Application of high-temperature superconducting coil for internal ring devices

A high-temperature superconducting (HTS) coil is applied for plasma confinement devices, where plasma is confined with a magnetic field of a floating HTS coil. The internal coil device mini-RT with a BSCCO tape has been constructed, in which the coil major radius and magnetomotive force are 0.15 m and 50 kA, respectively. The coil is cooled to 20 K with a helium gas by using a demountable transfer tube and check valve system. The coil current is directly excited by the external power supply with demountable electrodes. To reduce the heat load, the electrodes were cooled with liquid nitrogen. The levitation experiment of the HTS coil has been carried out. The position of the HTS coil is measured by laser sensors, and is feedback-controlled with the levitation coil current. We have succeeded in levitating the HTS coil during 1 h with accuracy of less than 20 μm. The magnetic field strength near the internal coil is around 0.1 T, and a radio-frequency wave of 2.45 GHz is applied for the plasma production. At the floating condition of the HTS coil, a high-density plasma with more than 1017 m−3, which is higher than the cut-off density of a 2.45 GHz microwave, has been produced. A new device RT-1 with a major radius of 0.25 m and a magnetomotive force of 250 kA is under construction, and a persistent current has been demonstrated. The feasibility on YBCO tape is briefly discussed.