Superconducting properties of niobium after electron beam welding

One of the major criteria for designing superconducting niobium resonant cavities is to minimize the peak surface electric and magnetic fields to maximize the achievable accelerating electric gradient. Even after addressing the extrinsic effects adequately, a large number of cavities perform below the theoretical gradient limit. The peak magnetic field for the first flux-line penetration in the superconducting state of niobium, which either severely degrades the cavity quality factor or results in complete thermal breakdown, is an important limitation. The flux-line penetration is known to depend on the microstructural properties of niobium which may get altered in the process of cavity fabrication. The most common technique of fabricating niobium cavities is to form their components using standard sheet metal techniques and join them by electron beam welding in vacuum. We present results of a study on the superconducting response through magnetization measurements in the electron beam welded region of niobium to understand the limitations (if any) posed by the welding in achieving the highest gradient. We also present and discuss results on the performance of niobium quarter wave resonators incorporating such electron beam welds in the high magnetic field region.