Deposition of BZO nano-sized dots on the substrate surface for the enhanced magnetic properties of superconducting films

Nano-sized dots have been formed on the buffered metal substrates using the novel approach of the electro-spray deposition, to modulate the substrate surface and induce the columnar defects in REBCO films grown on it. The $BaZrO_3$ precursor solution was synthesized and electro-sprayed out onto the negatively charged substrate surface. Using the electrostatic force, nano-sized dots can be grown and uniformly distributed on the buffered metal substrate. The height of BZO nanodots was observed above the 200nm, which are beneficial to induce the columnar defects onto the BZO as a seed. The density of BZO nanodots was also investigated and ${\sim}7.8/{\mu}m^2$ was obtained. As the deposition distance of electro-spray was shortened there was ${\sim}8times$ increase of density of nanodots. The optimization of process variables in electro-spray deposition are discussed in respect to the superconducting REBCO films processed by the Metal-Organic Deposition with the effective flux pinning properties.