Journal of Superconductivity and Novel Magnetism manuscript No.

(will be inserted by the editor)

Peculiarities of niobium-based superconducting alloys in the

light of crystal chemistry: A brief survey
Taimo Priinits · Artjom Vargunin · Aleksandr Liivand
arXiv:2406.00817v1 [cond-mat.supr-con] 2 Jun 2024

Received: date / Accepted: date

Abstract In this survey, we focus on Nb-based binary prospects and limitations we briefly overview most im-
intermetallic compounds, which have been widely used portant technological applications and discuss the vari-
over the last 40 years to develop a range of supercon- ous interrelations between superconductivity and struc-
ducting applications, including non-standard engineer- tural properties of Nb-based A-15 intermetallic alloys.
ing solutions in the design of large magnets. However, We argue that these interrelations can be used to find
since the 1980s, when it became apparent that the me- the Nb-based superconductors with more superior prop-
chanical and superior superconducting properties of or- erties and stronger technological usability.
dered intermetallic alloys such as Nb3 Sn were largely
Keywords Niobium · Intermetallic alloys · Applied
due to their unique structural features, much of the
superconductivity
research interest in the science of superconducting in-
termetallic alloys has been redirected to the develop-
ment of necessary engineering applications in high mag- 1 Introduction
netic field technology. Accordingly, the important role
of crystal chemistry in understanding the fundamental At present, superconductivity technology offers inno-
aspects of the material properties of the Nb3 Sn fam- vative and large-scale solutions for various physical re-
ily of intermetallics has been little explored. In the pa- search applications: magnetic resonance imaging (MRI),
per, we try to fill this gap by investigating the relation- nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), fusion energy, quan-
ships between composition, microstructure and proper- tum computing, etc. On the other hand, the potential
ties, highlighting their relevance to technological appli- of conventional superconductivity can be utilized even
cations. Our goal is to link aspects of crystal chemistry more efficiently, opening up new avenues for scientific
with materials application issues. We shed light on the progress and breakthroughs, as well as providing direc-
atomic assembly mechanisms and processes in terms tions for modern technologies to achieve zero-emission
of changes in the chemical environment, lattice struc- goals, develop advanced medical diagnostics and thera-
ture, crystallization pathway, and macroscale phase tex- peutics, expand energy capacity through the construc-
tures, which can help in interpreting and explaining tion of power plants and stations, and create technolo-
the prospects and limitations of the superconducting gies for space applications.
properties of Nb3 Sn. In the context of past and present In particular, the development of modern engineer-
ing designs and innovations places new demands on
T. Priinits
Institute of Physics, University of Tartu, 50411 Tartu, Estonia
both the superconducting properties of alloys, their size,
E-mail: taimo.priinits@ut.ee forming process, usable configuration and operational
A. Vargunin
stability, and the strength properties of these materi-
Institute of Physics, University of Tartu, 50411 Tartu, Estonia als to operate successfully in strong pulsed magnetic
E-mail: artjom.vargunin@ut.ee fields. Such materials are the cornerstone for realizing
A. Liivand advances in superconducting technologies and applica-
Institute of Physics, University of Tartu, 50411 Tartu, Estonia tions. Accordingly, addressing material science aspects
E-mail: aleksandr.liivand@ut.ee such as exploring novel intermetallic design concepts,
2 Taimo Priinits et al.

