The aluminum stabilized Nb-Ti conductor for the ZEUS thin solenoid

The ZEUS experiment, an experimental apparatus for high-energy physics that is to be installed on the hadron electron ring accelerator HERA at DESY-Hamburg, West Germany, will use a superconducting thin solenoid surrounding a number of particle detectors. The essential features of this magnet are 1.8-T magnetic field on the axis, 2.3-T maximum field on the conductor, inner diameter of 2 m, and solenoid length of 2.5 m. As physics requirements call for a total solenoid thickness less than 0.9 radiation length, a conductor consisting of a Rutherford-type Nb-Ti cable clad with a high purity aluminum has been developed. A report is presented on measurements of the main parameters needed for a complete characterization of a conductor to be used in this particular kind of magnet. Data on critical current, transfer length, and residual resistivity ratio are given and discussed, including the influence that the various fabrication steps can have on them.< >