Engineered reactive cosputtered SmxZr1–xOy thin films as buffer layers for YBa2Cu3O7−δ coated conductors

This study shows that biaxially textured SmxZr1−xOy (SZO) with a wide range of compositions (0.06 < x < 0.75) can be grown directly on ion-beam-assisted deposition (IBAD) MgO template using reactive cosputtering. The SZO crystal structure can be changed, and the lattice parameter can be tailored (from 5.23 to 5.49 Å) by changing the composition. We have developed a simplified high-temperature superconducting coated conductor using SZO as the buffer layer. YBa2Cu3O7−δ (YBCO) films grown by pulsed laser deposition on the SZO buffered IBAD MgO have self-field critical current densities (Jc) in the 2–4 MA/cm2 range. The in-field measurements demonstrate that high-quality YBCO films can be grown on SZO buffered IBAD MgO. The present results are especially important because they were obtained on coated conductors with the simpler architecture by eliminating the additional homoepitaxial layer of MgO. This translates in faster production and lower manufacturing cost.