Biaxial texturing of Cu sheets and fabrication of ZrO2 buffer layer for YBCOHTS films

Cu sheets were selected as substrates for producing biaxially textured superconductor films. The biaxially textured pure Cu substrates with a thickness of 50 mu m were fabricated using rolling followed by recrystallization processes. The in-plane alignment and out-of-plane alignment of Cu substrates were analyzed as a function of annealing temperature using detailed X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies, and the best heat treatment condition for obtaining the cube texture was identified. The copper oxide layers were formed using low temperature annealing in ambient pressure and characterized using XRD, SEM, Galvanostatic method, and AES. ZrO2 films were also deposited on textured Ca substrates to prevent possible reaction between Cu sheets and YBCO superconductors. The ZrO2 films were sol-gel dip coated, and various heat treatment conditions were applied. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.