating the precursor
until partial melting condition, and cooling down it. By this method, it can be achieved to prevent the
reduction of melting temperature of the seed crystal due to the reaction of the seed crystal with Ag, thus the
manufacturing of large-size bulk containing large mount of Ag is facilitated.

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5) Publication No. 2004-161505: “Constituents for oxide superconducting thick film and a thick film
tape of oxide superconductor”
This invention relates to new raw materials suitable for the precursor of Y-Ba-Cu-O-systemsuperconducting film by metalorganic deposition method (MOD method), and provides a thick film tape ofoxide superconductor formed uniformly at a high speed. The new precursor material is featured bycontaining a carboxylic copper salt of carbon number six or more, and adopting a mixture of such carboxylic
copper salt with selected metallic salts from yttrium trifluoroacetate or yttrium carboxylate, and barium
trifluoroacetate etc. to form a precursor film. As the result, the mount of fluorine in the precursor film is
extremely reduced, the occurrence of crack is suppressed, and a high-speed film production is achieved.
(Katsuo Nakazato, Director, Research & Development Promotion Division, SRL/ISTEC)(Published in a Japanese version in the August 2004 issue of Superconductivity Web 21)

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Standardization Activities- ISTEC and IEEJ Agreed on Superconducting Transmission and Transformation
Equipments Standardization Data Research International Superconductivity Technology Center (ISTEC) (President: Hiroshi Araki) and the Institute ofElectrical Engineers of Japan (IEEJ) (President: Tadashi Fukao) agreed on the research project forstandardization data related to superconducting power cables, superconducting current limiters, andsuperconducting transformers as of May 18, 2004. The implementation term of this project is sevenmonths from May to December 2004.
This project relates to the project that IEEJ is entrusted as a part of “research on effect of introduction” of
the national project “Research and Development Project of Key Technology for Alternative Current
Superconducting Power Equipment” that Engineering Research Association for Superconductive
Generation Equipment and Materials has been entrusted by New Energy and Industrial Technology
Development Organization (NEDO) and carrying out as a five-year project from fiscal 2000 through fiscal
2004.
The contents of this project considered to be appropriate are; (1) first of all, extract the object items which
conform to standardization from the scientific papers and technical information documents related tosuperconducting power cables, superconducting current limiters, and superconducting transformers as theresults of said national project carried out by Engineering Research Association for Superconductive
Generation Equipment and Materials; (2) a part of the extraction work of standardization conforming items
has started and general test requirements of superconducting power cables, superconducting current
limiters, and superconducting transformers are envisioned; (3) and then, as these requirements are basedon the results of research and development projects in Japan, round up them in a form of Technical
Specification (TS) considering their completeness and market suitability.
For carrying out this project, under technical assistances of said national project and IEEJ, a new system
consists of superconductivity standardization committee, power cable working group, current limiter working
group and transformer working group is scheduled to be organized inside ISTEC to accomplish the goal ina short period by mobilizing all available conventional engineers and superconductivity engineers involvedin transmission and transformation equipments.
The results of this project are intended to be presented to Japanese domestic IEC/TC90
Superconductivity Committee, which is an international managing member of IEC/TC90(Superconductivity), and submitted to IEC/TC90 as an international standard proposal through thiscommittee aiming for their reflection on the international standard documents at the end.
(Published in a Japanese version in the June 2004 issue of Superconductivity Web 21)- 2004 Steering Committee for IEC/TC90 Superconductivity was Held Japan national committee for the IEC/TC90 Superconductivity (Chairperson: Shigeki Saito, Senior
Managing Director of ISTEC) held the 17th steering committee on June 7, 2004 at a conference room inTokyo. Participants, from 12 institutions in Japan--eight industry groups and four research-relatedFall, 2004

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institutions involved in superconductivity, deliberated on the continuous operation of superconductivity
standardization project and Japanese presence as a secretariat country of IEC/TC90.
At the beginning of this conference, drafts of the project report for fiscal 2003, the balance settlement for
fiscal 2003, the project plan for fiscal 2004 and the balance budget for fiscal 2004 were passed unanimously.
The characteristic projects for fiscal 2004 were an ongoing project commissioned by Ministry of Economy,
Trade and Industry ”Research and Study of Technical Base Standardization for Superconducting Power
Equipments”, projects from Japanese Standards Association ”operations as secretariat country”, “drafting ofinternational response”, “drafting of JIS”, and a contracting project from the Institute of Electrical Engineersof Japan ”Power Transmission and Transformation Equipment Standardization Project”. These projects
for fiscal 2004 included the dispatch of committee members, adjustment and preparation of deliberation
items for the 9th IEC/TC90 international conference to be held for three days from September 1, 2004 at
Argonne National Laboratory in U.S., and the proposal to invite 10th IEC/TC90 international conference toJapan.
Subsequently, the superconductivity
standardization in Japan came up for
discussion.
Japan
has
executed ”operations as secretariat
country” as secretariat country of
IEC/TC90 since 1990.
The
研究開発ﾌﾟ
Integrated
市場適合性Marketmeanings of this ”operations as
ﾛｼﾞｪｸﾄとpromotionwithrelevance
secretariat
country”
arethe
R&Dの一体的projects
推進international contribution through the
国際貢献International
superconductivity standardization as
プレゼンス
contribution
well as the presence of Japanesepresencetechnological skills in superconductivity.
Supported by the superconductivity-related market grown to a scale around 400 billion yen, the objective ofsuperconductivity standardization in ”operations as secretariat country” is shifting from the conventional
basic test method standard toward the product specification. However, considering the modest growthrate of superconductivity market itself, it was understood that the most part of the immediate standardization
activity would be the integrated promotion with research and development projects.
Within this meaning, ”Power Transmission and Transformation Equipment Standardization Project” to be
implemented as a new contracting project for fiscal 2004 was understood as part of the integrated
promotion activity with the national project “Research and Development Project of Key Technology for
Alternative Current Superconducting Power Equipments” to be terminated within fiscal 2004. The goal ofthis project is preparing a draft proposal of Technical Specification (TS) of general test requirements(general rules) related to the superconducting transmission and transformation equipments which adopt
high-temperature superconductors to be introduced in the market pretty soon.
(Published in a Japanese version in the July 2004 issue of Superconductivity Web 21)(Yasuzo Tanaka, Director, Standardization Department, ISTEC)

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