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Contents:
Topics- Reporting on the 21st International Superconductivity Industry Summit (ISIS-21)- Reporting on the EnerSol-WSEF in Tunis- “Participating at the 25th Anniversary Symposium of both Inauguration of the TcSUH (the Texas
Center for Superconductivity at the University of Houston) and the Discovery of YBCO- The 25th International Symposium on Superconductivity (ISS2012)- ISTEC Exhibition at “Eco-Products 2012”- World Project Now for Superconductor- What’s New in the World of Superconductivity (February, 2013)
Feature Articles: Technological Development of Superconducting Power Equipment- Trends of Superconducting Power Equipment Development- Progress in the Development of High Voltage Superconducting Power Cable Technology- Japan’s First Operation of “High Temperature Superconducting Cable Systems” in Live Grids- Progress in the Technological Development of Superconducting Transformers
Feature Articles: Superconducting Microwave/Terahertz Wave Device Technology- Recent Trends in Superconducting Microwave Device Technology- Development of a Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detector for an Imaging Fourier Transform
Terahertz Spectrometer- First-Light from the Band-10 SIS Receiver at the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array(ALMA)Top of Superconductivity Web21

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This work was subsidized by JKA using promotion funds fromKEIRIN RACE
http://ringring-keirin.jp

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Topics: Reporting on the 21 st International Superconductivity Industry
Summit (ISIS-21)
Toru Okazaki, Director
International Affairs Division
ISTEC

Scene of ISIS-21

The 21st International Superconductivity Industry Summit (ISIS-21) was held between 4th (Thurs) – 6th (Sat)
October 2012, in Portland Oregon, located close to Seattle in the west coast of USA. Portland is well known
as the most e nvironmentally friendly city in t he USA. Last year’s participants at ISIS-20 were the usual
countries that incl uded Japan, USA, Europe, New Zealand and Korea. At this su mmit however, Russia
participated for the first time as regular member, which felt, according to the author, as an expansion of thesuperconductivity industry. The numbers of participants per country were: 16 from the host country, USA,
11 from Japan, 4 from Europe, 3 from New Zealand and Korea, and 1 from Russia.
Reflecting upon the expansion of the sup erconductivity community, there was no particular theme for thissummit, but instead each country reported their current status. The summit w as also an opportunity for
active discussions on how ISIS could play a role in the future promotion of the superconductivity industry.
At the opening of the summit D r. Alan Lauder from the USA provided a historical background to ISIS, aswell as announcing the passing of two great pioneers in the field of superconductivity, Professor Shoji
Tanaka and Dr. Jens Mueller. A silent prayer was offered to their memories. Following this, the aims of thissummit were presented to mutually disclose and discuss PJ developments in high temperature
superconductors from each country under the backdrop of a world recession, and also deliberate potential
future opportunities.
Reports from New Zealand included, Mr. Tye Hus heer, Co-CEO of HTS110, and Dr. Robert Buckley,Group Manager of IRL, a research institute funded 100 % by the government. In a smal l country such as
New Zealand, it has steadily progressed its business activities, gaining confidence in successfully
promoting a niche market and thereby creating a profitable business. Main markets for t heir targeted
applications are magnets and NMR systems.
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Dr. Joachim Bock, from NEXA NS in Europe, reported on the steady progress of a cable and fault current
limiter (FCL). A c ommercially installed FCL was mainly reported. High-capacity FCLs employ Y-based
wires for their operation. A cable project named Ampacity was addressed for the considerable amount ofwire required for the project. However, they reported that wire volumes were not an issue as there weremany suppliers able to deliver on this project.
Dr. Tabea Arndt, from Si emens, reported about various other project plans, in particular, the newly
launched wire development proj ect called EUROTAPES, a €20bn invest ment over 4 and half years,
targeted at wire development for various applications. Sensors are also thought to emerge as promising
future applications.
Dr. Victor P antsyrny, from R ussia reported on various PJs in his co untry. Cables, FCLs, transformers,
SMES, motors and power generators have all been thoroughly developed for conventional applications.
Amongst these, th e planned installation of a 2.5 km-class AC a nd DC cable in St. Peters burg drew
particular attention at the summit.
Japan introduced its conventional project plans and reported on the current status of four cable companies.
Recent electronics-related applications were also reported.
Korea, like Russia, has thoroughly targeted various specific applications. Professor Minwon Park reported
on the necessary details required for superconducting wind turbine generators, sparking a heartfelt passion
for this field.
The USA reported that due to no further DOE funding for new superconductivity-related projects from 2012,
many projects would still continue but cease by the en d of 2013. The author could not help envisaging the
low-key stance undertaken by the USA compared to other counties. Nevertheless, plans connecting New
York and Washington using Maglev and a superconducting aircraft dream project are forthcoming.
During general discussions it was debated whether ISIS should launch a transnational PJ. However, it was
concluded that the present structure of ISIS should be maintained owing to the difficult y of initiating such a
project straightaway. Whilst research budgets in the USA have been cut due to government policies, new
PJs have been launched worldwide producing a sense of the different positions taken by the USA and therest of the world.
In accordance with scheduling the next ISIS conference will take place in Japan and is to be spons ored by
ISTEC. ISIS will be followed by the Int ernational Superconductivity Symposium (ISS2013), which is to beheld on 18th (Mon) – 20th (Wed) November 2013.
(Published in a Japanese version in the December 2012 issue of Superconductivity Web 21)

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Topics: Reporting on the EnerSol-WSEF in Tunis
Ryohei Kondo
Managing Director/Secretary General
ISTEC

EnerSol WSEF Venue

1. About EnerSol-WSEF
The first EnerSol-WSEF (World Sustainable Energy Forum) took place in Tunis in 2012, and was derived
from recommendations made at the solar power generation seminar of the United Nations Industrial
Development Organization in 2002. The f orum aims to f acilitate exchanges in the lat est information
between a wid e range of p articipants including industry-academia-government and the general publicregarding government policy, scie nce technology and projects centered on r enewable energies. In
particular, the focus was to make contributions to African and Middle Eastern countries, which are expected
to experience future dynamic development.
2. Event Overview
EnerSol-WSFF 2012 was held over three days from 14th – 16th November, at the Kram Exhibition Park
located in eastern part of T unis. The entire event consisted of more than 100 exhibitions by various
corporate entities and forums of government policy/science technology/business. The sponsors expected
more than ten thousand visitors to the exhibitions, with the forum attracting around 100 participants fromaround ten countries. Salah El HNNACHI, President of EnerSol, is well known in political circles in Tunisia
and a Jap anophile, having been posted as an am bassador to Japa n for ten yea rs. It seem ed that his
personal relationships also helped attracting guests to this event.
Prime Minister, Hammadi JEBALI, was invited to attend the first day of event, which attracted large
numbers of media. Tunisia was where the “Jasmine Revolution” took place, and was also considered thefirst of a se ries of r evolutions named the “Arab Spring”. The constituent assembly in T unisia presently
consists of a Prime Minister and a President, with JEBALI supervising the entire government as the Head of

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Government. Being a physicist, he was well acquainted with renewable energies and earnestly toured theexhibition.

Prime Minister (Center) on a tour and surrounded by many visitors, media, and SPs

3. Forum Contents (Policy & Business, Science & Technology)
On behalf of Prime Minister JEBALI, the Tunisian Minister of Industry made a passionate speech in Frenchat the opening address at the forum. A summary of the forum follows herewith.

Opening address by the Tunisian Minister of Industry(fourth from right) and sponsor (third from right)-

The main themes from a few reports were on the mega-scale solar project in the Sahara desert.
The EU reported that they wanted to achieve 2GW-class power generation by employing Sahara
PV (Photovoltaic Power Generation) and transport the electricity to E urope. Additionally, it wasconveyed that the EU expected electric power transmission by integrating PV/wind power energy
policy in MENA (Middle East and North Africa regions). Japan’s involvement with the Sahara Solar

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Breeder Project has been significant with reports on the substantial potential of PV and thepossibility of increasing desert greening by PV power production using solar panels fabricated fromdesert silica. Japan also reported the feasibility of DC superconducting power transmission cables
laid across the M editerranean Sea. Evaluating the overall system p erformance along with therequisite cooling system was deemed important.
-

There were interesting reports on r enewable energies emphasizing the importance of g rid
strengthening, greater efficiencies afforded by the combinations of either “PV and geothermal heatpump (HP) system” or “PV and solar power generation”. Power supply systems without therequirements of battery storage, achieved by combining PV a nd diesel power generation werereported as well. The “numbers of employers (person/kw)” research report addressed by Tunisia
reflected the local economic situation of “wind power>PV>gas/coal”. The author reported on thecurrent status of Japan’s renewable energy policy after the Great East Japan Earthquake.

4. Other matters
The author visited “Revolution Avenue (Avenue Bourguiba)” during the spare moments of t he forum,
however, was warned by the administrative office lady to take extra attention because of a demo planned
for that day . Nevertheless, male staff me mbers reassured me to co nvey a messa ge to th e Japanesepeople to “Come to Tunis, it’s absolutely safe”. The day in “Revolution Avenue” passed by with no issues; it
was crowded with ordinary folk going about their business and with only a handful of demonstrators singing
songs. However, armored troop carriers were posted at the center of the street, highlighting traces of therevolution.

Central reservation at the west end of “Revolution Avenue”(barbed-wire and armored troop carrier seen behind the cars)(Published in a Japanese version in the December 2012 issue of Superconductivity Web 21)

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Topics: “Participating at the 25th Anniversary Symposium of bothInauguration of the TcSUH (the Texas Center for Superconductivity at
the University of Houston) and the Discovery of YBCOYuh Shiohara
Director General
SRL/ISTEC

The 25th Anniversary Symposium of both inauguration of the TcSUH (the Texas Center for
Superconductivity at the University of Houston) and the discovery of YBCO, sponsored by TcSUH, took
place on 19th November 2012 with panel discussions on future research expectations and reflections on thepast 25 years. Prior to the panel discussions, six Nobel Prize winners opened the plenary lectures with eachgiving a 20-minute lecture, including Dr. K. Alex Mueller, discoverer of oxide superconductors and Prof.
Leon Cooper, one of the scientists behind the proposed BCS theory of superconductivity, both appearing
via a video link. The Nobel laureates’ joining in the celebrations of the 25th anniversary of the discovery of
YBCO, and also being held on USA soil made the symposium even more momentous. Hosting anequivalent event in Japan would be unimaginable. The author was overwhelmed to participate and attend
these extraordinary plenary lectures.
Prof. Annette Bussmann-Holder (University of Basel) introduced Dr. Alex Mueller’s research into solid-statephysics that led to the discovery of high temperature superconductors after being posted at IBM Zurich
Research Laboratory in Switzerland in 1963, and also presented the current research undertaken by Dr.
Alex Mueller. A video message from Dr. Mueller was also included as part of the presentation.
Also appearing via video-link was Prof. Leon Cooper, Nobel Prize winner for work on BCS theory, whogave a historical account of the research that led to the now well-accepted BCS theory. He explained that
his initial efforts in trying to understand and explain the energy gap using Feynmann Diagrams andrenormalization methods were unsuccessful, because he was unable to account for the small-digit energy
gains usually associated with a superconductivity transition at the origin. Whilst phonon exchanges alreadyalluded to electron attraction, he found problems associated with phonon exchanges with electrons on a
Fermi surface. He went on to comment that at time he had a direct sense that an overlapping cooper pairwould not simply lead to a Bose-Einstein Condensation. He concluded with a congratulatory message forthe 25th anniversary.

