Temporal resistance variation of the second generation HTS tape during superconducting-to-normal state transition
BackgroundThe quench process in high-temperature superconducting (HTS) wires plays an important role in superconducting power devices, such as fault current limiters, magnets, cables, etc. The superconducting device should survive after the overheating due to quench.MethodsWe studied the evolution of the resistance of the YBCO tape wire during the quench process with 1 ms time resolution for various excitation voltages.FindingsThe resistive normal zone was found to be located in a domain of about 1-4 cm long. The normal state nucleation begins in 40-60 ms after voltage is applied across the HTS tape. In subsequent 200-300 ms other normal state regions appear. The normal domain heating continues in the following 5-10s that results in a factor of 2–3 increase of its resistance.ConclusionsFormation of the normal domain during the quench process follows the same stages for different excitation voltages. Characteristic domain sizes, lifetimes and temperatures are determined for all stages.
Ways for increasing the rated capacity of a superconducting current-limiting device
The problem of scaling a transformer-type superconducting current-limiting device in its power capacity is considered. Possibilities of increasing the rated power capacity of such a device are proposed, which have been substantiated by experiments and calculations.
Coherent pulsed injection seeding of two gain-switched semiconductor lasers
High-power, narrow-spectrum, short pulses at a wavelength near 830 nm are needed for optical logic applications. The authors report the generation of two coherent trains of pulses by pulsed injection seeding of two gain-switched semiconductor lasers with one mode-locked master oscillator. The available power was doubled and both lasers emit in nearly identical spectral lines. Short pulses (30-50 ps) are generated at a repetition rate of 1.9 GHz. The spectrum is reduced to a single mode cluster and shows a 1.7 AA wide chirp suitable for pulse compression. The peak power is 0.1 W for each pulse train. The capability of this technique for coherent power combining is demonstrated.<<ETX>>