Kyocera supplies cooling elements for Europe's most modern particle accelerator
Composite components made of alumina and copper enable the production of superconductors at minus 200 degrees Celsius.
- Fine Ceramic Components
Kyoto/London − The 1,100 metre long "Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research" (FAIR), one of the most modern ring accelerators in Europe, is being built at the GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research in Darmstadt, Germany. With its help, the extreme conditions - temperatures, pressures and densities - under which matter is created in the universe can be researched. The high mobility of electrically charged particles, which occurs in certain materials - known as superconductors - at temperatures below minus 200 degrees Celsius, is exploited for this purpose. The particles can then be accelerated to almost the speed of light. To achieve the extreme cold, liquid helium or liquid nitrogen is passed through coolers developed by Kyocera that surround the superconductor. These coolers combine the high cold resistance and insulating properties of ceramic tubes made of F99.7 alumina with the high thermal conductivity of contact heat sinks made of high-purity copper. The two components were joined using a nickel-iron alloy in a brazing process.
Many years of expertise from research partnerships
For decades, KYOCERA Fineceramics Europe GmbH has been a regular development partner of research institutions such as the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) and the GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research. Together with the scientists, special ceramics are being developed and tested to meet particularly high requirements. In addition to cold resistance, the electrical insulation of the individual copper heat sinks from each other (up to 1 kV) and the prevention of leaks (with helium up to 10-9 mbar l/s) also played a decisive role in the coolers manufactured for the GSI. In addition, the coolers have been designed for a service lifetime of around 30 years.
Development benefits medical, safety and laboratory technology
Today, particle accelerators are not only used in large-scale research facilities, but also in numerous other applications, such as for imaging processes and radiation treatments in medicine, for drug and explosive detection during security checks at airports or generally for material analyses in laboratories. At the moment, around 30,000 particle accelerators are in use around the world, and the trend is rising.
