The application of niobium-titanium alloy in coaxial cables

Niobium-titanium alloy has become the core material for special coaxial cables due to its excellent superconducting properties. When the temperature drops to the liquid helium temperature range (4.2K), the niobium-titanium alloy can achieve zero-resistance conductivity, which is crucial for research-grade coaxial cables that transmit extremely high-frequency signals and require extremely low loss. Such cables are mostly used in cutting-edge fields such as radio astronomy, particle accelerators, and quantum computing, and their design must meet the requirements for stable signal transmission in the superconducting state.

In coaxial cables, niobium-titanium alloy tubes are often used as the outer conductor or electromagnetic shielding layer. The tubular structure ensures both mechanical strength and continuous cooling through the internal circulation of liquid helium. For instance, in the Large Hadron Collider, superconducting coaxial cables that are several kilometers long use NbTi alloy tubes as the outer conductor, which can not only transmit nanosecond-level pulse signals but also effectively shield external electromagnetic interference, maintaining signal purity.

The precisely drawn NbTi wire can be used as the central conductor of the cable. Its diameter can be controlled at the micrometer level, and the surface is specially polished to reduce skin effect losses. In millimeter-wave transmission systems, this superconducting core wire can achieve a signal transmission efficiency of up to 99.99%, which is three orders of magnitude lower than the loss of traditional copper cores at the same frequency band. It is particularly suitable for the data return system of deep-space probes.

Modern superconducting coaxial cables often adopt a composite structure of niobium-titanium alloy tubes and wires. For example, particle detectors use multi-layer coaxial cables, with the inner layer being a niobium-titanium alloy wire core, the middle filled with silicon nitride insulating layer, and the outer layer wrapped with niobium-titanium alloy tubes. This design not only maintains phase stability but also achieves 100% electromagnetic shielding effect through the complete diamagnetism of the outer superconducting tube.

The practical application requires solving complex integration problems. The cable needs to remain below the superconducting critical temperature throughout its entire length, so it must be precisely coordinated with vacuum insulated tubes and multi-stage refrigeration systems. The segmented cooling technology, through a series of miniature refrigerators arranged at intervals, ensures that the 500-meter-long niobium-titanium coaxial cable maintains a temperature gradient of no more than 0.1K, guaranteeing the continuity of the superconducting state.

With the development of high-temperature superconducting materials, niobium-titanium alloy coaxial cables are moving towards a composite direction. Current research focuses include: depositing magnesium-boron superconducting coatings on the surface of NbTi alloys to increase the critical temperature; developing flexible niobium-titanium alloy micro-tube braided cables for mobile detection equipment; and raising the working temperature to above 10K through nano-structure regulation. These innovations will enable superconducting coaxial cables to be more widely applied in fields such as medical imaging and satellite communication.

Chinese Manufacturer - Fortu Tech supplies NbTi to multiple countries and regions around the world. Its service coverage includes the United States, Canada, Russia, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Sweden, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Spain, Czech Republic, Poland, Japan, South Korea, as well as Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia and other places in Latin America.

Fortu Tech in China can also produce and process NbTi foil, NbTi Capillary Tube, NbTi billet, NbTi sheet & plate, NbTi rod, NbTi wire, NbTi tubes.

If you have any questions or need quote, price, please send email to info@fortu-tech.com.