Processing of Y123 coated conductors using metal organic decomposition

Processing of Y123 and Barium zirconate films using scalable metal organic decomposition (MOD) techniques and their application to the development of coated conductors is investigated. Thick films of Y123 have been processed on single crystal substrates using the decomposition of metal trifluoroacet ates. X-ray diffraction and pole figure analysis of films deposited on (100 ) strontium titanate and lanthanum aluminate single crystal substrates show that these films have good phase purity and a very high degree of alignmen t with the substrate both out-of-plane (<0.5 degrees) and in-plane (<1.5 de grees). chemically derived films were also found to have critical current d ensities greater than 0.5 MA/cm(2) at 77 B for 0.5 mu m thick films. Barium zirconate films have been processed on single crystal substrates using the decomposition of a stoichiometric mixture of barium acetate and zirconium pentanedionate. X-ray characterization of these films shows a strong tenden cy to texture, and scanning electron micrographs of these films shows that they have an extremely smooth and uniform surface. Y123 films processed on these buffered single crystals have a dense microstructure with a strong te ndency to texture. Thus, the possibility of application of these processing techniques on flexible substrates offers promise to the fabrication of lon g length coated conductors.