Prof. Allex Mueller (left) and Prof. Leon Cooper (right) presenting their 20 minute lectures andcongratulatory messages, appearing via video link during the morning plenary lectures.
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Following this, there were two lectures related to superfluidity in helium-3 which closely linked tosuperconductivity. Superconductivity is a phenomenon leading to a sudden decrease to zero electricalresistance in materials when they are cooled to cryogenic temperatures. Similarly, the superfluidity
phenomenon occurs when a liquid is cooled, losing its viscosity abruptly and producing a flow of liquid
without any hydrodynamic resistance. This behavior has been observed in helium-4 but was long thought
impossible
in helium-3. However, in 1972, Prof. D.M.Lee et al., discovered superfluidity in helium-3 at 34 atmospheresof pressure and at a temperature of 0.0026 K (2.6 mK). Prof. Lee presented his discovery of superfluidity inhelium-3 at this symposium. The transition temperature of helium-3 under ordinary atmospheric pressures
is around 1mK, much lower compared to helium-4. Helium-3 is a fermion consisting of three nucleons (oddnumber). The superfluidity transition temperature of helium-3 is much lower than helium-4 because afermion system does not reach its condensation state by itself. However, when two helium-3 particles are
paired they become bosons, potentially triggering a Bose-Einstein Condensation. Superfluidity in helium-3
can be considered to occur when pairs of helium atoms form a condensation state. In accordance with BCS
theory, fermion pairs have zero spin, however superfluidity of helium-3 exhibits internal degrees of freedom.
BCS theory explained that electrons formed pairs because of attractions triggered by electron- phononreciprocal interactions, however for helium-3, it was contemplated that the attractions occurred via spin
fluctuations. Prof. A.J.Leggett presented with the aid of detailed diagrams, pairing interactions caused byspin fluctuations.

Prof. Anthony James Leggett (left) and Prof. David Morris Lee (right) presenting
lectures on helium-3 superfluidity
Source: Wikipedia: Nobel Laureate Sir Anthony James Leggett in 2007.jpg、
Nobel Laureate David Morris Lee in 2007.jpg

Following this, Prof. Robert F. Curl, Jr. presented his lecture on fullerene C60. He confirmed the formationof large carbon chains or clusters by vaporizing an appropriate graphite target using laser irradiation. He
focused his experimental results on the mass peak of 720 (corresponding to C60 atoms) and the mass
peak of 840 (C70 atoms) followed, which led to his discovery and concluded its stability under an array ofconditions. This experimental finding established the formation of C60, but was unable to resolve structural
information. However, with repeated experiments he determined that C60 had to be spherical, but it was
not known precisely how C60 aligned to form a sphere. The Montreal Expos exhibition, with its
hemispherical dome that contained geometrical pentagons and hexagons, allowed Prof. Harry W. Kroto, co
Nobel-Prize winner with Prof. Robert F. Curl, Jr., to contemplate the structure of C60 and the alignment ofcarbon atoms. Today, C60 is well known as Buckminster Fullerene or Bucky balls. Other cage structures
such as elliptical shaped C70 were discovered and the family of structures referred to as “fullerenes”.

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Prof. Robert Floyd Curl, Jr. presenting his lecture on fullerene C60
Source: Rice University · James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy
Prof. Samuel C.C.Ting, who received the Novel Prize in Physics in 1976 for the discovery of the J/ψ meson
together with Prof. Burton Richter, presented the last plenary lecture at the session. Their experiments
involved irradiating a target using a strong proton beam, and by employing complex and precise
instrumentation they successfully detected showers of particles, leading to the discovery of new elementary
particles. Prof. Richter’s group named this new particle as a ψ particle, and Prof. Ting’s group named it a J
particle. The Greek character Ψ was chosen to represent the particle because its tracks resembled the psi
shape. One story tells that the ‘J’ was chosen because of its similarity to the Chinese character “丁” of Ting.
Despite this, both names have been adopted and it is now commonly referred to as the J/ψ meson. The
lectures emphasized that experiments were equally important as theory.
The following summarizes the plenary session program, listing the session chairs, names of presenters andlecture themes.

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Following the plenary lectures in the morning, the 25th Anniversary Luncheon was held with the following
congratulatory messages and speeches.
Ms. Sheila Jackson Lee, Texas-elected Congressman (US House of Representative) attended theluncheon. She praised the achievements and past research findings of TcSUH, also stressing theimportance of science and technology as well as future expectations of high temperature superconductors.
Additionally, messages were read on behalf of two US Senators, Kay Bailey Hutchinson and John Comyn.
After the address, representatives from the Governor of the state of Texas and Mayor of Houston city, Prof.
Neal F. Lane (Rice University), made a speech on behalf of the USA’s Science Community. At theconclusion, the author representing the International Community presented his congratulatory message
celebrating the 25th anniversary, reflecting on 25 years of superconductors and future expectations. The
lectures proved to be very fruitful.

Ms. Sheila Jackson Lee, US House of Representative, presents awards after her congratulatory message.
From the left, Prof. R.N. Bose (Vice Chanceller, University of Houston), Prof. C.W.Chu、Prof. Allan J.Jacobson (Director, TcSUH), Ms. Sheila Jackson Lee (US House of Representative)
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Lecture and congratulatory message by the author (Shiohara),
looking back over 25 years since the discovery of YBCO

During the afternoon sessions the following four panel discussions were held.

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Prof. Kitazawa (left) and Prof. D. Larbalestier(right) presenting lectures during theafternoon panel discussions

Prof. C.W.Chu (right), Prof.
Kitazawa (middle), and the author(left) at the Banquet

Invited participants from Japan included, Professor Koichi Kitazawa (JST), Shinichi Uchida (University ofTokyo) and the author.
(Published in a Japanese version in the December 2012 issue of Superconductivity Web 21)

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Topics: The 25th International Symposium on Superconductivity(ISS2012)
Toru Okazaki, Director
Public Relations Division
ISTEC

Opening remarks by the Chairperson of the ISS Organizing Committee, Kitazawa

The International Superconductivity Technology Centre (ISTEC) hosted the 25th International Symposiumon Superconductivity (ISS2012) at the Tower Hall Funabori (Edogawa-ku, Tokyo) between 3rd(Mon) 5th(Wed) December 2012. ISS is hel d annually to fa cilitate R&D discussions and foster international
exchanges in superconductor technology in both Japan and overseas. It is primarily aimed at thedevelopment of a superconductor industrial technology, its promotion and diffusion as well as educating thegeneral public. This year marks the 25th symposium. There were 507 participants in total, including 125
overseas participants from eighteen countries. Although the numbers of participants has slightly decreased,
the numbers of countries participating has increased with the addition of three more countries compared toprevious years, increasing sentiment of a broadening of superconductivity technology.
There were a total of 411 presentations, almost the same level as last year, and included 73 invited talks,
125 oral presentations and 286 poster presentations. Articles from the presentations are to be published in
Physics Procedia and a special issue of Physica C (both by Elsevier) after a peer review process. In parallel,an exhibition showcasing superconductor-related materials products and technologies took place with nine
corporates/institutions participating. In particular, new demonstrations included one by Tohoku University ofa seismic isolator, which employed the Meissner effect of bulk superconductors, as well as demonstrationsof science educational tools.
The first day was a special lecture session - the Professor Tanaka Memorial Day, dedicated to Professor
Shoji Tanaka, founder of ISTE C who passed away at the end of last year. This followed addresses by
Koichi Kitazawa, Chairperson of the ISS Organizing Committee, and a congratulatory message from invited
guest, Keiichi Kawakami, Deputy Director-General for Industrial Science and Technology and Environment,on behalf of th e Ministry of Eco nomy, Trade and Industry. The fo llowing are brief accounts of th epresentations (titles omitted).
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There were three special plenary lectures, the first entitled “Fukushima and electric power sharing in 23rd
century” by Koichi Kitazawa (Japan Science and Technology Agency); “Possible evidence forinterface-enhanced Tc in Fe-pnictides and -chalcogenides) by Paul Ching Wu Chu (University of Houston);“From Curprate to Iron-based Superconductors” by Zhongxian Zhao (Chinese Academy of Sciences).

Special plenary lecture “26 years of friendship just like cooper pairs”

There were seven plenary lectures and included, “Over 20 years’ R&D of HTS and LTS electronic devices
at SRL-ISTEC” by Keiichi Tanabe (ISTEC); “Superconducting devices to probe basic properties” by Tord
Claeson (Chalmers University of Technology);“Human levitation with bulk high temperature
superconductors” by Masato Murakami (Shibaura Institute of Technology); “Innovative roles of HTS in thiscentury – Development of DI-BSCCO-“ by Ryosuke Fukuda (Chubu University); “Does the electric power
grid need a room temperature superconductor?” by Alexis P. Malozemoff; “R&D of REBCO processing at
ISTEC; from bulk single crystals to coated conductors –In memory of Prof. Shoji Tanaka–“ by Yuh Shiohara(ISTEC); “Contributions by Prof. Tanaka for the development of superconducting power systems” by
Shirabe Akita (Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry).
The second and third days of the symposium saw oral presentations from four categories sub-divided as:
physics • chemistry/magnetic flux physics; wires • tapes/property evaluation; thin film•devices; systemapplications and large-scale system applications. There were also two poster sessions, allowing related
reports and discussions to be exchanged. The evaluation of conventional bulk•characteristics wereclassified into two categories dependent on their contents.
The closing session on the afternoon of third day summarized the categories; physics•chemistry•magnetic
flux physics reviewed by H.H.Wen (Nanjing University); wires•tapes reviewed by H.C.Freyhardt (University
of Goettingen); thin film•devices reviewed by Keiichi Tanabe (ISTEC); large scale system applications wasto be summarized by P.Masson, however he was unable to attend the symposium. Instead, the secretary
briefly reported only the number of presentations made in that category. Finally, the Steering Committee
Chairperson of ISS2012, Yutaka Kiyokawa (Executive Director of ISTEC) made the closing remarks.

