High-performing superconducting YBa2Cu3O7–x (YBCO) films are fabricated by a chemical solution deposition methodology through novel barium-deficient low-fluorine solutions. The precursor solutions, distinguished for being straightforward, inexpensive and eco-friendly, allow us to reduce the growing temperature of YBCO down to 750 °C. We investigated the influence of the growing temperatures on both the microstructure and superconducting properties of YBCO films by using conventional thermal annealing and flash-heating approaches. A clear correlation between the growing temperature (Tg) and the superconducting performance of the films was obtained with improved performances observed at low Tg.

Cuprate coated conductors are promising materials for the development of large-scale applications, having superior performances over other superconductors. Tailoring their vortex pinning landscape through nanostructure engineering is one of the major challenges to fulfil the specific application requirements. In this work we have studied the influence of the growth temperature on the generation of intrinsic pinning defects in YBa2Cu3O7-δ (YBCO) films grown by chemical solution deposition using low Ba precursor solutions. We have analysed the critical current density as a function of the temperature, applied magnetic field magnitude and orientation, Jc(T,H,θ), to elucidate the nature and strength of pinning sites and correlate the microstructure of the films with their superconducting performance. An efficient pinning landscape consisting of stacking faults and associated nanostrain is naturally induced by simply tuning the growth temperature without the need to add artificial pinning sites. Samples grown at an optimized temperature of 750°C show very high self-field Jc values correlated with an overdoped state and improved Jc(T,H,θ) performances.

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