Niobium - Applications - Superconducting Magnets

Superconducting Magnets

Niobium-germanium (Nb₃Ge), niobium-tin (Nb₃Sn), as well as the niobium-titanium alloys are used as a type II superconductor wire for superconducting magnets. These superconducting magnets are used in magnetic resonance imaging and nuclear magnetic resonance instruments as well as in particle accelerators. For example, the Large Hadron Collider uses 600 tons of superconducting strands, while the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor is estimated to use 600 tonnes of Nb₃Sn strands and 250 tonnes of NbTi strands. In 1992 alone, niobium-titanium wires were used to construct more than US$1 billion worth of clinical magnetic resonance imaging systems.