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The next ISS meeting, ISS2013, will take place at Tower Hall Funabori (Edogawa-ku, Tokyo), for threedays between 18th (Mon) – 20th (Wed) November 2013.

Oral session

Poster session(Published in a Japanese version in the January 2013 issue of Superconductivity Web 21)

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Topics: ISTEC Exhibition at “Eco-Products 2012”
Minako Oka, Assistant Manager
Public Relations Division
SRL/ISTEC

Demonstration of bulk superconductor levitation (movie)

The 14th “Eco-Products 2012,” sponsored by Nikkei Inc., was held at the Tokyo Big Sight (Ariake, Koto-ku,
Tokyo) over three days from 13th – 15th December 2012. The sponsor reported that the exhibition was wellparticipated with 178,501. Although the number of visitors did not reach previous year’s total of 181,487, theexhibition was very dynamic with visitors ranging from elementary and junior high school students on field
trip excursions, to families and businessmen.
ISTEC exhibited at the “Smart Community Zone” last year. Last year’s exhibition format contained acartoon used to explain and promote superconductivity. It received positive reviews and comments such as,“very easy to understand” and “gained familiarity in superconductivity”. For this year’s exhibition we haveadopted a touch-panel style quiz, aimed at increasing public awareness of “the meaning ofsuperconductivity, improving their understanding,and increasing their retention of whatsuperconductivity is”.
Additionally, characters such as “Cho-den-ger(superconducteranger) and Suzu-chan, wereintroduced in order to draw interests from children.
Quiz questions were aimed at higher grades of
elementary school students as well as junior highschool students. Quiz participants were awarded“member certificate” stickers as a memento of
their involvement.

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Demonstrations of superconductors were present at previous exhibitions. However at this year’s exhibition,
superconducting levitation produced using superconducting wires was presented, and with tongs allowed
the public to experience and feel the phenomena of superconducting levitation for the first time. The
demonstrations had positive reviews with comments such as “I understood the concept ofsuperconductivity,” and “this is the only place to experience such demonstrations, which are otherwise
typically only exhibited in a corporate showcase.”

Quiz participants awards - “Timeranger Member Certificate”

The ISTEC booth too proved attractive to not only children but also grown-ups, with large crowds andparticipants exceeding 2,000.
ISTEC first participated at “Eco-Products,” Japan’s largest environmental exhibition, in 2007, with this being
ISTEC’s 6th event. Questions from attendees were more specific, “how eco-friendly can we become byutilizing superconductivity?” and “what future applications can be realized using superconductors?” Only a
few questions related to, “What is superconductivity?” A teacher attending the exhibition listened attentively;
he was going to teach superconductivity to his class.

Showing interest during thesuperconductivity demonstrations

Very popular boothExperiencing superconductivity
demonstrations(Published in a Japanese version in the January 2013 issue of Superconductivity Web 21)

Top of Superconductivity Web21
Spring, 2013

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Spring, 2013

Dateof Issue: April 15, 2013

Superconductivity Web21
Published by International Superconductivity Technology Center
1-10-13, Shinonome, Koto-ku, Tokyo 135-0062, Japan
T el: +81-3-3536-7283, Fax: +81-3-3536-5717

World Project Now for Superconductor

This year ISTEC has started special features on the current world projects for HTS superconductor
and its application.
This month, Dr. A. P. Malozemoff, introduces the US activity.
We hope that our readers of Web21 will be initiated by this a rticle not only for the research work but
also for a business plan.

ISTEC
Yutaka Yamada

Spring, 2013

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Spring, 2013

Dateof Issue: April 15, 2013

Superconductivity Web21
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1-10-13, Shinonome, Koto-ku, Tokyo 135-0062, Japan
T el: +81-3-3536-7283, Fax: +81-3-3536-5717

U. S. Activity in Superconductor Technology for Power Grid
A. P. Malozemoff,
37 Walnut St., Lexington MA 02421

Abstract
Projects for enhancing superconductor wire performance and carrying out technology demonstrations ofelectric power grid equipment continue actively in the U. S., involving a number of wire, cable, motor andtransformer manufacturers and utilities, with support from several U. S. government agencies. The U. S.
leads the world in supplying commercial second generation high temperature superconductor wire,
principally from AMSC and SuperPower, and a number of other entrepreneurial wire development efforts
are under way. But U. S. activity in superconductor wire and power grid technology was significantly
impacted by the termination of the U. S. D epartment of En ergy’s program on superconducting power
equipment, which had for almost two decades been the center point of th e U. S. ef fort in this area.
Ongoing focus on applications, both government-supported and commercial is still needed, assisting thegrowing U. S. (and worldwide) industry in bridging to a future flourishing commercial superconductor power
equipment market.

Introduction and Overview
This report summarizes the status and future prospects for U. S. activity in superconductor electric power
grid technology, building on a recent major report by Wolsky, [1] which provides a thorough review of bothcompanies and specific projects in this area.
The focus here is on power grid technology based on high temperature superconductor (HTS) wire using
the cuprate superconductors[2], particularly first generation (1G) Bi2Sr2Ca2Cu3O10 (BSCCO-2223) andsecond generation (2G) RE1Ba2Cu3O7 (REBCO-123, where RE stands for rare earths and yttrium), and toa small extent on MgB2 wire , which is b eing considered for fault current limiter and rotating machine
applications. Although all these types of superconductor wires can address magnet applications, likemagnetic resonance imaging, high energy physics and high field research magnets, such applications will
not be considered here except insofar as they provide an additional market pull for superconductor wire.
Seen as a whole, the U. S. activity in superconductor grid technology leads the world in its scope and levelof sophistication. It has the world’s two leading suppliers of second generation (2G) high temperature
superconductor (HTS) wire, AMSC and SuperPower. The world’s most advanced HTS cable installation,
the LIPA cable, which has operated since 2008 in the Long Island grid and originally used 1G wire, is now
introducing 2G wire in one of its three phases. The world’s most advanced HTS rotating machine, a 36
MW ship propulsion motor, was demonstrated by the U. S. Navy’s Office of Naval Research (ONR) alreadyin 2008. Major projects are under way to install the world’s first fault current limiting cable in the New York
City grid and to develop a 5 MW cu rrent limiting transformer. These and many other presently active
projects are summarized in Table I.
AMSC, Boeing, Emerson Electric, General Electric, Southwire, Varian Power Systems and Waukesha
Electric Systems are the main U. S.-headquartered industrial participants, along with smaller companies,

Spring, 2013

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Spring, 2013

Dateof Issue: April 15, 2013

Superconductivity Web21
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some focused on wire such as Grid Logic, Hyper Tech Research, MetOx, Superconductor Technologies Inc.
(STI) and 3G-HTS, and some focused on coils and systems, such as Advanced Magnet Lab, BEW
Engineering, Empirical Systems A erospace, and T ai-Yang. The m ain participating U. S. utiliti es are
American Electric Power, Con Edison, the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) and Southern California
Edison. Governmental funding support is pr ovided by the U. S. Dep artments of Defense, Energy andHomeland Security and by NASA. The U. S. activity is further enhanced by relevant R&D in several
national laboratories (Argonne, Brookhaven, Los Alamos and Oak Ri dge) and in ma ny universities,
particularly the Applied Superconductivity Center and Center for Advanced Power Systems at Florida State
University, and t he Texas Center for S uperconductivity at the University of H ouston. Superconductor
power applications are studied and promoted by the Coalition for Commercial Applications ofSuperconductivity (CCAS), EPRI’s Program 36 on Underground T ransmission and t he IEEE W orking
Group on Fault Current Limiter Testing.
Of course it should be recognized that a significant portion of the present U. S. activity is conducted by U. S.
companies owned by foreign companies (SuperPower Inc. now owned by Furukawa Electric Co. of Japanand TECO-Westinghouse owned by TECO of Taiwan - Republic of China), by U. S. divisions of foreigncompanies (ABB of Switzerland), dire ctly by foreign companies (Nexans and Air Liqu ide of France), or bypartially foreign-owned joint ventures (Ultera, a joint venture of Southwire Company of the U. S. a nd nkt
cables of Denmark).

Challenges
Nevertheless, some clouds have arisen in recent years around the future of U. S. s uperconductor gridtechnology. One was the te rmination of the almost two-decade-long U. S. De partment of Energy (DOE)
program, by its Office of Electricity, on superconductor power equipment, which promoted in an organized
way the development of HTS wire and the formation of vertically integrated industrial teams to demonstratein-grid superconductor power equipment. This program supported the key LIPA, Columbus-Bixby andAlbany cable demonstrations (the first still active, Albany long since decommissioned, and Columbus-Bixby
project expected to conclude at the end of 2012). It also supported the development of fault current limitertechnology, culminating in the successful demonstration of a single phase transmission voltage fault current
limiter by Siemens, Nexans and AMSC. One reason for the termination of the program was the sense thatthe technology was sufficiently established to a llow industry to ca rry forward commercialization without
further government support.
While this may be true for superconductor AC cable and fault current limiter technology, it is not true forsome other major commercial opportunities such as superconductor generators for wind turbines,
transformers and DC cables for long distance power transmission. Furthermore, while HTS and MgB2
wire have reached performance levels adequate for commercial-scale power equipment demonstrations,further improvement in wire properties and reduction in cost could significantly assist commercialization andcould benefit by on-going co-ordinated, government-sponsored research.
Another program supported by the U. S. Ai r Force Office for Scientific Research (AFOSR), the MURI
program on underlying materials science of HTS wire technology, was also terminated several years ago,
while a new AFOSR program was started to search for higher temperature - ideally room temperature superconductors. Similarly at DOE, as their power equipment program terminated, a new Energy Frontier
Research Center (EFRC) program was started to search for and characterize new superconductors - theSpring, 2013

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Dateof Issue: April 15, 2013

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Center for Emerging Superconductivity (CES) supported by DOE’s Basic Energy Sciences Department.
One of the und erlying rationales for this ne w focus on discovery of higher temperature superconductors,
both by AFOS R and EFRC-CES, was the idea that truly successful grid application required a r oom
temperature superconductor so as to e liminate refrigeration cost a nd complexity. This perspective has
been challenged by those w ho believe that present HTS mat erials are already well on th eir way tosuccessful commercial grid application. In fact questions have been raised, not only about the difficulty of
discovering a room temperature superconductor, but also about the practicality of such a superconductor,
even if it could be found, on the general grounds that very short coherence lengths and thermal activation
would increase grain boundary barriers and enhance flux creep, thus suppressing critical current.[3] Morerecently, CES introduced a new effort to understand flux creep and enhance critical current in the cuprates,with particular focus on operating conditions of a wind generator.
Another disappointment has been that the U. S. Navy put on hold superconductor motor development forelectric ships, delaying, perhaps indefinitely, the opportunity to test the successfully laboratory-tested 36 MW
ship propulsion motor on a ship. Interest persists at a low level in the U. S. Air Force in a high-speed
ultra-compact generator for all-electric aircraft.
Finally, perhaps the biggest disappointment has been the lack of any truly commercial U. S. power projectto date. Recognizing that the wire price is still quite high and that refrigeration systems are also costly andcomplex, utilities nevertheless may benefit commercially from the unique benefits of HTS power equipment.
For example, superconductor AC cables, such as the LIPA cable, have now been well demonstrated andtested around the world. In urban environments with dense underground infrastructure, these cables offer
a way to install compact, higher power underground links, allowing utilities to avoid major costs in digging up
city streets and rerouting existing underground infrastructure. Reasons for the delay in taking advantage ofthis new technology for such applications can be many. The Great Recession and the ensuing weak
recovery temporarily slowed growth of power demand and hence the urgency in the need for higher power
urban links. The utilities’ unfamiliarity with the technology is surely a factor, though in-grid installations suchas the LIPA and Bixby cables are beginning to provide demonstrations of feasibility and long-term reliability.
Cost tradeoffs are also a significant issue – installation savings must be substantial enough to outweigh thepresently higher cost of the HTS cabl e itself with its refrigeration infrastructure. Similar issues apply toother applications such as r otating machinery and fault current limiters. And the technology for wind
generators, transformers or DC
cables, as mentioned above, isstill insufficiently developed ordemonstrated; these applications call for renewed focus.

