Where Next with SRF?

Abstract

RF superconductivity (SRF) has become, over the last ~20 years, the technology of choice to produce RF cavities for particle accelerators. This occurred because of improvements in material and processing techniques as well as the understanding and remediation of practical limitations in SRF cavities. This development effort span ~40 years and Nb has been the material of choice for SRF cavity production. As the performances of SRF Nb cavities are approaching what are considered to be theoretical limits of the material, it is legitimate to ask what will be the future of SRF. In this article we will attempt to answer this question on the basis of near-future demands for SRF-based accelerators and the basic SRF properties of the available materials. Clearly, Nb will continue to play a major role in SRF cavities in the coming years but the use of superconductors with higher critical temperature than Nb is also likely to occur.