New research opportunities in superconductivity IV

This report surveys the considerable progress made over the last five years - such as the marketing of superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs), cellular wireless filter systems, and high current leads - and assesses needs and opportunities in the areas of fundamental science, materials development, thin film and device applications, and wire and bulk applications. It examines the challenges facing high-temperature superconductivity: from the need to understand the mechanism of high-temperature superconductivity and the unusual `normal' state to the need for new instrumentation for material characterization. Advances in thin film and bulk materials are reviewed, and obstacles impeding the commercialization of HTS materials are examined.