improving the functional properties of superconduct- perature superconductivity and its applications [2, 9, 10,
ing materials, and developing new technologies to en- 11, 12, 13, 14, 15]. However, information on how the in-
hance the growth of critical superconducting proper- terplay between chemical composition and crystalline
ties is a strategic task in condensed matter physics and architectures may determine key factors that could be
chemistry. Utilization of these properties opens wide responsible for the superconducting properties of A-15-
opportunities for the application of superconducting type materials is somewhat lacking in these papers. Mo-
compounds in scientific research and development. In tivated by this, we will try to complement these papers
modern technology there is an increasing need to apply by discussing the crystal chemistry of these materials
strong magnetic fields on a large scale: in research facil- with respect to the macroscopic quantum properties
ities for controlled thermonuclear reactions, in plasma of superconductivity in terms of what is understood
physics, in magnetohydrodynamic devices, in powerful and what is not. The second part deals with the ap-
motors and generators, etc. In all these cases, the use plied aspects. By presenting several different engineer-
of superconducting magnets, wires and coils is the ex- ing implementations as examples of current activities in
tremely promising cost-effective solution. applied superconductivity, we show why and how low-
Among the known traditional superconducting ma- temperature superconductivity can play a key role in
terials, high-purity niobium and its derivatives, such as applied science and technology. The last section is de-
intermetallic alloys with A-15 type crystal structure [1, voted to the interdisciplinary research landscape of su-
2,3,4, 5, 6, 7], are still in large demand in the field of perconducting science, addressing applications in such
applied superconductivity. This is due to the unique fields as engineering, quantum computing, medicine,
combination of their superior superconducting proper- etc. Having briefly outlined the new horizons opened by
ties, such as critical temperature that can exceed 18 scientific advances in some areas of modern supercon-
K, high critical current density, wide range of ideal dia- ducting electronics, we thus show that A-15-type mate-
magnetism, and high-frequency critical fields, which are rials will remain at the center of the future technological
currently unattainable for other superconductors. Such development of modern superconducting applications.
intermetallic alloys, which represent a very attractive
object of solid-state research, have been the subject of 2 On structural chemistry of A-15-type
numerous studies for several decades and the research superconducting intermetallics
interest is still at an increasing level [8]. In this context,
in order to meet the growing technological demands, From a materials science point of view, a modern ma-
fundamental science is facing a number of challenges to terial is usually a bulk combination of two or more dif-
find appropriate ways to improve the mechanical and ferent chemical elements, due to the resulting structure
physical properties of compound superconductors with achieving new properties that are not present in its in-
A-15 structure. Therefore, the main purpose of this sur- dividual components. In this respect, intermetallics are
vey article is both to briefly highlight some actual as- a unique class of materials characterized by the inter-
pects of the accumulated information in this field and play of a metallic ground state and long-range ordering
to analyze possible relationship between fundamental with high crystallographic symmetry. They are formed
research results and their present and future use in the by the combination of two or more different elements
development of high-tech superconducting applications. which, in compositional ranges close to stoichiometric
Following a viewpoint that several fundamental prop- ratios, occupy the specific atomic positions in the crys-
erties of superconductivity are intimately linked to the tal lattice during crystallization. Thus, the study of the
composition-structure-property relations, in the first part processes that are responsible for the electronic and
of given paper we will consider the properties that play phononic properties and the strength of the interac-
an important role in the enabling of superconductiv- tions between them, in terms of phase and structural
ity. In particular, we will summarize the specific fea- transformations, can provide important insights into a
tures of the crystal-chemical background underlying the deep understanding of the superconducting mechanism
main properties of Nb-based superconducting A-15 in- in Nb3 X compounds. The subsections presented below
termetallics. In order not to be overwhelmed by the provides a characterization of the crystalline architec-
vast amount of useful information obtained during more ture of the binary intermetallic system and its internal
than half a century of fundamental research, we will microstructures. The survey focuses on crystal chemical
focus on the correlation of the crystal-chemical back- parameters such as composition, lattice structure, sta-
ground with structural and superconducting properties. bility and structural transformations, crystallographic
There are many review articles in the literature, both patterns, which may be crucial for understanding the
old and new, dealing with various aspects of low tem- superconducting properties of an intermetallic system.
Niobium-based intermetallic superconducting alloys 3

