Effect of particle size reduction on crack formation in electrophoretically deposited YBCO films

Fabrication of superconducting films by an electrophoretic deposition technique has promising industrial applications. However, there are several problems in the case of electrophoretic deposition for fabrication of superconducting films, the major one being crack formation in the films. We examined the effect of particle size reduction on crack formation. The microstructures of films were determined by scanning electron microscopy. Crack in films deposited from a colloid consisting of submicron-sized particles was much less than that in films deposited from a colloid consisting of micron-sized particles. The particle size reduction improved the morphology of superconducting films fabricated by the electrophoretic deposition technique.