Superconductors used as trapped field magnets : investigation of hybrid structures combining superconducting and ferromagnetic materials

In addition to their unique ability to carry electric currents without loss, superconductors are able to trap significant magnetic flux densities at low temperature. In so-called type-II irreversible superconductors, these properties are due to the pinning of individual flux lines (vortices) by defects at the nanoscale level. In this talk the influence of pinning on the magnetic properties of bulk superconductors will be explained and illustrated, with the emphasis placed on how pinning can be exploited to produce “trapped field magnets” for practical applications. We will then show how the properties of these trapped field magnets are enhanced when superconductors (SC) are combined to soft ferromagnetic (FM) alloys [1,2]. In particular we investigate the properties of macroscopic FM/SC/FM structures where the superconductor is sandwiched between two ferromagnetic sections, one of each circular face. In particular we show how the properties of the whole structure is influenced by the saturation magnetization and the geometry of the ferromagnetic material.

References:
1. M P Philippe, J-F Fagnard, S Kirsch, Z Xu, A R Dennis, Y H Shi, D A Cardwell, B Vanderheyden, and P Vanderbemden, Magnetic characterisation of large grain, bulk Y–Ba–Cu–O superconductor–soft ferromagnetic alloy hybrid structures. Physica C: 502 (2014) 20-30.
2. M P Philippe, M D Ainslie, L Wera, J-F Fagnard, A R Dennis, Y H Shi, D A Cardwell, B Vanderheyden, and P Vanderbemden, Influence of soft ferromagnetic sections on the magnetic flux density profile of a large grain, bulk Y–Ba–Cu–O superconductor. Superconductor Science and Technology: 28 (2015) 095008.