To best illustrate the role that niobium plays in the 17, 22]. In particular, A-type atoms occupying positions
A-15 structure, we also include an overview of our re- with tetragonal site symmetry (point group D2d ) are
cent results [16] that cover several key aspects of alloy uniformly arranged in pairs on the faces of the cu-
crystal chemistry in terms of settings, interpretation, bic lattice along three orthogonal axes. The atoms of
characterization, and modeling. The key aspects are each A pair are separated by half the length of the
summarized in subsections 2.2 – 2.4. This paper [16] unit cell; a total of six A atoms are distributed at 6c
gives a complete description of the methods of crys- 1 1
Wyckoff position with a set of coordinates: ( , 0, ),
4 2
tal chemical modeling and DFT-based simulations of 3 1 1 1 1 3 1 1 1 3
( , 0, ), ( , , 0), ( , , 0), (0, , ), and (0, , ). On a
structure and properties. 4 2 2 4 2 4 2 4 2 4
larger scale, this arrangement results in atoms A form-
ing mutually orthogonal chains in directions parallel to
2.1 Crystallographic data, stoichiometry and the edges of unit cells, where the distance between these
structural orderings atoms in the chain is smallest compared to the distance
between the nearest atoms belonging to different chains
The properties of intermetallic niobium alloys of binary (as shown in Figure 1(a) with the orange lines).
composition have been the subject of extensive research
during more than half a century; much useful informa- It has also been suggested that the short distance
tion has become widely available [9, 10, 14,17,18, 19]. As between nearest neighboring Nb atoms in the A-15 crys-
a background to our further work, in which niobium- tal system could be responsible for generating some spe-
containing compounds will be discussed in terms of cific features of the electronic spectrum at the Fermi
the interplay between structural chemistry and prop- surface compared to the regular bcc structure and the
erties, it may be instructive to first summarize some increase of the superconducting critical temperature [5],
of their important crystal-chemical details. The A-15 also atom size ratios and electronegativity are two of the
crystal framework has a wide range of binary composi- most important parameters affecting the lattice con-
tions with a nominal stoichiometric ratio of A3 B. The stant [17]. To illustrate the effects from the side of A-15
A atom, which is the base of the alloy, belongs to one lattice geometry, we have summarized some physical
of the transition metals such as Ti, Nb, V, Zr, Ta, Cr data in Table 1. This table shows the lattice constants
or Mo. The B atom represents a large number of al- and the charge per atom of some technologically impor-
loying elements that include metals of groups IIIB and tant Nb3 X compounds compared to Nb and Nb – Ti. It
IVB, either one of the noble metals such as Pt, Au, can be seen that the average number of valence elec-
Ge, Os, Ir, etc., or one of the metalloids such as Al or trons per atom is close to 5 for the Nb3 X systems. This
Sn [18]. An interesting fact regarding the interactions would also support superconductivity according to the
that are responsible for a superconducting state is that empirical Matthias rule [3].
the A-15 cubic structure is one of the close-packed crys-
tal structures [9, 20]. However, there must be a near sto-
ichiometric balance between the A and B components,
since violating such a specific compositional ratio on a
Table 1 Some physical properties of several technologically
macroscopic scale destabilizes the entire arrangement, interesting intermetallics of the Nb3 X family compared to
making it completely impossible to form a stable A-15 the pure Nb and NbTi intermetallic alloy. The intermetal-
phase [17, 21]. lic behaviour is characterized by the value of lattice constant
The standard elemental description of the lattice (a), resonance effect in terms of valence electron number per
atom [3], superconducting temperature Tc , and critical mag-
structure and the composition of the stoichiometric com- netic field Hc2 at the temperature 4.2 K.
position of A3 B is given in the left panel (a) of Fig-
ure 1. Upon crystallization, this composition acquires Compound a (Å) el/atom Tc (K) Hc2 (T)
the A-15 cubic lattice, which corresponds to the Cr3 Si Nb3 Al 5.187 4.5 17.5 [23] 31 [6]
structure type [18]. As seen in Figure 1(a), the pecu- Nb3 Ga 5.164 4.5 20.3 [9] 32 [6]
liarity of the alloy lattice geometry is that each of the Nb3 Ge 5.166 4.75 23.0 [9] 36 [24]
two constituents is accommodated on its own individ- Nb3 In 5.303 4.5 8 [9] −
ual sublattice, whose crystallographic orbits are given Nb3 Sn 5.289 4.75 18 [9] 23 [24]
by the 6c and 2a Wyckoff positions for the atoms A and Nb 3.328 [25] 6.5 9.2 [26] 0.16 [27]
B, respectively. In the framework of a more detailed NbTi 3.286 [28] 4.5 10 [26] 11 [24]
crystallographic description, one can mention a charac-
teristic feature of the lattice structure of A-15, which
is a quasi-one-dimensional arrangement of A atoms [9,
4 Taimo Priinits et al.

