Plasma containers made from high-Tc superconducting tubes (supertrons)

Pulsed neon plasma was produced at 0.2 and 1.0 Torr in the bore of a high-critical temperature (Tc) bismuth-based sintered superconductor tube (supertron) with a Tc of ∼l03 K. The tube had a 9-mm inner diameter, a 1.5-mm-thick wall, and a 60-mm axial length. The discharge electrodes were separated by 32 mm. Spatiotemporal behaviors of the plasma were observed using a streak camera through an imaging fiber. The experimental results showed that the superconducting tube contained the plasma more effectively than the normal conducting one.