Improved Performance of CSD-Grown Y1- x Gd x Ba2Cu3O7-BaHfO3 Nanocomposite Films on Ni5W Substrates

Abstract

Y1- x Gd x Ba2Cu3O7-BaHfO3 (YGBCO-BHO) nanocomposite films containing 12 mol% BHO nanoparticles and different amounts of Gd, x , were grown by Chemical Solution Deposition (CSD) on Ni5W substrates in order to investigate the impact of the rare-earth stoichiometry on the structure and superconducting properties of these films. For Gd contents x > 0.5, epitaxial YGBCO-BHO films with an approximate thickness of 270 nm self-field critical current density J c at 77 K ∼ 1,5 MA/cm² were obtained. The field dependence of the critical current density J c( B ) shows a much larger accommodation field and lower exponents α in J c ∼ B −α values compared to pristine YBCO films. This is both due to the high amount of individual nanoparticles in the matrix as observed in TEM images and the higher critical temperatures T c. The results show that the CSD is a potential candidate for the preparation of RE BCO films in long-length coated conductors.