This book, in essence the proceedings of a NATO Advanced Study Institute
with the same title, is designed to provide in-depth coverage of many,
but not all, of the major current applications of superconductivity, and
of many that still are being developed. It will be of value to
scientists and engineers who have interests in the research and
production aspects of the technology, as well as in the applications
themselves. The ftrst three chapters (by Clarke, Vrba and Wikswo) are
devoted to an understanding of the principles, fabrication and uses of
SQUID magnetometers and gradiometers, with the greatest emphasis on
biomagnetism and nondestructive evaluation (NDE). For the most part,
traditional low-temperature superconductor (LTS) SQUIDs are used, but
particularly for NDE, high-temperature superconductor (HTS) SQUIDs are
proving useful and often more convenient. The succeeding three chapters
(by Przybysz, Likharev and Chaloupka) cover broader aspects of
superconducting electronics. The ftrst two of these deal primarily with
digital L TS circuits, while the third discusses in great detail passive
component applications using HTS materials. Currently, HTS ftlters are
undergoing intense J3-site testing at cellular telephone base stations.
While it is clear that HTS ftlters outperform conventional ftlters in
reducing signal loss and allowing for more channels in a given
bandwidth, it isn't yet certain that the cellular telephone industry
sees sufficient economic beneftts to make a ftrm decision to use HTS
ftlters universally in its systems. If this application is generally
adapted, the market for these ftlters should be quite large.