Projects
Nevertheless, a variety of important programs continue in the U. S., as summarized in Tables I and II. On
the wire side, both AMSC and SuperPower maintain active in-house and collaborative R&D to support andenhance their commercial wire production, and their sales are steadily growing. For instance, AMSC
continues to deliver 2G HTS wire on it s 2010 order from LS Cable (K orea) for 3 million meters (delivery
spread out over several years), which is the world’s largest wire order to date. Hyper Tech Research isdelivering MgB2 wire to a 12 kV fault current limiter project of Rolls Royce and Applied Superconductivity Ltd.
in the U. K. Several new wire development and manufacturing efforts are underway at Grid Logic (MgB2),
MetOx (2G HTS), STI (2G HTS) and 3G-HTS (round wire with YBCO). Although these latter companies
are far behind AMSC and SuperPower in establishing viable 2G HTS production, they claim long-term
advantages to their 2G HTS wire processes; time will tell.

Spring, 2013

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Spring, 2013

Dateof Issue: April 15, 2013

Superconductivity Web21
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1-10-13, Shinonome, Koto-ku, Tokyo 135-0062, Japan
T el: +81-3-3536-7283, Fax: +81-3-3536-5717

Several U. S. government projects support U. S. companies in wire development (Table II). ARP A-E, arelatively new branch of DOE su pporting innovative energy technologies, has a series of projects
developing enhanced or novel HTS wire. The EFRC-CES program, mentioned earlier, works with AMSC
and SuperPower. Wh ile these programs are helpful, they can hardly replace the co-ordinated effort
sponsored by DOE’s superconductor power equipment program, supporting major efforts at Oak Ridgeand Los Alamos National Laboratories which have now all but disappeared.
In the area of applications (see Table I), perhaps most significant is the Hydra project by AMSC an d Con
Edison to install a fault current limiting AC cable linking two substations in New York City at the distribution
voltage (13.8 kV) level. This project is supported by the Department of Homeland Security with the goal ofincreasing security for critical assets like New York’s financial district by providing alternative energy links tothe substation powering a given district. The cable is being fabricated by Ultera and refrigeration system
by Air Liquide. Two other projects target DC cable: a Navy project led by the Center for Advanced Power
Systems (CAPS) to study and build a prototype DC cable for on-board ship power distribution, and thecommercial Tres Amigas project to link the three main asynchronous U. S. power grids with DC cables (inthe first stage with conventional technology, only later with HTS).
Another major project is the Fault Current Limiting Superconducting Transformer project led by Waukesha
Electric Systems, with SuperPower and Southern California Edison (SCE) as partners. The 28 MVA (69kV/12.47 kV) syst em features compactness, fault cu rrent limiting and avoidance of o il for enhanced fire
safety. It will be tested in the SCE grid. A standalone superconducting resistive fault current limiter is also
being developed in an internal program at Varian Power Systems. AMSC and Nexans are teaming tooffer distribution level superconductor fault current limiters for the U. S. market.
Wind generator technology is sup ported by DOE’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
department in a multi-party program led by Advanced Magnet Lab (AML). GE, including its recently
acquired Converteam subsidiary in the U. K., also has ongoing internal interest in superconductor generator
technology. Unfortunately no U. S. pr ogram is yet ap plying the most advanced rotating machinery
technology, which was demonstrated in the Navy’s ONR 36.5 MW ship propulsion motor, to high power
wind generators.
A project led by ABB, including Br ookhaven National Lab and S uperPower and supported by ARP A-E, isdeveloping a magnetic energy storage system (SMES). The goal is storage of intermittent wind and solar
energy, though the presently funded phase of the project is limited to design and a coil demonstration. A
frequently cited application of SMES is voltage dip and sag protection to sensitive grid and industrial gridsites, but over a decade ago AMSC had fielded nine in-grid commercial SMES systems (using LTS) for thispurpose; these were in fact the world’s first commercial superconductor products for the power grid. But
AMSC finally terminated this product in favor of a now widely used and lower cost power-electronic solution
providing just reactive (out-of-phase) power. One other energy storage project at Boeing, supported by
ARPA-E, focuses on flywheel storage using superconducting bearings.
Several other non-grid-focused U. S. government programs provide market pull for superconductor wire:
the DOE High Energy Physics program supporting HTS wire development for future particle accelerators,
the National Institutes of Health interest in ultra-high field HTS-based NMR, and the National Science
Foundation’s 32 T HTS-based user magnet for the National High Field Magnet Laboratory.

Spring, 2013

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Spring, 2013

Dateof Issue: April 15, 2013

Superconductivity Web21
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T el: +81-3-3536-7283, Fax: +81-3-3536-5717

Conclusion
In conclusion, over the last two decades, U. S. companies and government have made huge investments
developing superconductor wire and power grid equipment in expectation of a ma jor commercial market
and need for such superconductor power equipment. The wire is now available and many applications
are well demonstrated. The industry is poised to grow. Government support is still very important to help
perfect the wire and demonstrate other important applications, helping the industry bridge to the opening ofthat commercial market.
Table I. Sponsored U. S.-Based Power Systems Projects
Project
SponsorApplication

Title

Technical Targets

Status, Target

MemberBudget, Period

SourceCable

138kV/2.4kA, 600m 3-phase
LIPA HTS Cable I cable system in-grid, Phase I
and II
with 3 1G HTS cables, Phase II
with 1 2G HTS cable

In operation
since 2008, AMSC(lead),Ne $49 M, 2003Phase II
xans, Air
2011; $0.2 M,
complete
Liquide, LIPA
2012
2012

Wolsky 2012

DHS

Cable

AMSC (lead),
25m test
Resilient Electrical 13.8 kV/4 kA, 170 m, 3-phase
Con Edison,completed, full
$29 M, 2007Grids (Project
coaxial fault-current-limiting
Ultera, Air
cable being
2014
Hydra)
cable to be installed in NYC grid.
Liquide, Altran,
fabricated
ORNL

Wolsky 2012

Tres
AmigasLLC

DC CableTres Amigas Super
StationDC power transfer between 3
main U. S. interconnects; firstphase not superconducting

Raising funds

Tres Amigas
LLC

TBD

Wolsky 2012;
http://www.tresamigas
llc.com/location.php

DOD
ONR

DC CableSuperconducting
DC CableStudy of helium-cooled DC
superconducting cable forwarship power; demo of 1 kV 30
m monopole cable

Underway

CAPS,
Southwire,
NSWC$5M, 20072013

Wolsky 2012

DOE
Smart
Grid

Transformer

Fault Current
Limiting
Superconducting
Transformer

28MVA, 3-phase (69kV/12.47kV)
Waukeshawith current limiting, 2G HTS(lead),
Design under
wire, Smart Grid
SuperPower,
develop-ment
commun./control, in-grid test
SCE, ORNL,
starting by end 2013
TCSUH

DOE
EERE

Wind generator

Performance tests of specific
Fully
Superconducting drivetrain components, build anddemonstrate a sub-scale system
Direct-Drive
Generator for Large and complete detailed design for
10 MW, using MgB2 conductor
Wind Turbines

case study

NASA

Rotating
machineHigh-Fidelity Sizing
Model for high-power
Model forsuperconducting machines forSuperconducting electrical generators and turboRotating Machines
electric propulsion fans.

StartedDOE OE

DOE
ARPA-E

DOE
ARPA-E

AML, Emerson
Electric,
Phase I $0.7 M,
Argonne,Phase II $2.5
Creare, BEW M, 2012-2014
Engineering

Wolsky 2012

AML, Boeing,
Empirical
Systems
Aerospace$0.9 M,
2011.6.132014

Wolsky 2012

ABB (lead),
Brookhaven
Nat'l Lab,
SuperPower$4.2M,
2010.10.12013.9.30

Wolsky 2012,
http://arpae.energy.gov/?q=arpae-projects /magneticenergy-storagesystem

Designcomplete,assembly
underway,
June 2012

BoeingResearch &Technology$2.3 M,
2010.10.12013.9.30

Wolsky 2012,https://www.uaf.edu/fi
les/acep/BoeingFlywh
eelOverview_06_20_201
2.pdf

SMES

Magnetic Energy
Storage System

Storage using ultra high field
HTS magnets, for storing
first wireintermittent wind and solardelivered, coil
power, technology demonstration trial begun
only in first phase

Flywheel

Grid-Scale
RampableIntermittent
Dispatchable
Storage (GRIDS)

In-grid demonstration of flywheel
energy storage system withadvanced fiber technology andsuperconducting bearings

Spring, 2013$21.5M
Wolsky 2012,($10.7M from http://www.smartgrid.g
ov/sites/default/files/
DOE),
waukesha-oe00002442010.2.1final.pdf
2015.1.31© ISTEC 2013 All rights reserved.

