Magnetic imaging of YBCO coated conductors by Hall probes

To produce long YBCO superconducting coated conductors a contactless non-destructive characterization technique has been developed in order to determine the critical current distribution across the width of the tape point by point in a continuous way while reeling the tape between spools. These requirements have been satisfied by Hall probe arrays, which measure the magnetic field produced by the currents flowing in the superconductor in the presence of an external magnetic field. This technique has been used to map the critical current inhomogeneity by localizing macroscopic defects in the YBCO superconducting tape. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.