US 12,439,833 B2
Superconducting switch
Rodney Alan Badcock, Wellington (NZ); Christopher William Bumby, Wellington (NZ); and Jianzhao Geng, Wellington (NZ)
Assigned to VICTORIA LINK LIMITED, Wellington (NZ)
Appl. No. 17/771,087
Filed by VICTORIA LINK LIMITED, Wellington (NZ)
PCT Filed Oct. 23, 2020, PCT No. PCT/NZ2020/050132
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Apr. 22, 2022,
PCT Pub. No. WO2021/080443, PCT Pub. Date Apr. 29, 2021.
Claims priority of application No. 2019904009 (AU), filed on Oct. 25, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2022/0416649 A1, Dec. 29, 2022
Int. Cl. H10N 60/355 (2023.01); H01F 6/02 (2006.01); H01F 6/06 (2006.01); H02H 9/02 (2006.01); H01F 6/00 (2006.01)
CPC H10N 60/355 (2023.02) [H01F 6/02 (2013.01); H01F 6/06 (2013.01); H02H 9/023 (2013.01); H01F 2006/001 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An electrical switch comprising:
a loop of superconducting material,
wherein the loop comprises a first branch and a second branch, the first and second branches being electrically connected in parallel between a first terminal and a second terminal, and wherein the loop has an axis which is substantially normal to the plane of the loop, and
wherein the loop is configured to carry a transport current between the first terminal and the second terminal; and
a magnetic field generator,
wherein the magnetic field generator is configured to generate a time-varying magnetic field through the loop with the direction of the magnetic field through the loop being generally parallel to, or having a component which is generally parallel to, the axis of the loop,
wherein the magnetic field generator is configured to be selectively activated and de-activated to switch the electrical switch between a low-resistance state and a higher-resistance state, and
wherein, in the low-resistance state, the magnetic field generator does not generate the varying magnetic field through the loop and the transport current flows through the loop between the two terminals, and, in the higher-resistance state, the magnetic field generator generates the varying magnetic field through the loop, inducing a screening current in the loop, such that the sum of the transport current and the screening current in one or more of the first branch and second branch approaches the critical current, is substantially equal to the critical current or is greater than the critical current of the superconducting material.