Oxygen and cation diffusion in YBCO coated conductors

Abstract

Biaxially textured YBa 2Cu 3O x (YBCO) films 0.3 μm thick were deposited on single-crystal LaAlO 3 and buffered Hastelloy C276 substrates. After annealing in 18O at 400 °C, secondary-ion mass spectrometry was used to determine oxygen-diffusion profiles and several cation-diffusion profiles within the various layers of the conductors. Oxygenation in the YBCO/LaAlO 3 specimen was relatively slow and hours would be required for full oxygenation of the YBCO. Oxygen diffusion was rapid in the coated conductor. It was dominated by diffusion along a– b planes and full oxygenation of a 0.3-μm-thick YBCO layer was achieved in several minutes. Cation interdiffusion was limited in the YBCO/LaAlO 3 specimen, but was significant within the coated conductor. Although Cu diffused out of the superconductor, an SrTiO 3 layer between textured MgO and YBCO limited diffusion of cations from the various substrate layers into the superconductor.