ELECTRODEPOSITION OF BIAXIALLY ALIGNED TL-BASED SUPERCONDUCTORS ON AG TAPES

Abstract

An alternative preparation method of Tl based superconducting tapes is discussed. We developed Ag textured tapes as substrates: this material can be used without any buffer layer owing to its weak chemical interaction with the HTSC. Electrodeposition proved to be a fast, cheap and suitable technique to deposit a precursor that can be subsequently transformed in the superconducting phase by an opportune thermal treatment. The solution is formed with nitrates of all the metals dissolved in DMSO. The as-electrodeposited precursor is a highly reactive mixture at atomic scale of all the metals; a rapid (~30 min) thermal treatment is performed in a high isostatic pressure furnace (1 bar O2/50 bar He) in order to prevent Tl evaporation. Epitaxial growth of Tl-based superconductor was achieved by this technique on <110> textured Ag, both on single crystals and on oriented tapes. Superconducting transitions are observed at ~60 K and ~118 K for Tl(1212) and Tl(1223), respectively.