page_title: Niobium–tin
section_title: Notable uses
hierarchical_section_title: Niobium–tin / Notable uses
caption_attribution_description: ITER TF conductor after partial removal of the stainless steel jcket to reveal in the internal components. Images by Charlie Sanabria. SULTAN-tested cable was provided by courtesy of Pierluigi Bruzzone (Plasma Physics Research Center) with agreement from Fusion for Energy.
context_page_description: Niobium–tin is an intermetallic compound of niobium and tin, used industrially as a type II superconductor.
  This intermetallic compound has a simple structure: A3B. It is more expensive than niobium-titanium, but remains superconducting up to a magnetic flux density of 30 teslas [T], compared to a limit of roughly 15 T for NbTi.
  Nb₃Sn was discovered to be a superconductor in 1954. The material's ability to support high currents and magnetic fields was discovered in 1961 and started the era of large-scale applications of superconductivity.
  The critical temperature is 18.3 kelvins. Application temperatures are commonly around 4.2 K, the boiling point of liquid helium at atmospheric pressure.
  In April 2008 a record non-copper current density was claimed of 2,643 A mm⁻² at 12 T and 4.2 K.
context_section_description: The central solenoid and toroidal field superconducting magnets for the planned experimental ITER fusion reactor use niobium–tin as a superconductor. The central solenoid coil will produce a field of 13.5 teslas (135,000 G). The toroidal field coils will operate at a maximum field of 11.8 T. Estimated use is 600 metric tons (590 long tons) of Nb₃Sn strands and 250 metric tonnes of NbTi strands.
  At the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, extra-strong quadrupole magnets (for focussing beams) made with niobium–tin are being installed in key points of the accelerator between late 2018 and early 2020.
  Niobium tin had been purposed since 1986 as an alternative to niobium-titanium, since they allowed coolants less complex than superfluid helium. This option was finally not pursued in order to avoid delays while competing with the then-planned US-led Superconducting Super Collider.
caption: Nb3Sn wire from the ITER fusion reactor, which is currently under construction.
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