Development of nickel alloy substrates for Y-Ba-Cu-O coated conductor applications

Fabrication of long-length, textured substrates constitute a critical step in the successful application of coated High Temperature Superconductors (H TS). Substrate materials stronger than nickel are needed for robust applica tions, while substrates with non-magnetic characteristics are preferred for AC applications The present work is thus focused on development of texture in high strength, non-magnetic substrate materials As the development of c ube texture is easier in medium to high stacking fault energy materials, bi nary alloys based on nickel were evaluated for the present application. Hig h purity alloys were melted and hot/cold worked to obtain thin tapes. The d evelopment of texture in these alloys as a function of processing parameter s was studied by x-ray diffraction and metallographic technique. Orientatio n Imaging Microscopy (OIM) was used to quantify the extent of texture devel opment in these substrates. Results to date on the development of texture b y thermo-mechanical processing of these alloys are presented.