Fabrication and characterisation of YBCO coated nickel-based tapes with various buffer layers

Pulsed laser ablation has been used to prepare in situ YBCO thin films oil buffered Ni-based textured substrates CeO2, YSZ and Y2O3 buffer layers were deposited with single (CeO2 or Y2O3) and double (YSZ/CeO2) sequence. Standard ORNL buffer layer architecture (CeO2/YSZ/CeO2) was employed as well. AC susceptibility measurements demonstrated the influence of epitaxial growth of the buffet's and YBCO on the superconducting transition. X-ray 0-20 omega- and phi-scanning, AFM and electron backscattered diffraction techniques were to reveal the significance oil growing deposition conditions on the first buffer layer. The comparison was made when YBCO thin films were grown by pulsed layer deposition with ORNL architecture or Y2O3 single buffer layer, (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.