Enhancement of Critical Current Density in ErBa2Cu3Oy Thin Films by Post-Annealing

Abstract

We report a remarkable increase in critical current density (Jc) by oxygen post-annealing for only a few tens of minutes in ErBa2Cu3Oy films fabricated at two different pulsed-laser-deposition (PLD) temperatures of 720°C and 760°C. The Jc of these films were obviously enhanced to more than 1 MA·cm-2 in the annealing temperature range of 350°C–500°C in comparison with those of the as-deposited films (0.3–0.5 MA·cm-2). Even in a nonequilibrium process such as the PLD method, the homogenization of oxygen contents in films is crucial for enhancement of the films' critical current properties, which suggests that oxygen post-annealing is a practical process for improvement of critical current of PLD-REBa2Cu3Oy coated conductors.