Effect of irradiation on grain boundary properties of REBCO high temperature superconductors for fusion magnets
In high temperature superconductors (HTS), high angle grain boundaries block supercurrent and so they must be avoided. This is achieved in the technological coated conductor tape that is being used for compact fusion reactor magnets by growing the (RE)Ba2Cu3O7 (RE = rare earth element) HTS as a 1-2 micron thick layer on a biaxially aligned substrate. However the texture is not as perfect as a single crystal, and grain boundaries up to about 10 degrees misalignment exist in the material.
In recent years there has been a growing interest in radiation damage of coated conductor in order to assess with confidence how long the material will last in a fusion environment. However, there has been no work on understanding how the grain boundary properties of REBCO are influenced by irradiation.
This project will use a combination of thin films grown in house by PLD on bicrystal samples and commercial coated conductor samples to evaluate how ion and neutron irradiation affect the intergranular critical current density compared to the intragranular critical current density.
The student will learn to grow REBCO films, characterise the grain boundary using EBSD, XRD and TEM, and perform angle-dependent transport measurements. Ion irradiation will be carried out at Surrey Ion Beam Centre and neutron irradiation will be carried out with collaborators at TU Vienna.
This EPSRC-funded 3.5 year DPhil in Materials DLA studentship will provide course fees and a stipend of at least £20,780 per year (pro-rata for the final six-months).
Applicants with Home or Overseas fee status are eligible to apply. However, applicants with overseas fee status should note our ability to offer a studentship to a candidate with this fee status is restricted by the EPSRC rule that no more than 30% of students funded by a specific EPSRC DLA training grant may be of overseas fee status.
