Improved flux pinning by prefabricated SnO2 nanowires embedded in epitaxial YBa2Cu3Ox superconducting thin film tapes

Abstract

We have developed processes to fabricate SnO2 nanowires on single crystalline-like buffer surfaces on flexible metal substrates with controlled alignment and density while eliminating undesired in-plane nanostructures that can be deleterious to subsequent epitaxial growth of the superconductor film. The in-plane nanostructures formed due to the mobility of gold catalyst on the nucleating surface and a two-step process was developed to restrict this mobility. Post-ion bombardment of the surface with randomly aligned SnO2 nanowires has resulted in re-alignment of the nanowires along the ion beam direction as well as in the removal of the undesired in-plane nanostructures. The most effective and reproducible control of SnO2 nanowire density with near absence of in-plane nanostructures was achieved by growth on single crystalline-like CeO2 surfaces and use of colloidal gold catalysts of 30 nm in size. YBa2Cu3Ox superconductor films epitaxially grown on the single crystalline-like surfaces with SnO2 nanowires exhibit a 50% improvement in critical current at 77 K in a magnetic field of 1 Tesla aligned along the orientation of the embedded nanowires.