OSTC, Flemish Community, French Community, Walloon Region, Brussels Capital City Region.
The Programme aimed at promoting a national research effort, of precompetitive nature, to keep Belgium at the level of the other industrialized countries.
In Belgium, there are a number of university and assimilated laboratories with a tradition in the field superconductivity and its applications. In order to promote optimal use of the know-how available in the country, the Programme has been mainly developed around these laboratories. The Programme stressed pluridisciplinary collaboration within the scientific sphere between physicists, chemists, and engineers.
In addition to these, certain excellence laboratories previously not involved in superconductivity research, but which could also contribute their acquired knowledge in related fields to a study of high-temperature superconductors, were associated with the Programme.
The Programme’s general research lines were as follows :
- Optimizing manufacturing processes : laboratory synthesis of well-defined superconducting materials.
- Shaping of materials, including the production of superconducting films and exploratory research into manufacturing techniques for wires and tapes.
- Characterizing high-temperature superconductors, including their micro(structure), and electrical, magnetic, thermal, mechanical and optical properties.
- Research into possible applications in (micro-)electronics and electrotechnics.
SU/01: High-Tc superconducting films : from fundamentals to devices
SU/02: Improvement by defect control of high-Tc superconductor properties and evaluation of potential applications
SU/03: Evaluation of production and shaping processes of high-Tc superconductors for various applications
Programme d'impulsion sur les supraconducteurs à haute température 1990-1994: synopsis des projets
SPPS, 1991 (SP0463)
[Exhausted]
Impulsprogramma hoge-temperatuur supergeleiders 1990-1994: overzicht van de projecten
DPWB, 1991 (SP0464)
[Exhausted]
Impulse programme high-temperature superconductors 1990-1994: synopsis of projects
SPO, 1991 (SP0465)
[Exhausted]
High-temperature superconductors: scientific results
Moulin, J. OSTC, 1996 (SP0466)
[Exhausted]
- Preparation of YBCO thin superconducting films of superior quality and with reproducible properties (the films were among the best reported in the world literature);
- Fabrication of various prototype electronic devices for microwave applications: hybrid superconductor-semiconductor oscillators, high-Q resonators and filters, low-loss delay lines;
- Development of various new software, e.g. for X-ray diffraction structural characterization of thin films and superlattices, simulation and evaluation of high-Tc microwave circuits;
- A number of methods and techniques related to the processing and fabrication of high-Tc films, wires and tapes were protected in patents;
- The knowledge and know-how gained during the Programme are applicable also to the study and development of other types of ceramics and of other materials for new, high-technology applications. They will be further exploited by several of the participating laboratories;
- Broad perspectives of spin-off and industrial valorization have been created.
