Both a high critical current density and a cost-competitive, easily upscalable procedure are among the most critical requirements for coated conductors. In this work, a low-cost method based on the trifluoroacetic acid process was used to prepare nanosized BaHfO3 particles inside a YBa2Cu3O7 film matrix. The inclusions have a perovskite structure and grow epitaxially in a cube-on-cube relationship. A drastically improved pinning force density and high irreversibility fields in the YBa2Cu3O7 layers were found and are discussed in respect to the Hf doping level in the precursor solutions, which resulted in an increased nanoinclusion content.

An adequate buffer layer architecture is of great importance for YBa2Cu3O7−δ (YBCO)-coated conductor fabrication. We present a transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis of La2Zr2O7 (LZO) buffer layers on biaxially textured Ni–5 at.%W substrates for YBCO-coated conductors prepared by chemical solution deposition (CSD). The LZO thin films were heat-treated at 900 and 1050 °C respectively. Electron diffraction patterns, and bright and dark-field images were used to determine the microstructure, texture and the nanoporosity of the films. By x-ray diffraction the films were found to be [100] oriented and strongly biaxially textured. Although x-ray diffraction suggests an epitaxial growth of LZO on Ni it was shown by TEM that this was not the case. The grain size of the films is between 100 and 300 nm and therefore much smaller than the Ni grain size of 40 µm. Appropriate acquisition conditions for scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and TEM imaging are given to identify the nanogranularity of the films. For the film annealed at 1050 °C high-resolution SEM images clearly show a polycrystalline LZO microstructure and the grain size can readily be determined. Electron diffraction rings are more pronounced than for the film annealed at 900 °C, indicating a higher level of polycrystallinity in the film. SEM images of the film annealed at 900 °C yield no evidence of a polycrystalline microstructure; only single misoriented LZO grains separated by 500 nm are observed. Nanovoids 10–40 nm in size were found in the LZO buffer layers with a high density. The voids had approximately cuboid shape, indicating an anisotropy of the surface energy in LZO. The surface planes of the voids were identified as {111} lattice planes. Despite the nanoporosity, which is a typical feature of CSD-grown buffer layers, the LZO buffer layers act as efficient Ni diffusion barriers. Energy dispersive x-ray microanalysis (EDX) in the transmission electron microscope yielded the composition of the films. In the LZO films no Ni-rich secondary phases were detected and significant C contamination occurred during spectrum acquisition.

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A reel-to-reel, dip coating process has been developed to continuously deposit epitaxial La2Zr2O7 (LZO) and CeO2 on 5 m long cube-textured {100} (001)Ni tapes. Recent results for La2Zr2O7 and CeO2 buffer layers deposited on long lengths of Ni substrate for the realization of YBa2Cu3O7−x (YBCO)-coated conductors are presented. The major achievement is the development of a new all chemical solution deposition (CSD) process leading to the formation of highly textured buffer layers at moderate annealing temperatures. Reproducible highly textured, dense and crack-free LZO buffer layers and CeO2 cap layers were obtained for annealing temperatures as low as 900 °C in a reducing atmosphere (Ar–5 at.%-H2). The thickness of the LZO buffer layers was determined to be (200 ± 10) nm per single coating; prepared cerium oxide layers showed a thickness of 60 nm ± 10 nm. Pulsed laser deposition (PLD) was used to grow YBCO films on these substrates. A Tc 0 of T = 90.5 K and ΔTc = 1.4 K was obtained on PLD-YBCO/CSD-CeO2 /CSD-LZO/Ni–5 at.% W, which shows the outstanding features of this new buffer layer architecture processed by CSD. The large layer thickness combined with low annealing temperatures is the main advantage of this new process for low-cost buffer layer deposition on Ni-RABiTS (rolling-assisted biaxially textured substrates).