Continuous electropolishing of Hastelloy substrates for ion-beam assisted deposition of MgO

We demonstrate the applicability of continuous electropolishing for the preparation of metal tapes for ion-beam assisted deposition of MgO for the fabrication of in-plane textured template layers. These templates are used for the fabrication of second generation high temperature superconducting wires utilizing YBa2Cu3O7-delta coatings on metallic substrates. Surface roughness values below I nm and local slopes of less than P could be achieved with the electropolishing process. Mean surface roughness values are lower with the use of electropolishing and slopes of surface roughness inclines are significantly reduced compared to the best results of mechanical polishing (3.5 nm and 5degrees, respectively). The cost-effective process of electropolishing shows great promise for the fabrication of second generation high temperature superconducting wire.