Extended-Performance “SuperCurrent” Cryogen-Free Transport Critical-Current Measurement System
Nick Strickland, Stuart C. Wimbush, Andrés Pantoja, Donald Pooke, M. Fee, Vadim Chamritskii, Zach Hartwig, JL Cheng, Sarah Garberg, Brandon Sorbom
Abstract
We have previously reported the development of a cryogen-free critical current characterization system able to measure field-angle dependences of voltage-current characteristics of short-length superconducting tapes to temperatures of 25 K, fields up to 8 T and currents up to 875 A. We have now extended the existing system and built a parallel system which further extends the parameter space to 10 K, 12 T, 1600 A. With a software suite that fully automates batch measurements we have been able to generate detailed coverage of the temperature-field-angle-current parameter space relevant to many of the applications proposed for high-temperature superconducting tapes. We describe the improvements to the system and present data from commercial tape samples that illustrates the utility of the instrument.