Performance of high-temperature superconducting REBCO coated conductors under synchrotron irradiation for future circular colliders

The influence of medium-to-high energy synchrotron radiation (SR) (≈10–100 keV) produced by the ALBA Synchrotron Light Source on state-of-the-art REBCO coated conductors (CCs) has been studied to assess the feasibility of using high-temperature superconductors for the beam screen of future circular colliders. Long-term irradiation studies were conducted with ex-situ surface resistance testing by using a dielectric resonator. In addition, a cryogenic test system was established for in-situ measurements of the critical temperature and surface impedance of REBCO-CCs during synchrotron irradiation, with intensities similar to or above those generated by proton beams circulating in the vacuum chamber in the future circular collider hadron–hadron design. It is shown that the SR impact does not introduce any macroscopic defects that permanently alter the critical temperature or surface impedance of REBCO-CCs. However, the most significant effect of SR is a transient increase in the REBCO’s surface impedance. This effect is likely caused by heat, as the material returns to its original impedance values once the radiation exposure stops. The correlation between the time structure of the SR and the possibility of suppressing the Cooper pairing mechanism is also discussed.