Development of Conductive-cooled Superconducting Magnet

This paper describes the development of a conductive-cooled superconducting magnet that uses no cryogen, such as liquid helium or liquid nitrogen. First, the history of the development is introduced. A conductive-cooled superconducting magnet was realized in the late 1980s for the first time and was commercialized about 10 years ago. The technical points and construction for the magnet are explained. The important points were a 4K-GM cryocooler and an HTS superconducting current lead. A conventional GM cryocooler had not achieved 4K level, but by using magnetic regenerator material, we realized refrigeration at liquid helium temperature. An HTS current lead was used as a current lead between a thermal shield and a superconducting coil. Heat leakage by a superconducting current lead is less than 1/10th by a conventional copper current lead. Heat leakage to the 4K level was then dramatically reduced, and the total thermal load at 4K level becomes low enough for a 4K-GM cryocooler. In a conductive-cooled superconducting magnet, a superconducting coil is directly cooled by the second stage of a 4K-GM cryocooler at the 4K level via a good thermal conductive pass. The coil is surrounded by a thermal shield, which is cooled by the first cooling stage at around 50K. A conductive-cooled superconducting magnet has such features as simple operation, small size, and easy access to a magnetic field. Several companies have commercialized a conductive-cooled magnet, and the magnets have been applied not only to research, but also to industrial use, such as MRI, silicon crystal growth, and magnetic separation. The latest R & D and future aspects for a conductive-cooled superconducting magnet are also described.