YSZ buffer layers on large technical substrates

The ion-beam-assisted deposition (IBAD) of yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) films was extended to large technical substrates such as ceramic plates, m etallic tapes and metallic tubes to serve as templates for high-current car rying Y-Ba-Cu-O films. These YSZ films are deposited,vith dual-Kaufman-ion- source equipment. The coating of technical substrates large in comparison t o the ion sources requires special measures to provide YSZ films of homogen eous texture quality. With respect to the special growth mechanism of YSZ, a homogenization of the in-plane texture can be achieved by simple movement of the substrate. Up to now we have been able to produce YSZ films on cera mic substrates (10 cm x 10 cm) with a homogeneous in-plane texture of 17 de grees FWHM and on a Ni-tape (1 cm x 50 cm) with a FWHM of 21 degrees, The m ain aspects of the growth mechanism the influence of the nucleation, the im provement of texture with increasing film thickness and homoepitaxial effec ts and the surface morphology are investigated in detail with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and atomic force microscopy(AFM).