Fig. 1 Schematic comparison of structural atomic arrangements on metal and metalloid sublattices of the A3 B intermetallic
compound. Left panel (a): The crystallographic illustration of the A-15 lattice structure, where the dashed gray lines outline
the cubic unit cell, while the orange lines outline the sketch of mutually orthogonal chains of metal A atoms. The neighboring
cell A atoms (additionally marked with red cycles) are added to the unit cell drawing to make the chains more transparent.
The spatial 3D configuration of the B atom sites reproduces the simple bcc lattice. Right panel (b): Crystal-plane based
reconstruction of the structural motif determined by the Nb crystal lattice with symmetry of space group Im3m (No. 229).
In the unit cell shown, the model of active sites are represented in terms of the crystallographic interstitials that relate to the
1 1
tetrahedral position with relative coordinates isomorphic to ( , 0, ) (shown as red balls). A set of crystal planes isometric to
4 2
the (110) Miller plane is indicated in light green. The unit cells drawn in panels (a) and (b) are geometrically proportional.

2.2 Structural evolution and complexity captured by (110)-type planes (marked as red balls in
the image) can contribute to the formation of a tightly
packed structure and thus offer the possible choice for
The role of niobium, interpreted in terms of the com- an active site.
plexity of the composition and the associated lattice
site activities, has not yet been fully elucidated and
this has prevented the completion of a consistent crys- Table 2 Comparison of the compression properties of the
pure Nb metal and the cubic phase of the Nb3 Sn intermetal-
tallographic picture. On the basis of a given general
lic alloy shown in terms of elastic properties such as bulk
classification, it may be possible to explore in a quali- modulus, B, and shear strength expressed by the difference
tative way the specificity of the behavior of Nb in the of the stiffness tensor components, (C11 − C12 )/2, (values are
condensation of a binary alloy composition by using an in GPa). Va denotes unit cell volume per atom. Numerical
simulations of the structural and elastic behavior were per-
appropriate structural matrix and then by modeling the
formed using DFT calculations.
corresponding solid phase relations. This problem has
been considered in our work [16] under crystal chemi- System Va B (C11 − C12 )/2 (C11 − C12 )/3B

cal analysis using the relevant resources provided online Nb 18.428 170 61.5 0.24
by the Bilbao Crystallographic Server [29, 30, 31, 32]. In Nb3 Sn (cubic) 18.494 166 93.2 0.37

particular, as illustrated in the right panel (b) of Figure

1, a set of special atomic positions can be introduced in
order to compare the density of atomic packing between The next question that has not been fully addressed
pure Nb and its binary compound Nb3 Sn. It should in the literature is how the interaction between the al-
also be underlined that due to the specific features of loy base and the incorporated alloying element, as well
the crystal architecture of niobium, the densest atomic as the interaction between the alloying elements them-
packing in mixed binary solutions can be achieved di- selves, alters the metallic bonding that is an important
rectly by filling empty sites along the planes isometri- factor in the stable constitution of the alloy base. Ta-
cally related to the generic plane (110). Therefore, if the ble 2 attempts to shed some light on this question, at
symmetry of the lattice allows certain crystallographic least on a qualitative level. The results of DFT simu-
positions of atoms through which these planes can be lations of the binary model system niobium-tin reveal
drawn, then such atomic configurations, when assem- several signs of atypical behavior. Obviously, these fea-
bled, will provide the necessary dense packing [16]. As tures are related to the internal structure of a material.
shown in the (b) panel of Figure 1, in the cubic lattice In particular, the analysis of the elastic behavior be-
of Nb, the crystallographic voids of tetrahedral origin fore and after two-component intermetallic formation
Niobium-based intermetallic superconducting alloys 5

