Ternary Molybdenum Chalcogenide Superconducting Wires for Ultrahigh Field Applications

Regarding the generation of ultrahigh magnetic fields, Ternary Molybdenum Chalcogenide (TMC) superconducting wires may be considered as an attractive alternative to high temperature superconductors (HTS). For instance, the price per kilogram is almost one order of magnitude lower than that of HTS. TMC superconducting wires were developed and studied in academia and industry, i.e., Mitsubishi (Japan), Alstom (France), and Plansee (Austria), until the mid-1990s. Although TMC's are low temperature superconductors (T_c≤15 K), upper critical fields are up to 60 T. They are nearly isotropic and can be manufactured with round or rectangular cross section in kilometer's lengths. The yield strength, R_p0.2, at 4.2 K is about 860 MPa, much higher than other superconducting wires. An additional advantage is that a TMC wire does not require any reaction heat treatment. Supposing that the effective upper critical field, B_c2∗, can be improved by the proposed new manufacturing process and which is at present limiting the critical current density, specifications for the Future Circular Collider project at CERN, either for the 16 T or the 20 T version, will be met. In this contribution, TMC superconducting wires are reviewed and the potential for achieving improved critical currents is discussed.