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Dateof Issue: April 15, 2013

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Table II. U. S. Sponsored Wire Projects
Project
SponsorApplication

Wire

DOE ARPA-E

DOE BES

Wire and
Coils

Title

Technical Targets

Improved
Superconducting
Wire for Wind
Generators

Higher current 2G HTS wire
TM
(RABiTS -MOD process) withseveral fold reduction in costand minimal rare earth, for directdrive wind generators

Low-Cost
Superconducting
Wires for HighPower Wind
Generators

Engineer nanoscale defects insuperconducting film: focus on
IBAD-MOCVD REBaCuO films,
quadruple current relative totoday's wire [3000 A/12mmwidth (30K, 2.5T), $36/kAm]

Status, Target

StartedStartedWire

Low-Cost HighTemperature
Superconducting
Wires

Novel wire process using finesuperconducting MgB2 particles
in metal matrix

Announced
2012.12.19

New
Superconductors
and Wire

Center for
Emergent Superconductivity: an
Energy Frontier
Research Center

Finding new superconducting
materials, understanding
mechanism of HTS, controllingvortex matter to raise 2G HTS
critical current

Ongoing

Members

BNL (lead),
AMSC

Budget, Period

Source$1.5 M,
2012.1.12013.12.31

http://arpa‐
e.energy.gov/?q=arpa‐
e‐projects /improved‐
superconducting‐wire‐
wind‐generators

UH(lead),SuperPower,
TECO, TaiYang, NREL

http://arpa‐$3.1 M (phase e.energy.gov/?q=arpa‐
I, 80% funded),e‐projects/low‐cost‐2012.2.22superconducting‐wire‐2014.12.31
wind‐generators

Grid Logic

http://arpa‐
e.energy.gov/?q=arpa‐
e‐news‐item/arpa‐e‐awards‐130‐million‐66‐transformational‐
energy‐technology‐
projects$3.8 M

BNL (lead),
http://science.energy.g
ANL, UIUC, $22M (phase I),
ov/bes/efrc/centers/ce
LANL, AMSC,
2009-2013
s/; Wolsky 2012
SuperPower

References[1] A. M. W olsky, “Today’s Activity in the U. S. to Make Economical Superconductor, and Equipment
Incorporating It, for the Power Sector”, work done for and sponsored by the signatories of the International Energy
Agency Implementing Agreement for a Cooperative Programme for Assessing the Imp acts of High-Temperature
Superconductivity on the Electric Power Sector, International Energy Agency, Nov. 2012, (3 January 2013, 154
pages).
[2] A. P. Malozemoff, “Second Generation High-Temperature Superconductor Wire for the Electric PowerGrid”, Annual Reviews of Materials Research 42 (2012), pp. 373-397.
[3] A. P. Malozemoff, “Electric Power Grid Application Requirements for Superconductors”, MRS Bulletin 36(2011), pp. 601-7.
(Published in a Japanese version in the April 2013 issue of Superconductivity Web 21)

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What’s New in the World of Superconductivity(February, 2013)초전도 뉴스 –세계의 동향超电导新闻 -世界的动向chāo diàn dǎo xīnwén

- shìjiè de dòngxiàng-

Yutaka Yamada, Principal Research Fellow
Superconductivity Research Laboratory, ISTEC★News sources and related areas in this issue►Power Application

전력응용电力应用 [diànlì yìngyòng]$30 Million Order From Inox WindAMSC (February 11, 2013)
AMSC has received an order for wind turbine electrical controls systems (ECS) from Inox Wind Limited(India) valued at over US $30 million. AMSC expects to begin shipments during the current fiscal quart er,
with the last delivery occurring in 2014. The order is the fifth, and largest, that AMSC has received from Inox
Spring, 2013

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since Inox began volume production of its 2-MW wind turbines, which were licensed from AMSC in May
2009. The ECS consist of an integrated, high-performance suite of power electronic systems that include
the wind turbine power converter cabinet, an internal power supply, and various controls, enabling reliable,
high-performance operation by controlling power flow, regulating voltage, monitoring system performance,and controlling the pitch of the wind turbine blades and the yaw of the turbines to maximize efficiency.
Source: “AMSC Receives $30 Million Follow-On Order From Inox Wind”
AMSC press release (February 11, 2013)
URL:
http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/AMSC/2362775124x0x634754/e7d6063e-46e5-43e9-a7cc-22318b
e33dd2/AMSC_News_2013_2_11_Commercial.pdf
Contact: Kerry Farrell, kerry.farrell@amsc.com

►Wire

선 재료

缐材料 [xiàn cáiliào] ►Basics

기초 基础[jīchǔ]IBAD, SDP, RCE-CDR Machines for 2G Wire Now in
Operation
Superconductor Technologies Inc. (February 21, 2013)
Superconductor Technologies Inc. (STI) h as completed the installation of its equipment suite required forthe production of Conductus® 2G HTS wire at its Advanced Manufacturing Center of Excellence facility inAustin, Texas. All the 2G HTS wire pilot production equipment is now operational and is in various stages ofprocess implementation. The three machines required to produce HTS wire are operational and achieving
the expected functional milestones: the IBAD system is presently being used at full production and had
achieved record results as of January 2013, the SDP system has been used to complete initial pilot
production runs of 50-m lengths and 10-cm widths, and the RCE-CDR system has been installed and its
first process run was completed in February 2013. The first Conductus wire to be completely fabricated at
the Austin facility was recently shipped and is now being used to test a superconducting motor application.
In January, STI achieved the product requirements for a l ow-temperature, high-infield superconducting
magnet application by achieving a performance of more than 2500 A/cm a t 4 K. Successful testing at
magnetic field strengths of greater than 14 T has also been achieved.
Source: “STI Conductus 2G HTS Wire Pilot Production Equipment Now Operational”
Superconductor Technologies Inc. press release (February 21, 2013)
URL: http://phx.corporate-ir.net/staging/phoenix.zhtml?c=70847&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1787327&highlight
Contact: Investor Relations, Cathy Mattison or Becky Herrick of LHA for Superconductor Technologies Inc.,
invest@suptech.com, ; HTS Wire, Mike Beaumont of STI, mbeaumont@suptech.com

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Engineered Multilayer pushes up Critical Current
University of Wisconsin-Madison (March 3, 2013)
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Florida State University, and the University ofMichigan have artificially engineered a unique multilayer material that could lead to breakthroughs in bothsuperconductivity research and real-world applications. The researchers have been able to tailor a material
that seamlessly alternates between metal oxide layers to achieve extraordinary superconducting properties,
such as the ability to transport much more electrical current than non-engineered materials. Specifically, theresearchers engineered and measured the superlattice properties of pnictide superconductors. A
superlattice is a complex, regularly repeating geometric arrangement of atoms in layers of t wo or morematerials. The new material created by the r esearch team co nsists of 24 la yers alternating between apnictide superconductor and a layer of o xide strontium titanate. The group was a ble to achieve an
atomically sharp interface at each region where the two materials meet, with each atom in each layer
precisely placed, spaced, and arranged in a regularly repeating crystal structure. The resulting material
exhibited improved current-carrying capabilities. As the superlattice was grown, the researchers intentionallyadded a small amount of oxygen to create vertical and planar defects every few nanometers; these defects,
in turn, act as vertical and planar pinning centers, since vortices created by magnetic fields can occur inmany different orientations. Chang-Beom Eom, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, hopes
to expand on the success achieved thus far, commenting, “There's a need to engineer superlattices forunderstanding fundamental superconductivity, for potential use in high-field and electronic devices, and toachieve extraordinary properties in the syst em.” This material offers those possibilities." The group’s work
has been published in the advance online edition of Nature Materials.
Source: “Man-made material pushes the bounds of superconductivity”
University of Wisconsin-Madison press release (March 3, 2013)
URL: http://www.news.wisc.edu/21555
Contact: Renee Meiller, meiller@engr.wisc.edu

Vortex Pinning Leading Superconducting Breakthroughs
Argonne National Laboratory (February 12, 2013)
An international team of r esearchers from Argonne National Laboratory and institutions in Russia, Spain,
Belgium, and the U.K. has a nnounced findings that may represent a breakthrough in superconductivity
applications. The group has discovered a method of efficiently stabilizing tiny magnetic vortices that interferewith superconductivity, potentially removing a significant roadblock to advances in superconductor
technology. The group applied a hi gh magnetic field to a ver y thin (50 nm) low-temperature
superconducting wire capable of only accommodating a sin gle row of m agnetic vortices, causing thevortices to crowd together in long clusters and stop moving. Further increases in the magnetic field restored
the material’s superconductivity, rather than destroying it. The group then carved a superconducting film into

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an array of holes so that only a few vortices could squeeze between the holes, where they remained
captures and unable to interfere with the current. As a result, the resistance of the superconductor dropped
dramatically at temperatures and magnetic fields at which no one has ever been able to pin vortices before.
The results were described as “quite striking”, and the team is now considering applying this approach toother types of superconductors. The group’s results have been published in Nature Communications.
Source: “Vortex pinning could lead to superconducting breakthroughs”
Argonne National Laboratory press release (February 12, 2013)
URL: http://www.anl.gov/articles/vortex-pinning-could-lead-superconducting-breakthroughs
Contact: Louise Lerner, media@anl.gov►Basics기초 基础[jīchǔ]First Three-year Results of LHC Running
CERN (February 14, 2013)
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has successfully completed its first 3-year running period during which it
has enabled major advances in physics, including the discovery of a new particle thought to be thelong-sought Higgs boson (as announced in July 2012). As of the last weeks of its run, over 100 petabytes ofdata had been stored in the CERN mass-storage systems, a data volume equivalent to roughly 700 yearsof full HD-quality movies. The LHC w ill now begin its first long shutdown period, known as LS1, during
which major consolidations and maintenance work will be performed. The LHC will also be readied forhigher energy running, and the experiments will undergo essential maintenance. Operation is scheduled toresume in 2015. Steve Myers, CERN’s Director for Accelerators and Technology, commented, “There is agreat deal of consolidation work to do on CERN’s whole accelerator complex, as well as the LHC itself.
We’ll essentially be rebuilding the interconnections between LHC magnets, so when we resume running in
2015, we will be able to operate the machine at its design energy of 7 TeV per beam”. The LHC exceeded
expectations during its first three-year run, producing significantly more data than initially foreseen. As of thelast recording of high energy proton-proton data in December 2012, the ATLAS and CMS experiments had
each recorded around 30 inverse femtobarns of data. Much of this data will be analyzed during LS1. During
the first weeks of its operation in 2013, the LHC was used to collide prot ons with lead ions as part of aprogram to understand matter as it would have existed immediately after the Big Bang.
Source: “First three-year LHC running period reaches a conclusion”
CERN press release (February 14, 2013)
URL:
http://press.web.cern.ch/press-releases/2013/02/first-three-year-lhc-running-period-reaches-conclusion
Contact: press.office@cern.ch(Published in a Japanese version in the April 2013 issue of Superconductivity Web 21)
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Tel: +81-3-3536-7283, Fax: +81-3-3536-5717

