Low temperature formation of YBCO coated conductors on textured metal tapes by liquid phase epitaxy

We have formed YBCO films on Ag-Cu(2 1 0)〈1 2 0〉 and Ni(1 0 0)〈0 0 1〉 textured metal tapes. By using a furnace equipped with a reel-to-reel tape moving mechanism, continuous coating of YBCO film has been made on the silver-based tape at 925 °C. There were, however, cracks in the film prepared at 925 °C due to penetration of the solvent between the metal substrate and the YBCO film. By reducing the growth temperature to 880 °C, thick films over 5 μm in thickness have grown on the tape with neither intrusion nor reaction at the interface. YBCO film on nickel tape showed that the transition temperature degraded considerably at higher growth temperatures, which is probably due to reaction of Ni with the solution and contamination of Ni in the film.