High temperature superconductor resistive switch characteristics

High Temperature Superconductor (HTSc) will switch from the superconducting state to the normal resistive state when an intrinsic critical current density is exceeded. We have measured the transition characteristics for HTSc thin films forced into transition by the application of voltage driven overcurrents. These thin films were used in the development of prototype HTSc fault current limiting devices. The prototype fault current limiters have exhibited excellent performance, combining low insertion loss during normal current conditions with rapid response and minimization of fault currents. This paper describes the results of several subscale power applications experiments which have demonstrated the usefulness of these devices. Also presented is an experiment demonstrating active switching of the devices to the resistive state. These experimental results will benefit researchers considering the use of HTSe switches for active control of current