Feature Articles: Technological Development of Superconducting
Power Equipment- Trends of Superconducting Power Equipment Development
Takeshi Ohkuma, Director
Electric Power Equipment Division
SRL/ISTECIn Japan, the research and development of superconducting power equipment has been progressed
mainly by projects sponsored by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the New Energy andIndustrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO). Current undertakings include the “Technological
Development of Y-based Superconducting Power Equipment (M-PACC: Material and Power Applicationsof Coated Conductors)” project (FY2008-FY2012) and the “High Temperature Superconductor Cable
Verification Project,” which employs Bi-based superconducting wires (FY2007-FY2013). FY2012 marks animportant year for those projects in Japan.
For the “High Temperature Superconductor Cable Verification Project”, the construction of not only thecable itself, but also a 6 6 kV 200 MVA-class cable system that integrates technologies from both Bi-based
superconducting wires and refrigeration is targeted. A verification test utilizing an actual 66 kV power grid
network has been planned to comprehensively verify the integral reliability of the entire superconducting
power cable system, including operation and maintenance. This marks Japan’s first demonstrations of asuperconducting cable operating in actual power grids, which commenced on 29 October 2012.
The “Technological Development of Y-based Superconducting Power Equipment” project ultimately aims to
supply cities with large amounts of stable electricity using superconducting power equipment. Based on theprocess technology established to fa bricate Y-based superconducting wires, the project has b een
progressed towards the realization of su perconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES) devices,transmission power cables and transformers applications. 2012 marks the final year of the project. Whilst
the establishment of a reliable and tolerant coiling technology is planned for SMES, system feasi bility trials
are scheduled for both the transmission power cables and transformers.
Overseas R&D efforts in this area has seen the USA has advanced SMES development as part of the
DOE ARPA-E project, leading towards the development of a 3.4 MJ-cl ass SMES em ploying Y-based
superconducting wires, which has been ongoing since 2011. In 2012, China also launched a 4-year SMES
project involving Y-based superconducting wires.
For superconducting cables, the LIPA p roject in the USA plans to replace one of the three phases of a
138kV/2.4kA-600m-class single-core type Bi-based demonstration test ca ble with a Y-b asedsuperconducting cable. In the HYDRA project for example, a 13.8kV/4kA-170m-class three-phase tri-axial
Y-based superconducting cable has been developed and plans to test this cable in a live grid in 2014. In
Korea, the DAPAS project has dem onstrated testing of a 22.9kV/1.26kA-410m-class three-cores in one
pipe type, Y-based superconducting cable in li ve grids. Future plans are the development of an
80kV/3.12kA-500m-class DC cable and a 154 kV-1km-class AC ca ble, to be installed to a liv e grid. A
1.3kV/10kA-360m-class DC cable based on Bi superconducting wires has been undergoing testing at a site
in the Henan province of China. The AmpaCity project in Germany has developed a 10kV/2.3kA-1km-class
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three-phase tri-axial cable (including cable-to-cable joint), and proposals for its install ation to live grids
combined with a Y-based fault current limiter are planned for 2013. Russia plans to demonstrate testing of
its 20kV-2.5km-class DC cable at a substation in Moscow.
One development of a superconducting transformer is the Smart Grid Demo project sponsored by the DOE,
USA, which plans to develop a 69kV/12.47kV-class three-phase Y-based superconducting transformer
equipped with fault current limiting capabilities and install this to a live power grid.
With regards to fault current limiters, Nexans has developed a 12kV/1kA-class resistive fault current limiterbased on Bi-based wires, and performed demonstration tests in live grids as part of Europe’s ECCOFLOW
project. The future plans are demonstration tests i n live grids of a 16.5kV/1kA-class as w ell as
24kV/1kA-class resistive fault current limiter employing Y-based coated conductors instead. The AmpaCity
project has be en developing a 10kV/2.3kA-class resistive fault current limiter based on Y-based coatedconductors and proposals to combine it with th e superconducting cable and install the entire system to alive grid are planned for 2013. Whilst Italy has been developing a 9kV/220A-class resistive Bi-based fault
current limiter and performed demonstration tests in li ve grids, Germany has developed a
6.4kV/13MVA-class magnetic shield type Y-based single-phase fault current limiter. It now plans to develop
a three-phase current fault limiter and install this into a live grid. Korea’s DAPAS project has also performed
demonstration testing of its 2 2.9kV/630A-class fault current limiter in a live grid. Their future plans are todevelop a 154kV/2kA-class fault current limiter and install this to a live grid. Innpower, China, has developed
and performed demonstrations in live grids of a 35kV/1.5kA-class as well as a 220kV/800A-classsaturated-iron-core-type Bi-based fault current limiter.
This report serves as the main summary of the recent trends in superconducting power equipment in Japanand overseas. The current development statuses of individual equipment under the “Technological
Development of Y-based Superconducting Power Equipment” project are introduced in t he following
feature articles.
(Published in a Japanese version in the December 2012 issue of Superconductivity Web 21)

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Feature Articles: Technological Development of Superconducting
Power Equipment- Progress in the Development of High Voltage Superconducting Power
Cable Technology
Masashi Yagi
Power Transmission Group, HTS Project Team,FURUKAWA ELECTRIC Co., Ltd.
As a part of the M-PACC project, since 2008, we have been developing YBCO superconducting cables
exhibiting high electrical capacity equivalent to 275 kV-3 kA overhead transmission lines. The project goals
are to achieve low losses less than 0.8 W/m and to keep the external diameter less than 150 mm, which
are far more compact than XLPE cables that are typical conventional ones. Compared to the three lines of
275 kV XLPE cables, the 275 kV superconducting cables only need a single line at the same capacity,whereas the transmission losses are 1/4~1/5 of those of the XLPE cables, even including refrigerator power
losses.
A two-layer conductor consisted of 60 pieces of narrow 3 mm-wide YBCO superconducting tapes that wereobtained through a las er-slitting and copper-plateing to improve their stability. A single-layer s hield, on theother hand, consisted of 43 pi eces of 5 mm-wide copper-plated YBCO tapes. The YBCO layer in the
superconducting tapes was based on TFA-MOD process, confirming its r eliability by measurements ofcritical current (Ic) distribution in the longitudinal direction as well as measurements of each Ic over the entire
50 m-length. The 50 m cable was fabricated assembling these YBCO tapes, as shown in Figure 1. The Ic in
the conductor and shield layer were expected to be around 6000A at 77.3K, thereby having sufficient AC
capacity of 3000A (4242A at peak). The cables with lengths of 30 m and 20 m were used for the long-term
verification tests and for various electrical tests, respectively.

Cu hollow former
HTS conductor
Insulation
HTS Shield

Vacuuminsulation
PE

Fig. 1 The structure and outline of 275kV-3kA YBCO superconducting cable

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Short-length cables from 20 m for electrical tests were used to confirm Ic, withstand voltage and over-current
characteristics. The measurements of Ic showed the expected designed performance, with conductor andshield Ic of 6440 A and 5920 A, respectively. Testing of the withstand voltage confirmed that the cables
were partial discharge free at the voltage of 310 kV and withstood 400 kV for 30 minutes. Also the testing ofover-current of 63 kA-0.6 sec, whic h was the worst case in th e 275 kV syste ms, did n ot cause Ic
degradation.
The 30 m superconducting cable, two terminations, an intermediate joint and three XLPE cables that wereused for the flowing current of 3 kA were constructed in Shenyang Furukawa Cable Ltd. located in China,
as shown in Fig. 2. The rapidly increasing energy demands in East Asian countries have focused attention
on superconducting technologies. Thus, testing in China was planned with the aim of incr easing Japan’sinternational cooperation and contributions to the world.
The Ic of the 3 0 m cable was me asured after its transportation and installation, confirming 6800A for the
conductor and 7000A for the shield at 77.3 K under atmospheric pressure, demonstrating no Ic degradation.
The long-term test has started since November 2012.
(The long-term tests had succ essfully completed at the end of December 2012, which verified 30-years
performance.)

Termination
Joint

30m HTS cable

Fig. 2 Placement of the 275kV-3kA superconducting cableThis research was commissioned by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development
Organization (NEDO).
(Published in a Japanese version in theDecember2012 issue of Superconductivity Web 21)

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Feature Articles: Technological Development of Superconducting
Power Equipment- Japan’s First Operation of “High Temperature Superconducting Cable
Systems” in Live Grids
Takato Masuda
Superconductivity Technology Department
Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.

66 kV-class superconducting cable (at Asahi Substation)

Under the “High Temperature Superconducting (HTS) Cable Demonstration Project,” undertaken bycommission from New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), Tokyo
Electric Power Company, Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd., and Ma yekawa Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
launched Japan’s first HTS ca ble demonstration in live grids at Tok yo Electric Power Company’s Asahi
Substation based in Yokohama.
The project aims a re to develop an i nnovative, highly efficient transmission technology by undertaking
demonstration tests of a HTS cable system operating in live grids, and verifying the total system reliability
including its construction, operation and maintenance.
The HTS cable developed in this project is a 66 kV, 200 MVA-class compact 3-in-One HTS cable. The
cable system, constructed at the Asahi Substation, consists of a 240 m-long superconducting cable, cableterminations, cable-to-cable joint and a cooling system.
Employing lower-AC loss DI-BSCCO wire developed by Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd., the project has
performed AC-loss verification trials of short lengths cable, including system reliability testing in the case of apower grid failure. Technological development has also been performed on the high currents connectionsof the system such as cable t erminations and cable-to-cable joint. Tokyo Electric Power Company has
designed and constructed the HTS cable system and operations/monitoring systems on-site, together withSpring, 2013

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construction of a protection/shut down system, allowing the connection and disconnection of HTS cables tothe existing power grid. Mayekawa Manufacturing Co., Ltd. was responsible for the design and constructionof the cooling system, as well as investigations into maintenance methods during its operation.
On the basis of the above-mentioned outcomes, a HTS cable system including its co oling system wasconstructed back in 2010-2011. After completion of the system, cooling tests were repeatedly performed toconfirm the performance characteristics of both the cable and cooling system. The system was successfully
connected to a live power grid on October 29, 2012. A ce remony was held to m ark the occasion withparticipants involved in the project on that day (Photo). After the ceremony, Japan’s first ever operation in alive power grid was launched with the HTS cable connected between the transformer and the 66kV bus at
the substation.

