Magnetic property improvement of niobium doped with rare earth elements

A new idea is proposed by the PKU group to improve the magnetic properties of the Type-Ⅱ superconductor niobium. Rare earth elements like scandium and yttrium are doped into ingot niobium during the smelting processes. A series of experiments have been done since 2010. The preliminary testing results show that the magnetic properties of niobium materials have changed with different doping elements and proportions while the superconductive transition temperature does not change very much. This method may increase the superheating magnetic field of niobium so as to improve the performance of the niobium cavity, which is a key component of SRF accelerators. A Tesla-type single-cell cavity made of scandium-doped niobium is being fabricated.