Impersonating bulk niobium

Jefferson Laboratory scientists ionise niobium to make thin films that may outperform their bulkier sibling.

Leah Hesla | 5 May 2011

Superconducting radiofrequency power only runs skin-deep, and accelerator scientists have been taking advantage of the phenomenon’s surface-crawling tendencies with a view to making high-performing, low-cost accelerator cavities. The trick is to manipulate a metal’s top-most layer so that it conducts just like a thick slab of superconducting material. Scientists at Jefferson Laboratory in the US […]

A conformal approach to cavity coating

Argonne scientists give metals a healthy superconducting coat, one atomic layer at a time.

Leah Hesla | 28 April 2011

A necklace of cheap metal with gold-flaked paint may look like solid gold finery, but eventually, the paint will peel, revealing a worthless trinket beneath. But an accelerator cavity of inexpensive metal with a nice niobium coat, though less expensive than a solid niobium structure, could actually hold more value for a particle collider. Scientists […]