Advancing Reel-to-Reel Inspection Techniques for Long HTS Conductors: Comparison and Innovations

The continuous advancement of high-temperature superconductor (HTS) technologies has greatly accelerated the development and deployment of HTS applications. Among the critical tools supporting these advancements are reel-to-reel (R2R) critical current ( $I_{c}$) measurement techniques, which are extensively used by both manufacturers and end users to characterize long-length REBCO conductors. These techniques play a vital role in quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC), ensuring the reliability and performance of HTS conductors and applications throughout the production cycle. We have developed a range of in-house devices for R2R measurements at the University of Houston and Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. These include one-dimensional (1D) scan using a magnetic circuit (MC) and two-dimensional (2D) magnetic field mapping systems based on scanning probe array microscope (SPAM) or scanning probe microscopy (SPM). Each technique offers distinct advantages: the MC system provides ultra-fast scanning speeds, ideal for rapid inspection in large-scale industrial production; the high-resolution SPM delivers detailed insights for conductor research and development; and the SPAM, with its simpler mechanical setup, can be upgraded for higher field and lower temperature conditions with a balanced 2D resolution. We compared the magnetization and detection capabilities of these techniques through experiments on rare-earth barium copper oxide (REBCO) coated conductor samples, with data analysis supported by numerical simulations. Based on our comprehensive comparative studies, we propose enhancements for each measurement system and provide guidelines for selecting the optimal technique combinations to meet specific application requirements.

• Publication year

  2025

• Venue

  IEEE transactions on applied superconductivity

• Publication date

  Unknown publication date

• Fields of study

  Not labeled

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1109/TASC.2025.3548629
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• Correlations Between In-Line X-Ray Diffraction Data and In-Field Critical Current of Long, 4-µm-Thick Film REBCO Tapes Made by Advanced MOCVD

  2025cited by this paper
• REBCO Insert Coils Toward High-Field, Large-Bore Magnet for Quantum Physics Research

  2024cited by this paper
• GIFR: A Graph-Informed Functional Regression Model for Process- Structure-Property Relationships Discovery

  2024cited by this paper
• Autoregressive distributed lag-based dynamic uniformity modeling and monitoring approaches for superconductor manufacturing

  2024cited by this paper
• Quantile regression-enriched event modeling framework for dropout analysis in high-temperature superconductor manufacturing

  2024cited by this paper
• 23 Tesla high temperature superconducting pocket magnet

  2024cited by this paper
• The SPARC Toroidal Field Model Coil Program

  2023cited by this paper
• Reinforcement learning for real-time process control in high-temperature superconductor manufacturing

  2023cited by this paper
• The prospects of high-temperature superconductors

  2023cited by this paper
• A Reel-to-Reel Scanning Hall Probe Microscope for Characterizing Long REBCO Conductor in Magnetic Fields Up to 5 Tesla

  2022cited by this paper
• SuperScreen: An open-source package for simulating the magnetic response of two-dimensional superconducting devices

  2022cited by this paper
• A Pulsed Current Inductive Method and Its Applications for Continuous Measurement of the Critical Current of Long Superconducting Tapes

  2022cited by this paper
• Rapid assessment of REBCO CC angular critical current density J c(B, T = 4.2 K, θ) using torque magnetometry up to at least 30 tesla

  2022cited by this paper
• Design Overview of the MIT 1.3-GHz LTS/HTS NMR Magnet with a New REBCO Insert

  2021cited by this paper
• Scale Up of High-Performance REBCO Tapes in a Pilot-Scale Advanced MOCVD Tool With In-Line 2D-XRD System

  2021cited by this paper
• 45.5-tesla direct-current magnetic field generated with a high-temperature superconducting magnet

  2019cited by this paper
• Observation and Analysis of Defects in Impregnated YBCO Racetrack Coil

  2017cited by this paper
• An Experimental and Analytical Study of Periodic and Aperiodic Fluctuations in the Critical Current of Long Coated Conductors

  2017cited by this paper
• Examination and Analysis of Critical Current Uniformity of Long HTS Tapes by the MCorder

  2015cited by this paper
• High-speed scanning Hall-probe microscopy for two-dimensional characterization of local critical current density in long-length coated conductor

  2012cited by this paper
• Contactless measurement of critical current of high temperature superconductor tape by magnetic circuit.

  2010cited by this paper
• Thin superconductors and SQUIDs in perpendicular magnetic field

  2005cited by this paper
• High-Tc superconducting materials for electric power applications

  2001cited by this paper
• A new experimental method to determine the local critical current density in high-temperature superconducting tapes

  2000cited by this paper
• Magnetization and Critical Supercurrents

  1963cited by this paper
• CRITICAL PERSISTENT CURRENTS IN HARD SUPERCONDUCTORS

  1962cited by this paper

• Challenges in Continuous In-Field Critical Current Testing of High-Temperature Superconducting Tapes: Thermal and Mechanical Perspectives

  2026influential citation
• On the Development of Compact HTS Coil Modules for Large Bore High Field Superconducting Magnets

  2025influential citation
• Suppressing Screening-Current-Induced Strain in a 72-mm-Bore REBCO Insert for a 20-T Magnet: A Numerical Study

  2025cites this paper
• Critical Current Distribution Prediction in REBCO Coated Conductors via Magnetization Field and Electromagnetic Inversion

  2025cites this paper