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.