showed that the key parameters such as unit cell vol- a decrease of the Nb site symmetry in the distorted
ume per atom and bulk moduli, which are affected by P m-3n lattice. However, due to crystal chemical ef-
composition and lattice geometry factors, have found fects, such a configuration is still poorly constrained
their way during transformations to restore their val- because it remains less favorable in terms of stability.
ues to those determined by the prototype cubic struc- The right panel of figure 2 shows that the stability can
ture of pure Nb, which remained theirs as practically be achieved by local displacements of niobium atoms.
unchanged. Characteristics presented in the remaining As a result, the identical chains of niobium atoms along
two columns in terms of differences between diagonal three orthogonal cubic axes are generated. It is inter-
and non-diagonal stiffness tensor components reflect the esting to emphasize that such displacements partially
ductile/brittle classification [33]. That is, as for the restores the point symmetry of the Nb sites from the
comparison with Nb3 Sn by means of such a recognition input orthorhombic (D2h ) to the final tetragonal (D2d ).
scheme, when the gap between C11 and C12 is widening, Thus, the existence of Nb chains as a prominent feature
the ductility analysis indicates that the introduction of of the Nb3 Sn system architecture is the direct conse-
metalloid Sn is accompanied by the formation of cova- quence provided by the elemental Nb bcc lattice.
lent (strongly directed) bonds. Accordingly, Nb3 Sn is
more brittle than solid Nb. However, since directional
bonding also contributes to this type of lattice ordering,
2.4 Induced anisotropy as an effect of the
this fact does not contradict the requirement of dense
crystallographic orientation
packing.
It has not been previously investigated whether the ef-
2.3 On the crystallographic origins of Nb chain fect of crystallographic orientation contributes to the
formation microstructural features introduced by the crystalliza-
tion process. Crystal-chemical simulations predicted the
A comprehensive understanding of the processes of struc- effect of orientation-induced anisotropy for a Nb3 Sn
tural transformations within the strategy of rational polycrystalline intermetallic system [16]. An explana-
modeling, which includes a close combination of both tion is provided in Figure 3. To see how this is done,
chemical principles and crystal geometry at the atom- first note that the two crystallographic models are com-
istic level, makes it possible to design realistic models pletely equivalent when it pertains to atomic-level char-
on the basis of which it becomes capable to control acterization in the single crystalline regime. More pre-
how the evolution of electronic and phononic degrees cisely, in the case of single crystal crystallization, where
of freedom occurs and to predict how the strength of the possibility of orientation distributions never arises,
their coupling changes. Obviously, this approach opens both the local structure and the lattice structure are
a wide way not only for describing many desirable prop- accurately determined by one of these two models. On
erties of materials as a function of composition, struc- the other hand, for a polycrystalline intermetallic sys-
ture, internal deformation, morphology, etc., but also tem, the role of the grain formation mechanism is well
opens new directions for describing the effects of physi- known. In terms of alloy solidification, this means that
cal forces, such as the mechanism of superconductivity. the local structure of each grain can be unambiguously
In the context of the present paper, this subsection gives determined from the crystallographic data shown in
a brief overview of our recent results on the structural Figure 3 (e.g. unit cell, point symmetries of occupied
chemistry of Nb3 Sn intermetallics [16]. In particular, atomic positions, and bond geometry). However, the
based on the model of the ideal stoichiometric compo- question arises as to how grains, which typically fill
sition Nb3 Sn, we illustrate here the way in which the structured regions, can be classified at the microstruc-
structural features of bulk metallic Nb determine the ture scale in terms of their local lattice settings and
distribution of Sn and Nb atoms in the A-15 lattice. atomic positions. The results of crystal chemical model-
Figure 2 represents a diagram sketch that gives a re- ing have shown that in the equilibrium state, due to the
construction of the mechanism of Nb chain formation requirement of equivariance with respect to the A-15
in terms of the partition configuration of Nb atoms. lattice architecture, two macroscopic textures that are
The left image of the sketch reflects the interme- not exactly equivalent will coexist in a polycrystalline
diate atomic configuration generated by the cubic dis- material. Thus, orientation-induced anisotropy can be
tortion corresponding to the structural transformation expected to occur at the crystallization stage when two
Im3m → P m-3n. The main factors characterizing such or more crystalline grains merge. In this process, al-
a global change of the highly symmetric lattice struc- though their regular orientation with respect to the
ture are a fourfold increase of the unit cell volume and main lattice planes is preserved, a comparison between
6 Taimo Priinits et al.

Fig. 2 Reconstructive model illustrating the formation of the A-15 lattice structure for the intermetallic compound Nb3 Sn
and represented in terms of point symmetry changing (D2h →D2d ) initial positions of niobium atoms. The atomic-scale
reconstruction scheme is drawn in terms of off-center displacements of niobium atoms along the three main crystallographic
directions of the cubic architecture. The atomistic model was constructed and simulated using DFT calculations.

