A brief history of SFCL HTS and examples of our work

The discovery of HTS in 1986 by A. Müller and G. Bednorz was fantastic not only for solid-state physics, but also for superconducting applications. Bednorz was fantastic not only for solid-state physics, but also for superconducting applications. Enthusiasm was considerable, suggesting that superconducting devices would flood the market. In May 1987, the cover of Time magazine read "The Superconductivity Revolution". The revolution didn't happen. Thirty years of research and development were needed to pre-industrialize HTC conductors, especially those suitable for limiters.

The history of SFCL HTC has followed the development of HTC materials. In the 1990s, the "usable" superconductors were BiSrCaCuO compounds, available in the form of solid materials, notably tubes a few centimetres in diameter and up to 0.5 m high. These tubes can be machined to produce single-...