Power Switches Utilizing Superconducting Material for Accelerator Magnets

Power switches that utilize superconducting material find application in superconducting systems. They can be used for the protection of magnets as a replacement for warm DC breakers, as well as for the replacement of cold diodes. This paper presents a comparison of switches made of various superconducting materials having transport currents of up to 600 A and switching times of the order of milliseconds. The switches operate in the temperature range 4.2-77 K and utilize stainless steel clad YBCO tape and MgB
₂
tape with a nickel, copper, and iron matrix. Results from simulations and tests are reported.