The Ceremony

Operations in a live grid will be un dertaken for one year or more and wi ll involve verification trials of thecable’s operability, reliability and stability.
(Published in a Japanese version in the December 2012 issue of Superconductivity Web 21)

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Feature Articles: Technological Development of Superconducting
Power Equipment- Progress in the Technological Development of Superconducting
Transformers
Hidemi Hayashi,
Power Storage Engineering Group Leader & Superconducting Transformer Sub-Leader,Research Laboratory, Kyushu Electric Power Co., Inc.
As part of the Yttrium-based superconducting power equipment technology development project (hitherto,
Y-based project), investigations of superconducting transformer technology has been undertaken by
Kyushu Electric Power Co., Inc., which leads a consortium collaboration between Kyushu University, Iwate
University, International Superconductivity Technology Center (ISTEC), Fujikura, Showa Cable Systems
Co., Ltd, Fuji Electric Co., Ltd, Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corporation and Japan Fine Ceramics Center (JFCC).
Research collaborations in com ponent and system tec hnologies have been progressed between the
periods of 2008-2012. The project has focused upon: (1) superconducting transformer wire development,(2) wire-winding technological development, (3) cryogenic system tech nological development, (4)technological development of fault-current limiting functionality, and (5) demonstration of a 2MVA-classsuperconducting transformer prototype. The technological development in e ach category has steadily
progressed towards its final aims and objectives as highlighted in Table 1.
Categories (1) and (4) of the Y-based project, which terminates in February 2013, were reported previously
by the author (Web 21, November 2011 issue). This article reports the current status of categories (3) and(5), which have now entered a crucial manufacturing and verification test stage.

Table 1 Ultimate Goals of the Superconducting Transformer Technology Development
Technology Development Category(1) Superconducting transformers wiredevelopment

Final goals
・ Stable manufacturing, Improvement of process technology(yield Improvement)
・Establishment of a 2kA-class wire winding technology(2) Wire-winding technological development(3) Cryogenic system technological development

・Wire windings with low AC loss of ≦1/3 (cf. wire fabricatedwithout a thinning process)・ Cooling capacity: 2kW@65K

・Coefficient of performance (COP): 0.06@80K(4) Technological development of fault-current
limiting functionality

・ Operational demonstration of several-hundred kVA-classtransformer equipped with current limiting function(Suppression of excess current less than three times rated)(5) Demonstration of a prototype 2MVA-classsuperconducting transformer

・ Demonstration of a prototype 66/6.9kV-2MVA transformer
with electric current application

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T el: +81-3-3536-7283, Fax: +81-3-3536-5717(3) Development of Cooling System Technology
It is deemed appropriate that a refrigerator operating between the ranges of 40-80 K with a cooling capacityof around 2-10 kW @ 80 K, is suitable to cool a superconducting transformer (Figure 1). The agreed goals
for the Y-based project are shown in Table 1, and technological progression of the cooling system achieved
using neon as the coolant gas (Figure 2).

Heat exchanger

Temperature
温度(K) (K)GM
cooler 100
GM冷凍機

Turbo compressor

neon
refrigerator

cooling capacity
高温超電導機器冷却
required for cooling HTSの必要冷凍能力
equipment

80
60
40

subcool liquid
nitrogencooling device

main heatexchanger

20

Pulse tube
ﾊﾟﾙｽ管冷凍機

065K

expansion
turbine

10 2

10 3
10 4
10 5
cooling
capacity（W)
冷凍能力(W)
Stirling cooler
Turbinecryocooler
ｽﾀｰﾘﾝｸﾞ冷凍機
ﾀ- ﾋﾞﾝ式冷凍機

heat
exchanging

refrigerator

made by IHI→made by TN

Fig. 1 Refrigerator cooling capabilities

LN pumpsuper-conducting
transformer

Fig. 2 Outline of cryogenic system

Thus far, efforts have focused upon the development of a new turbo-compressor, which forms the main
component of the r efrigerator, improving the expansion turbine and investigating refrigeration processes.
The results have confirmed that both the compressor and the expansion turbine efficiency have exceeded
the target value of 65 %, set at an interim period over 2 ye ars ago (Figure 3). Additionally, a final test
undertaken just recently achieved a 2.17 kW cooling capacity at 65K and a COP=0.06 at 80 K (Table 2).
One major attribute of this ref rigerator is the r ealization of a mainten ance free refrigerator by a dopting
magnetic bearings in the compressor and expansion turbine, thereby eliminating any moving parts.

70【ターボ圧縮機】【turbo compressor】
80【膨張タービン】【expansion
turbine】
32F1204H25N74
32F1604H25N74
32S1604H22N71

６００ｒｐｓTargetedvalue 65%
目標値65％

５５０ｒｐｓ５００ｒｐｓ60

４５０ｒｐｓ50

４００ｒｐｓ40

Turbine efficiency（％）

Turbo compressor
efficiency
%
圧縮機効率
％

80

70

Targetedvalue 65%
65%
目標値

60

50

30
20
200

40

400

600
800
1000
1200
圧縮機流量
Nm3/hNm3/hCompressor
capacity

1400

0.4

0.5

0.6
U/Co（－）

0.7

0.8

Fig. 3 Results of efficiency measurements taken from turbo compressor and expansion turbine

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Table 2

Performance test results of prototype cooler

Temperature (K)80

65Cooling capacity (kW)

2.93

2.17

Input power （kW）

51.1

51.4

Coefficient of performance (COP)

0.06

0.04

Compressor efficiency (%)

70～72

Turbine efficiency (%)

72～74

October last year, the refrigerator completed single-unit performance evaluation testing and pre-operation
evaluation of the 2MVA transformer cooling system, including the subcool system and cryostat (Figure 4).
Final testing planned for the future involves combining it with a 2MVA transformer.

ExpanderLN2 pump

Prototype cooler
Compressor

Fig. 4 Cryogenic system for the 2MVA transformer(5) Verification of a Prototype 2MVA-class Superconducting Transformer
The ultimate goal of th e Y-based project is to fa bricate and verify the performance of a 2 MVA-classsuperconducting transformer with an aim to realize a 20 MVA-class superconducting transformer in the
future. To for esee the characteristics and fabrication technology required for th e superconducting
transformer with the combination of a co oling system, a goal of 2 MVA w as set as it forms a minimum
wire-winding capacity with the necessary equivalent voltage required for practical equipment.
The 2 MVA-class sup erconducting transformer prototype comprises of a 2 M VA-class superconducting
transformer wire winding as shown in Figure 5, a cryostat as shown in Figure 6, and the above-mentioned
transformer cooling system. A num ber of experimental trials involving the wire windings assembled into acryostat are being currently performed (Figure 7).
In particular, the I-V characteristics shown in Figure 8 reveal favorable secondary wire winding attributes,
fabricated by employing a com plex three-filaments wire winding process, suggesting that the system

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remains reliable even if cu rrents exceed the specified voltage of 2 60 A ( peak value of 167 A r atedsecondary current x1.1).

W相W-phaseV相V-phaseU U相-phaseFig. 6 Testing a single unit cryostat

Fig. 5 2MVA-class superconducting
transformer wire winding

Secondary U-phase terminal
Neutral point terminal

Liquid nitrogen tank

Full view of transformer(Secondary U-phase/Neutral point connection)

Fig. 7 Testing the prototype 2 MVA transformer
Targetu-x

Ic threshold level

1.4
1.2

Voltage [mV]

1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
0

100

Current
電流[A][A]200

300

U-phase secondary wire winding

Fig. 8 I-V characteristics (Secondary), U-phase secondary wire winding
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Future Plans
Tests planned for February next year aims to combine the
2MVA-class superconducting transformer prototype with acooling system. Steady research outcomes under Y-based
project are targeted and furt her investigations will proceed todetermine its adaptability and economic performance attributes,
allowing detailed future plans to be drawn up for the design of apromising practical 20MVA-class superconducting transformer.
Additionally, the technology gained from the Y-based project
can be applicable to various types of su perconducting
transformers. Therefore, an array of potential future applications
is considered, such as transformers for power generation asshown in Figure 9, as well as industrial and transportation
applications as shown in Fig ure 10. The outcomes from thisproject are thus expected to contribute significantly in the future
development of superconducting transformers.

Fig. 9 Conceptual design of a 20 MVA-classsuperconducting transformer

Operational demonstration of several-hundred kVA-class transformer equipped with current limiting function(Suppression of excess current less than three times rated). Demonstration of a prototype 66/6.9kV-2MVA transformer with electric current application

Power station

Power Substation
Tr. (High voltage)

Generator TurbinePowerstorage
SVC，BTB,
DC transmission

Substation

Factory

Underground，Indoor,OutdoorFuel battery
NAS battery
Li battery etc.

Train
Substation

Line

Fig. 10 Examples of superconducting transformer applications(Published in a Japanese version in the December 2012 issue of Superconductivity Web 21)
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Feature Articles: Superconducting Microwave/Terahertz Wave Device
Technology- Recent Trends in Superconducting Microwave Device Technology
Shigetoshi Ohshima, Professor
Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Yamagata University
The international conferences (ASC, EUCAS, ISEC, HTSHFF etc) have seen many presentations related
to superconducting microwave devices over the past 1-2 years, and focused mainly on 1) the design andevaluation of 0.5-25GHz band superconducting filters, and 2) theoretical and experimental analysis of the
microwave characteristics of superconducting thin films. Japan, China, Taiwan, Canada have madeexciting presentations relating to point 1), whereas the USA, Italy and UK have made contributions to point2). This article focuses on the recent trends of point 1), and introduces China’s progress of superconducting
filter development, and simulation studies undertaken in Australia into “the advantage of i nstallingsuperconducting filters at mobile phone base stations”.
1. New development of superconducting filter research in China
The development of superconducting filter systems for m obile telecommunication base stations in China
seems to have come to a pause for the time being. However, Professor Bisong Cao’s research groupbased at Tsinghua University have recently launched a de velopment project (total budget of 2,800,000
Chinese Yuan) of a new superconducting filter system, to run over four years between 2012-2015. The
project is aimed at performance enhancements of current superconducting filter systems (filter and coolingsystem) that operate at telecommunication stations, with a long-term plan to develop new applications. The
author aims to introduce potential new innovations when they become available.
The HE YuSheng group from the Chinese Academy of Science and the XU Zhang group from Nankai
University recently reported on a superconducting duplexer. There are many research activities targeting
practical applications in China, however, since there are no specific details regarding potential applications,the author can only conjecture that they are aimed at the realization of practical devices. Figure 1 shows thelayout and the experimental results obtained from the triplexer designed and developed at the XU Zhang
group, showing the superior characteristics of the compact superconducting duplexer.

