YBa2Cu3O7-y−coated conductors with high engineering current density

Abstract

Short segments of YBa2Cu3O7-y (YBCO) coated conductors were fabricated on rolling-assisted biaxially textured substrates (RABiTS) with a layer sequence of CeO2/YSZ/Ni using an ex situ BaF2 precursor process. Pulsed laser deposition (PLD) was used to deposit both YSZ and CeO2 layers. The YBCO films were grown using e-beam coevaporated Y–BaF2–Cu precursors followed by postannealing. An overall engineering current density, JE, of 28,000 A/cm2 and critical current, Ic, of 147 A/cm width at 77 K were achieved for a 1.6-μm-thick YBCO film. This result demonstrates the possibility of using both the ex situ BaF2 precursor approach and the RABiTS process for producing long lengths of high-JE coated conductors.