Recently, leveraging the national large research infrastructure “Synergetic Extreme Condition User Facility (SECUF),” Chinese researchers successfully developed an all-superconducting user magnet with a central magnetic field reaching 35.6 tesla, breaking the 32 tesla world record set by the U.S. National High Magnetic Field Laboratory. This magnet is the only all-superconducting user facility magnet in the world capable of providing magnetic fields above 30 tesla, offering extreme high-magnetic-field experimental conditions to research teams both domestically and internationally. Its maximum field strength is more than 700,000 times that of Earth’s magnetic field, significantly enhancing China’s capabilities in high-field materials science research.
High magnetic fields represent an extreme experimental condition for exploring scientific frontiers, playing an irreplaceable role in discovering new phenomena and incubating new technologies. High-field superconducting magnets are devices operating at extremely low temperatures, characterized by zero electrical resistance, high magnetic fields, high stability, and low energy consumption. They serve as core equipment supporting key sectors, including large research infrastructures, advanced healthcare, and national defense. The term “user magnet” refers to a shared experimental magnet open to external research teams.
“However, the development of high-field superconducting magnets involves interdisciplinary integration and faces numerous engineering bottlenecks, with extremely demanding requirements for field strength, stability, and homogeneity. Meanwhile, the high-temperature superconducting materials required for manufacturing these magnets exhibit strong anisotropy and difficulties in dimensional precision control, all of which significantly increase the complexity of magnet design and fabrication,” said CAS Member WANG Qiuliang of the Institute of Electrical Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
In this research endeavor, the Institute of Electrical Engineering and the Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, leveraged their respective strengths to tackle the challenges collaboratively. The team from the Institute of Electrical Engineering achieved breakthroughs in critical core technologies for magnet design and construction, while the team from the Institute of Physics overcame difficulties in precision measurement and system integration under extreme conditions, ultimately realizing a leapfrog improvement in all-superconducting magnet performance.
Notably, this user magnet will provide crucial support for researchers exploring the laws of the microscopic world, advancing basic research, and developing high-end equipment. “For example, in materials science, high magnetic fields can help reveal the properties of novel superconducting materials; in life sciences, they can provide more precise experimental conditions for protein structure determination,” explained LUO Jianlin, Researcher at the Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Addressing public concerns regarding costs and accessibility, LUO Jianlin noted that all-superconducting magnets, due to their zero-resistance characteristics, have operating costs significantly lower than those of traditional resistive magnets. Additionally, the magnet features a 35-millimeter bore diameter, capable of meeting the experimental requirements for most applications, including nuclear magnetic resonance and specific heat measurements.
“The teams from the Institute of Electrical Engineering and the Institute of Physics will continue collaborating, aiming toward 40 tesla and even higher magnetic field targets, while working to expand the magnet bore and reduce operating costs. We are committed to enabling this strategic national asset to support broader research and applications, continuously consolidating China’s leading position in high-field magnetic technology,” WANG Qiuliang said.