Grain boundary segregation in a bronze-route Nb3Sn superconducting w... http://iopscience.iop.org/0953-2048/26/5/055008/pdf/0953-2048_26_...

IOP 'BLL~ II IKG

Supercond. Sci. Techno/. 26 (2013) 05500R (7pp) doi: I 0. 1OORI0953-2048126'5105500R

Grain boundary segregation in a

bronze-route Nb3Sn superconducting wire
studied by atom probe tomography
M .T R Sandim I , D Tytko2, A Kostka- , P Choi 2 , S Awaji 3 , K Watanahe 3
and D Raabe 2
I Esco la de Engenh ari a de Lorena- USP, 1_602-8 I 0, Lorena, B razil
2 Max- Planck-Inst itut Fli r Eisenfo rsch ung, D-40237, DU sseldorf, Germ any
3 Inst itute of Material s Resea rch- Tohoku Uni versity, 980-8577 , Sendai , Japan

E-l1lai I: Illsantiil1l @ti el1lar.eei.u sp.br

Received 19 D ecember 20 12. in final form 19 February 20 13

Pu blished 26 March 20 13
On ljne at stacks. iop.org/S UST/26/055008

Abst r act
Atom probe to mography was used to cluu'acterize the A 15 phase in a bronze-route Nb3Sn
supercond ucting wire wi th a bronze matrix compos itio n of Cu-8 n-O. Ti (in a t.%) . We
observed dep le ti o n of ni obium and segregati on of Cu and Ti atoms at b3 'n grai n boundaries.
Whil e the Nb dep letio n is abo ut 15% relative to the grain interior. the average ra tio between
u and Ti excess va lu es is 9 to 2. Segregation extend s to a distance d '" 9 'A. from the point of
ma ximum Cu and Ti concentrations. Such loca l variatio n in the stoichi o me try at the grai n
boundary region can be an add iti o nal source of flux-pinning in the Nb3Sn phase. Other
microstruct ural parameters. suc h as the gmi n size <md c he mi ca l composi ti o n of the Nb3Sn
layer. were investigated by e lectron backscatter diffraction and transmission e lectro n
microscopy.

( o me figures may appear in colo ur o nl y in the on line journal)

1. Introd uction
Nb3Sn. an intermetall ic compo und with A IS-type crystal
structure. is o ne of the most important supe rcond ucting
materia ls for designing hig h mag netic field devices L1-4j. The
A IS-type structure exists over a wide range of compositions
in the syste m b l BSnB. extending fro m 18 to 25.5 at. % Sn
(or B = 0 .1 8-0 .255) L2- 5j. The c urrent-carryi ng capabi lity
of a supe rconducting wire depends largely o n the pinning
of mag netic flu x-lines (or von ices). For the b3Sn phase.
it is wel l known that grain boundaries playa fund a mental
role in flux-pinning LIj. In pcu'ticular. the max imum pinning
force is related to the reciproca l va lue of grai n size Ll j.
The refore. a detai led know ledge of the gra in struct ure.
including grain size distribution, moq)ho logy <md c he mica l
composi ti on. is essential for understa nding <md optimizi ng the
supe rcondu cting properties of the compound LI J.
A widely used manufact uring techno logy to produce
Nb3 n ll1ultifil all1e ntary wires is the so-ca lled bronze
method L6. 71. In thi s approac h. a rod of niobi um is inserted
in a Cu-Sn all oy (bronze) m atrix cu1d this arra ngement is
drawn into a fil <unent form to lcu'ge strain s. After multipl e
steps of bundling. drawing. and restacking seq ue nces a
multifil a me nt m'y wi re is obtai ned. The compo und Nb3Sn is
the n reacted by annea ling the res ulting wire at a te mperat ure
between 650 and 700°C. someti mes even hi gher L3J. The
restacki ng and repeated wire drawing acts in three ways:
first. it provides short diffusion paths for the subseq ue nt
heat treatme nt ; second . it provides vely hi gh Hall-Pe tch
stre ngthe ning L8, 9 J; and third . it yie lds fine filaments to
red uce the hys te resis losses LIOJ. The b3 n phase forms as a
layer at the interface between Nb and the surrounding Sn-rich
bronze matrix by sol id sta te diffusion. As a conseq ue nce of
this diffusion process there is an inherent Sn gradie nt in the
A 15 laye r in bronze-route filaments. A pOltion of the inner
core can prevai I as pure Nb. slilTound ed by the A 15 reaction
phase L3. 6, 7J,
Since the 1980s it has been verified that the critica l
c urre nt density (.Ic ) of Nb3Sn wires exposed to hi gh magneti c
fie lds is sub st<mtially increased by all oyi ng with small
additio ns of Ta and Ti to the su perconduc ting fil a me nts LI I.
12j. Ti doping accelerates Sn diffusion alo ng grai n boundaries

0953-204RI I 3/05500R+ 07S33 .00 (c) 2013 lOP Publishing Lt d Printed in the UK & the USA

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