Fig. 3 Model of the bimodal internal microstructure associated with two lattice ordering motifs of Nb chains predicted for the
Nb3 Sn intermetallic compound. Atoms A and B of the A-15 cubic structure correspond to the usual distribution of Nb and Sn
atoms. The illustrations of three-dimensional close-packing for both textures are shown schematically in terms of 6c (left) and
6d (right) Wyckoff positions in the unit cell of the A-15 cubic lattice, where the difference in crystallographic orientation of two
texture patterns is determined by Nb atomic chains formed by occupying the 6c (blue) and 6d (red) positions, respectively. At
the bottom, the schematic arrangement of single crystal grains is shown for a polycrystalline system in terms of both textures.
The grains, which differ in the orientation of the chains with respect to the three planes (as indicated in the lower left corner
of the figure), are arbitrarily arranged along the main cubic crystallographic axes.

two separate grains from the microstructure composi- 2.5 Stoichiometric features
tion indicates that they can be visually separated by
rotating the atomic configuration by 90◦ around the
main crystallographic axis (by analogy, this is similar Since the 70’s, the niobium compounds of different sto-
to making a half turn around the ”twin” axis). ichiometries have been extensively studied experimen-
tally. The Nb based A-15 compounds were found to be
highly sensitive to these variations due to the stoichiom-
etry changing electronic properties of original crystal
Niobium-based intermetallic superconducting alloys 7

Nb6 Sn
5
82 o
Sn 2
Nb 20o
1
Nb6Sn5 & 47 o
Nb3Sn &
NbSn2 Nb6Sn
Sn

31
o
Nb 3
5
A1
NbSn2 & Sn Nb & Nb3Sn

180o 0o
Sn Atomic Sn content Nb
Fig. 4 Polar phase diagram schematically representing a series of intermediate compositions for the intermetallic system
Nb-Sn in terms of the ratio Nb/Sn changing as a polar angle. The compositional region where A-15 phase is stable is marked
with red.

system [17]. For example, Nb3 Ga, Tc varies from 14.5 to 3.1 A-15 and other Nb based superconductors
20.7 K depending on the Nb/Ga ratio [34]. For Nb3 Sn,
its Tc varies from 6 to 18 K depending on the Sn con- A-15 compounds, namely Nb3 Sn, Nb3 Ga and Nb3 Al,
tent [35]. The most common reason for off-stoichiometry have been of interest for over 50 years for use in in-
effect is the irregular deposition of the substrate dur- dustrial applications due to their superior properties
ing [36, 37] fabrication. As mentioned above, the A-15 over pure Nb and Nb Ti alloys, namely higher critical
phase is technologically important, but it is only achiev- temperature, current density and critical magnetic field
able within a certain range of stoichiometry. Figure 4 strength [10, 46, 47]. Table 1 summarizes some relevant
illustrates this using the Nb-Sn intermetallic alloy as an properties of these systems. For large-scale applications,
example. Nb-Sn becomes superconducting in the A-15 the production of Nb3 X compounds with the required
phase from about 18 to 26% of Sn content [38, 5, 39, efficiency, i.e. production speed and quality, has been
40,19, 37], with the highest critical temperature in the one of the major challenges to be overcome compared
range of Nb/Sn 23–26%, which is therefore a practi- to regular Nb and the easily processable and widely
cally usable region, because Tc starts to drop rapidly used Nb-Ti alloys. For example, Nb3 Sn is a brittle ma-
from 15 K at 23% Sn content to 6 K when shifting to terial, and mechanical stress has a degrading effect on
18% Sn content [35]. More generally, it is the long-range the superconducting properties, which makes it diffi-
order that is needed for a compound to have the best cult to use [10, 47, 22]. Moreover, the superconducting
properties: if a material loses long-range order due to coherence length of Nb3 Sn is on the nanometer scale,
any kind of defect, its superconducting properties begin what causes the properties to be highly dependent on
to degrade [20, 5, 35, 40, 41, 42, 43]. A certain amount of even small defects [48].
disorder has been observed to increase the lattice pa-
rameter [6, 44], the electron mean free path [20], the
electron-phonon interaction strength [45], and the den- 3.2 High Energy Physics
sity of electron states near the Fermi level [5, 40, 44]. It
was also found that the lattice parameter is the main Nb-Ti was the material of choice for older colliders,
factor controlling the stoichiometric composition, and but the current density required for the next gener-
further reduction of the lattice parameter with external ation of colliders demands materials with better per-
pressure leads to suppression of superconductivity [6]. formance [49, 4]. The current density for new collid-
ers needs to be at least 103 A/mm2 in magnetic fields
around 25 T [4]. As planned, the design of the new
Future Circular Collider will use dipole magnets with
a magnetic field of 16 T. Such a massive construction
3 Applications will require about 8000 tons of Nb3 Sn wire, which also
calls for the industry to scale up production [7]. With
The present section provides a brief overview of the the development of Nb3 Sn wire for ITER, the scale-up
applications of niobium alloys. Figure 5 illustrates the for production has already begun.
main application directions for Nb3 X compounds. These Superconducting radiofrequency (SRF) cavities must
directions are discussed in more detail below. be fabricated from materials with high critical temper-
8 Taimo Priinits et al.

