Progress on the development of superconducting coils as confinement devices for pair plasmas

A plasma composed of particles with identical masses but opposite charges is predicted to feature fundamentally different phenomena compared to electron ion plasmas. Even though extensive theoretical studies have been carried out for decades, the experimental demonstration of matter-antimatter pair plasmas has not succeeded yet. The APEX project is aiming for the creation of the first magnetically confined laboratory plasma consisting of electrons and positrons, using the worlds strongest high-flux low-energy positron source NEPOMUC. Recent experiments using a prototype permanent magnet dipole trap have already demonstrated high injection efficiencies and long confinement times. The simultaneous confinement of both electrons and positrons however, requires closed unperturbed magnetic field lines. For this purpose we are developing an upgraded dipole trap using a magnetically levitated high temperature superconducting coil. This contribution will depict the progress on the transition of the confinement volume from a mechanically supported to a levitated geometry.