Epitaxial YSZ/CeO2 and YBCO on cube textured nickel

The YBa2Cu3O7-x (YBCO) superconducting films deposited on the polycrystal metallic substrates by using the rolling assisted biaxially textured substrates (RABiTS) method is reported in this paper. The sharp cube texture in Ni was produced by cold-rolling and recrystallization. The CeO2 and yttria-stabilized-zirconia (YSZ) films were fabricated by magnetron sputtering technique using plane target. Ar and H-2 were used as sputtering gas while CeO2 film was deposited. If the pressure of hydrogen is appropriate, NiO can be inhibited while CeO2 is stable. The full width half maximum (FWHM) of the phi-scan of CeO2 (220) is 11 degrees, showing a good in-plane orientation. Using Ar and O-2 sputtering gas YSZ film was deposited. The FWHM of the phi-scan of YSZ (220) is 15 degrees. The conditions of both CeO2 and YSZ films grown on Ni substrates are more severe than those on single crystal substrates. YBCO film was deposited on YSZ/CeO2/Ni by using cylinder target in a de magnetron sputtering system. The transport J(c) (77 K, 0 T) was 6 X 10(5) A/cm(2). The microstructure of the deposited films was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Auger electron spectrum (AES). (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.