Magnets for HEP Magnets for MFE 900 MHz &1GHz Systems for NMR
and MRI
Particle accelerators employing Strong magnets with high critical
higher magnetic fields Strong magnets with high critical
current density
Dipole and quadrupole magnets current density
High solenoidal and toroidal fields
to provide the strong focusing of Higher fields up to 30 T
to provide plasma confinment
the beams of circulating particles

Fig. 5 Illustrative scheme showing the main directions of large-scale technological applications of Nb3 X superconducting
wires, tapes and cables. Abbreviations used: HEP – high-energy physics, MFE – magnetic fusion energy, the others are given
in the text.

ature and large superconducting gap, low normal resis- can be reduced, and the higher critical temperature
tivity, s-wave gap symmetry, and high critical magnetic makes it possible to operate superconducting devices
field [50]. New accelerators require magnets capable of at 4.2 K instead of 2 K.
operating with magnetic fields up to 11 T [49]. For 1.3 Smaller facilities and higher operating temperatures
GHz single-cell cavities, Nb3 Sn has shown similar val- reduce infrastructure, labor, and operation and main-
ues at 4.2 K compared to niobium at 2.0 K, allowing a tenance costs, and also expand the range of industrial
more energetically efficient design. applications that use SRF accelerators (such as medi-
cal, border security, and flue gas and wastewater treat-
ment). The ability to cool the material much farther
3.3 Fusion below its critical temperature also increases the qual-
ity factor, improving its efficiency [53, 54]. Given that
One of the largest fusion projects currently underway is the global superconductivity market is estimated to be
the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor in the billions of Eur, with the largest segment cover-
(ITER), where the tokamak magnet used in the design ing Nb-Ti based medical applications, the use of more
of ITER must generate magnetic fields of up to 12 T and advanced materials can therefore bring huge economic
with a current density of 1100 A/mm2 at 4.2 K [51]. The benefits.
construction and development of ITER requires over
600 tons of Nb3 Sn, the scale of this huge amount similar
to the needs of the Future Circular Collider challenges
3.6 Future developments in applied superconductivity
the industry to greatly increase the manufacturing rates
of Nb3 Sn wire [52].
Figure 6 shows a selection of applications that may
become commercial as the properties of superconduct-
3.4 Scientific research, biology and medicine ing devices continue to advance, compared to the well-
known, mostly large-scale applications described in the
In contrast to industrial applications, Nb3 Sn magnets previous chapters. The first group of interest is the in-
have long been employed in scientific research facilities frastructure for zero emission goals. For this, the super-
and equipment to test new theories and methods, ap- conducting energy storage devices are of interest due to
proaches to plasma confinement, and to study the be- the fact that these devices have much better efficiency,
havior of materials in high magnetic fields. In biology higher power density, charging speeds, etc., compared
and medicine, MRI and NMR are two of the most im- to the regular batteries or capacitors [55]. For super-
portant methods relevant to a given topic and used for conducting components in vehicles, there is a direct in-
investigations. The design of next generation magnets terest to increase the capability of electric vehicles by
(above 1 GHz) is expected to use high critical currents reducing energy losses and increasing power, allowing to
with magnetic fields up to 30 T [22]. These parame- make smaller engines, with superconducting wires [56].
ters are not possible with normal Nb-Ti magnets and One of the most talked about future applications is the
systems based on Nb3 Sn or Nb3 Al have to be used. use of superconducting wire in the power grid. In ad-
dition to efficiency, local communities would also ap-
preciate the reduction of the electromagnetic field gen-
3.5 Industry and economic benefits erated by power lines [57]. Superconducting generators
and current limiters improve the reliability and stability
The benefits of using materials with higher current den- of the grid, helping to mitigate instabilities caused by
sities are that the physical dimensions of the facilities faulty currents [58]. The second group is concerned with
Niobium-based intermetallic superconducting alloys 9

