We recently published a work on Responsibility of small defects for the low radiation tolerance of coated conductors, which was accepted and published on the 2^nd of September in the IOP Journal Superconductor Science and Technology.

This research paper explores the complexities behind the low radiation tolerance of coated conductors, establishing a direct connection to the introduction of small, pair-breaking defects. By irradiating Gadolinium-based Rare-Earth-Barium-Copper-Oxide coated conductors with thermal neutrons, we successfully introduced high densities of nearly point-like defects and demonstrated their detrimental effects on superconducting properties.

This work was conducted in collaboration with colleagues from Linköping University in Sweden and Politecnico di Torino in Italy, who simulated the defect structures arising from this specific neutron absorption reaction with molecular dynamics simulations. Their contributions enabled us to identify the degradation mechanisms linked to the dislocation of oxygen atoms within the superconducting crystal lattice.

Additionally, our study revealed that the degradation and recovery processes during annealing exhibit consistent behavior across various radiation environments. This finding opens new avenues for modeling degradation, which we will explore in an upcoming publication.