The 113th element, nihonium, named for Japan, was listed in the periodic table in November 2016.
In response, The Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN) launched a project to increase the beam intensity and energy of the existing heavy ion linac to allow it to further investigate new super-heavy elements.
In order to realize this enhancement in a limited space, it is indispensable to introduce superconducting radio frequency cavities, but those made of pure niobium for heavy ions had not been developed in Japan. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Machinery Systems, Ltd. (MHI-MS) worked with RIKEN on the development of superconducting radio frequency cavities for heavy ions utilizing its technology for manufacturing superconducting radio frequency cavities for electrons and has succeeded in manufacturing 10 actual units. This report describes the manufacturing technology that realized high-performance superconducting radio frequency cavities for heavy ions.
