High critical current density of YBCO coated conductors fabricated by inclined substrate deposition

Inclined substrate deposition (ISD) has great potential for rapid production of high-quality template layers for YBCO-coated conductors. We have grown biaxially textured magnesium oxide (MgO) films on metallic substrates by ISD at deposition rates, 20–100 Å/s. Scanning electron microscopy of the ISD MgO films showed columnar grain structures with a roof-tile-shaped surface. X-ray diffraction and pole figure analysis revealed that the c-axis of the ISD MgO is tilted at an angle with respect to the substrate normal. A full width at half maximum (FWHM) of ≈10° was observed in the φ-scan for MgO films. Yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) and ceria (CeO 2) buffer layers were epitaxially grown on ISD MgO by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) prior to YBCO deposition by PLD. The YBCO films grown on YSZ/CeO 2 buffered ISD MgO substrates were biaxially aligned with the YBCO c-axis normal to the substrate surface. A critical current density of J c>1.2×10 6 A/cm 2 was measured at 77 K in self-field.