Infrastructure for a zero emission Quantum optics and quantum Superconducting quantum systems
information processing and transmission
Superconducting energy Muon collider
storage devices Superconducting quantum Radiofrequency resonator for
materials surface ion traps
Transportation:
Superconducting logic families Superconducting devices for
superconducting components
Low noise amplifiers neuromorphic computing
in vehicles Superconducting qubit networks
Superconducting pipelines and and high-speed computing
networks for power devices
transmission over long Single-photon detectors for
distances quantum photonic integrated
Superconducting generators circuits
and current limiters

Fig. 6 Diagram showing new applications, outlook for future trends and new developments in superconducting technologies.

quantum optics and information. Many quantum su- a wide range of applications in science, industry, medicine,
perconducting materials are reduced-dimensional ma- and quantum computing were realized. The develop-
terials in which electrons are confined in 2D layers. In ment of such specific materials with high sensitivity
these systems, electrons participate in the collective ex- to magnetic flux has been successful, as numerous at-
citations that produce quantum effects [59]. Supercon- tempts by researchers over several decades of basic re-
ducting logic families use single flux quanta instead of search have yielded suitable superconducting compounds
voltage difference to transfer data. These logic gates can with significant advantages for many large-scale cryo-
be optimized to operate at higher speeds or optimized genic applications. Two key materials that have been
to use less power for the same tasks (because at the cur- shown to be capable of stable operation in liquid helium
rent stage, most of the energy is dissipated as heat, and environments have received much attention in these de-
a fraction of the total energy is used to move informa- velopments: (i) in high energy physics, NbTi supercon-
tion between logic gates) [60]. Low-noise amplifiers are ductors, which have shown technical success in acceler-
devices mostly used for basic scientific measurements ated particle physics, and (ii) Nb3 Sn superconductors,
or for reading the qubit signal [61]. Superconducting which are the established basis for the design of large
qubit networks and high-speed computing devices use high field magnets.
the above logic gates to perform computations [60]. Sin- The family of A-15 intermetallic alloys includes A3 B
gle phonon detectors are devices used in quantum re- compositions possessing ideal stoichiometric ratios. In
peaters, qubit readers/amplifiers, quantum gates, and this family, compounds based on Nb Nb3 X have been
quantum computers to process quantum optical infor- of scientific and technological interest for more than
mation [62]. In the last group are devices for super- 50 years. The Nb3 Sn system, together with other Nb-
conducting quantum systems. Muon colliders consist of based A-15 intermetallics, has been mainly considered
precise measuring devices and high-energy accelerators in this brief survey. The main peculiarity of our work is
to generate collisional muons; the lifetime of the muons that, in order to analyze a number of key properties of
is on the order of microseconds, making them difficult Nb intermetallics, we have made a special projection,
to study [63]. Radiofrequency resonators for surface ion based on crystal chemistry, between the crystallography
traps are devices that could be used to enable quantum and the ground state properties of these binary com-
computing and information processing with ions [64]. pounds. As such an approach clarified aspects of our
The application of neural networks would be enhanced interest related to the interplay of chemistry and crys-
by superconducting devices for neuromorphic comput- tallography, we tried to summarize some information
ing [64]. related to the current state of technological applications
of A-15 superconducting systems. Based on the analy-
sis and simulations performed, we have filled the gap in
4 Conclusion the understanding of how the spatial rearrangement of
Nb atoms into chains occurs during the formation of the
After the discovery of the phenomenon of superconduc- Nb-based A-15 structure. Since these chains are consid-
tivity in 1911, nearly half a century passed before the ered by the scientific community to be conducive to the
possibilities of material design and engineering of func- superconducting phenomenon in A-15 intermetallic al-
tional superconducting systems for the development of loys, we have briefly outlined the results of our modeling
10 Taimo Priinits et al.

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