Multi-layer coated conductor cylinders - an alternative approach to superconducting coil fabrication

A radically new approach to the fabrication of electrical machines based on an HTS coated conductor has been developed. Instead of long lengths of coated conductor tape being wound into coils in a conventional manner, we propose to use a combination of thin film deposition and patterning techniques with an essentially coaxial cylindrical geometry to produce superconducting multilayer coils. These patterned coated conductor cylinders can subsequently be configured in different ways to form a variety of superconducting electrical machines all based on highly manufacturable 'standard' cylindrical modules with high engineering current density. The cost benefits of such standardized manufacturing may be very significant in future applications of coated conductor. Multi-layer thin films of YBCO on buffered, curved Ni-based, textured substrates have been grown by pulsed laser deposition in order to demonstrate the feasibility of fabricating, in situ, a multi-turn coil on a cylindrical former by continuous deposition of sequential layers of superconductor and insulator.