Evaluation of magnetic field homogeneity of a conduction-cooled REBCO magnet with a room temperature bore of 200 mm

Abstract

Development of a high-temperature superconducting magnet wound with REBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-δ (REBCO)-coated conductor for ultrahigh-field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is in progress. Our final targets are 9.4-T MRI systems for whole-body and brain imaging. Since REBCO-coated conductors feature high mechanical strength under a tensile stress and high critical current density, superconducting magnets could be made smaller by using REBCO coils. Superconducting magnets for MRI require homogeneous stable magnetic fields. The homogeneity of the magnetic field is highly dependent on the size and current density of the coils. Furthermore, in REBCO magnets, the screening-current-induced magnetic field that changes the magnetic field distribution of the magnet is one of the critical issues. In order to evaluate the magnetic field homogeneity and the screening-current-induced magnetic field of REBCO magnets, a conduction-cooled REBCO magnet with a room-temperature bore of 200 mm was fabricated and tested. The REBCO coils were composed of 12 single pancakes, and the size of the homogeneous magnetic field region was 100-mm diameter spherical volume (DSV). The central magnetic field was as high as 1 T at 285 A. The magnetic field distribution on the z-axis was measured by using an NMR probe. The maximum error magnetic field was 470 parts per million (ppm) in the range from -50 to +50 mm, as well as in the coefficients of the spherical harmonic expansion for a 100-mm DSV. The error magnetic fields due to the screening-current-induced magnetic field were less than 5 ppm, because there was a sufficient distance between the coil and the homogeneous magnetic field region. The main reason for the error magnetic field was dimensional errors in the outer diameters and positions on the z-axis.