Fig. 1 Triplexer Layout (a) and its characteristics (b), (Source: XU Zhang)
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2. Investigati ons of superconducting filter systems for telecommunication base stations based inAustralia
Countries such as th e USA and China, where superconducting filters have been installed at mobile
telecommunication base stations, report advantages such as, 1) increased coverage range, 2)
improvements in telecommunication quality and, 3) increased mobile-phone battery-life. Australia too has
attempted to simulate what advantages could be assumed when employing superconducting filter systems
at mobile telecommunication base stations. A report produced by Professor Janina Mazierska from James
Cook University, as lead-researcher, is summarized herewith (Refer to the following).
Investigations into adjacent channel interference in 800 MHz spectrum allocations due to LMS
Possible effects on LTE and 3G.
Janina Mazierska (James Cook University, Australia)
The author of this report and his group made simulations under various conditions on any mutualinterference effects when an LMS base station is tuned to an 800MHz-band mobile unit, which are thenorm in Australia. As shown in Figure 2, during the UPLINK, it assumes that the wave interference arrives
at the mobile unit base station from the LMS, wh ilst the wave interference emanating from the LMS b ase
station transmits directly to mobile units during the DOWNLINK. The simulations were an attempt tounderstand if any interference would occur or whether the guard band could be narrowed if asuperconducting filter system was installed at a mobile phone base station. The simulation showed that the
installation of a superconducting filter system at a base station was able to minimize interference in addition
to narrowing the guard band. (Please email the author for detailed documentation.
ohshima@yz.yamagata-u.ac.jp).

Fig. 2 Schematic diagram showing the interference between a Mobile Unit and LMS MU(Published in a Japanese version in the February 2013 issue of Superconductivity Web 21)

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Dateof Issue: April 15, 2013

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Feature Articles: Superconducting Microwave/Terahertz Wave Device
Technology- Development of a Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detector for an
Imaging Fourier Transform Terahertz SpectrometerSeiichiro Ariyoshi
Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya Institute of Technology
Kensuke Nakajima, Atsushi Saito
Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Yamagata University
Tohru Taino
Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama University
Chiko Otani
RIKEN Advanced Science InstituteTwo-dimensional terahertz spectroscopy offers potential opportunities in material science research into soft
materials for example, and industrial application development. The author and his group has progressed
the development of a Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detector 1) (hitherto MKID) array operating with acryogen-free 4He refrigerator, and exhibiting both superior detection sensitivity of greater than one digit ormore compared to conventional semiconductor bolometers, and greater speed response. Such an arrayaims to realize the application of a 2D-Fourier transform terahertz spectrometer. The targeted performanceof each pixel of the detector is to have a frequency coverage of more than 1-5 THz, a response time of lessthan 100 μsec and noise-equivalent power of less than 10-14 W/√Hz. This new type of MKID has been
fabricated and miniaturized using a Niobium Nitride (NbN) film, and designed to operate over a wide
frequency range. The evaluation of performance characteristics of this MKID has been ongoing.
Figure 1 shows a schematic of an MKID (spiral-MKID) designed to operate both as a terahertz antenna
having wideband characteristics and a high-Q microwave resonator 2).
The MKID design concept is based upon its operation as a resonator with a natural microwave resonant
frequency, occurring when the numbers of turns in a broadband terahertz antenna are made approximately½ the wavelength of microwaves. This leads to characteristics that do not interrupt the performance of theterahertz antenna.
100 m

Dk
40 m
10 m

Port 1

Port 2

Fig. 1 Schematic of a typical spiral-MKID
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Fabricating NbN thin films onto various single crystal substrates were investigated as well as monitoring
factors affecting the superconducting transition temperatures (Tc), by varying the nitrogen gas concentration
during Nb DC-magnetron sputtering. The results confirmed a favorable thin film exhibiting a relatively highTc~13 K (film thickness 150 nm) grown on a R-plane sapphire substrate 3). By making a photomask of a
25-pixel array spiral-MKID a prototype MKID was fabricated using photolithography and reactive ion etching.
Figure 2 shows the NbN spiral-MKID array fabricated onto a 10 mm-square R-plane sapphire substrate.

Fig. 2 5x5 pixel array of prototype NbN
spiral-MKID fabricated onto a 10 mm-square
sapphire substrate

Fig. 3 Terahertz radiation responses of the
spiral-MKID @3.5 K (around 0.2 MHz
frequency shift was observed by utilizing an
MKID with a resonant frequency of 4.026 GHz)

The prototype MKID chip was later installed in a 4He refrigerator and its microwave resonancecharacteristics measured when the terahertz radiation window was closed (equilibrium temperature 3.0 K).
The measurements results confirmed favorable electrical characteristics and a Q factor of around 20,000(dip 14 dB). When opening the terahertz radiation window (3.5 K), terahertz radiation experiments using two
blackbody targets, each with different temperatures (300 K, 77 K), showed a clear distinction between theirmicrowave resonance characteristics (Figure 3)4). The future plans are to advance terahertz spectra
acquisition by utilizing a Fourier Transform Terahertz Spectrometer, undertake electromagnetic analysis of
the array, and optimize the detection sensitivity including peripheral optical systems.
Acknowledgements
This research has been supported by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (Development of
Systems and Technology for Advanced Measurement and Analysis).

References:
1. P. K. Day, H. G. LeDuc, B. A. Mazin, A. Vayonakis, J. Zmuidzinas, "A broadband superconducting
detector suitable for use in large arrays", Nature, 425 817-821 (2003).
2. A. Saito et al., in preparation (2013).

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3. Hiroyuki Tanoue et al, “The Fabrication of a Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detector Utilizing NbN Thin
Films onto Different Substrates”, The 73rd JSAP Autumn Meeting 2012.
4. S. Ariyoshi et al., in preparation (2013).
(Published in a Japanese version in the February 2012 issue of Superconductivity Web 21)

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Feature Articles: Superconducting Microwave/Terahertz Wave Device
Technology- First-Light from the Band-10 SIS Receiver at the Atacama Large
Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA)
Yoshinori Uzawa
Advanced Technology Center
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

Fig.1 Final construction stage of the ALMA telescope. Source NAOJ (National Astronomical Observatory of Japan).

The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) - the largest ground-based radio-astronomical
telescope constructed in the Atacama desert, 5000 m above sea level in north region of Chil e, SouthAmerica, has been hosting a joint international project involving East Asia, led by the National Astronomical
Observatory of Japan (NAOJ), North American Union, led by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory(NRAO), and Europe, led by the European Southern Observatory (ESO). The location is not influenced bywave-absorbing water vapours and being vastly flat is a most ideal location on earth to site 66-unit parabolic
antennas (54 antennas measuring 12 m in diameter + 12 antennas measuring 7 m in di ameter). An
aperture synthesis method allows antennas to collect potential millimeter/submillimeter wavelength
astronomical signals (current plans are to observe frequency ranges between 31.5 GHz to 950 GHz),
having superior sensitivity and greater resolutions of more than 1 o rder of ma gnitude and resolution
compared to the performance characteristics of existing telescopes. At present 54 antennas have been
constructed, entering the fina l stage of construction, which began in 2 0021). Figure 1 is a ph oto of th e
Antenna Operation Site (AOS) located on the plateau, 5000 m above sea level. It is difficult to capture theentire antenna area with a single camera shot. Assembly, fine-tuning and maintenance of the antennas are

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also undertaken at the Operations Support Facilit y, located 2900 m above sea level. Preparat ions are
ongoing towards the completion of ALMA, with an inauguration ceremony to be held March 13, 2013.
Japan’s role in the ALMA construction is the development and manufacturing of antennas (4 antennas,
12m diameter + 12 antennas, 7-m diameter) for the Atacama Compact Array (ACA) and their correlators,
together with Band-4 (125-163 GHz), Band-8 (385-500 GHz), and Band-10 (787-950 GHz)
superconducting receivers to be installed together with all the antennas. Japan joined the ALMA project two
years late, and with this han dicap has been making substantial efforts to catch up, wit h the production of
only superconducting receivers remaining. Amongst these manufacturing processes, the Band-10 receiveris regarded as the most difficult to produce, with the series-production of nearly 30-units of the planned
73-units (the number of antennas + 7 spares) having been so far completed. The left side of Figure 2 showsa picture of the Band-10 receiver. The receiver has 4K, 15K, 110K cooling plates (gold plated copper) and avacuum sealing plate (stainless) at room temperature. The input optics including the ellipsoidal mirrors,
polarization grid and corrugated horns, as well as the SIS mixers and the IF amplifiers is arranged on the 4K
plate 2). The right side of Figure 2 shows the noise temperature performance characteristics of 28 receivers(corresponding to 56 SIS mixers) that have completed manufacturing and testing. The average values fromthese receivers are sufficiently low and within ALMA specifications. The noise increase at approximately
800GHz was attributed to excess noise from a local oscillator (LO) provided by NRAO. A minimum receivernoise temperature of 123K was within the frequency range and correspondes to around three-times thequantum noise hv/kB. The results imply that the SIS junction itself operates closely at t he quantum noise
limits, verifying the superiority of superconductivity technology at terahertz frequencies.

Fig. 2 Photo of the Band-10 receiver (left) and a graph showing the noise temperature results of
28 “series-produced” receivers (right). The results are from 56-unit SIS mixers since two SIS
mixers are installed into a single receiver for orthogonal polarization reception.

The first set of Ba nd-10 receivers reported in a previous feature article last yea r 3) were installed in t he
ALMA cryostat supplied by ESO, l ocated in the integration center of NRAO, as per schedule. After

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undergoing performance tests at the center the receiver was sent to the OSF in Chile. November 2012 saw
the first, lon g-awaited spectra of a n astronomical radio wave, successfully acquired using the Ba nd-10
receiver installed into an antenna. The radio wave source was the Sagittarius the Archer B2 (Sgr B2).
Despite having significant amounts of water vapor present at OSF, a clear spectrum was obtained asshown in Figure 3. These results clearly reveal the superior performance afforded by the Band-10 receiver
and also im ply the stabilit y of its operation i n the environmental conditions surrounding the OSF. The
signatures on the spectrum are from those members involved in the Joint ALMA Observatory (JAO), andportray the delightful sense of satisfaction felt by the group in seeing this “first-light”. Although astronomy is asmall field of science, the author felt that efforts undertaken in superconductivity contribute to the world. The
next milestone is producing the world-first terahertz interferometer test with several Band-10 receiver units.
Towards the installation of o ur receivers into all the antennas, our future plans are to contribute to thedevelopment of astronomical science with our best efforts, by not only advancing the series production ofreceivers, but also pursuing R&D targeted towards new superconductivity technology.

Fig. 3 The first spectrum acquired by the Band-10 receiver installed in the ALMA antenna

The advancements of this r esearch and development have been made possible by the Japanese andoverseas ALMA group of res earchers, the National Institute of I nformation and Communications
Technology, Osaka Prefecture University, Purple Mountain Observatory etc. The author would like to takethis occasion to thank those researchers involved.

References:
1. http://www.almaobservatory.org/
2. Y. Fujii, et al., “The first six ALM A Band 10 receivers”, accepted for publication in IEEE Trans. THz Sci.
and Technol.

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3. Yoshinori Uzawa, “Mass P roduction of the Band-10 SIS Receiver for the Atacama Large
Millimeter/submilliter Array (ALMA)”, 2012 Spring issue of Superconductivity Web21.
(Published in a Japanese version in the February 2013 issue of Superconductivity Web 21)

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