Flexible Y Ba2Cu3O7−δ-coated superconductor tapes on non-metallic substrates with spin-on-glass and IBAD-YSZ buffer layers

Non-metallic flexible Y Ba2Cu3O7−δ (YBCO)-coated superconductor tapes were fabricated using zirconia with 3 mol% yttria CERAFLEXTM (CF) substrates. The CF substrate surface was treated by spin-coating of spin-on-glass (SOG). Yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) buffer layers were deposited on the SOG layer by ion beam assisted magnetron deposition (IBAD). The epitaxial YBCO films were grown on the buffer layer. The crystalline quality and degree of biaxial alignment were measured using the x-ray θ–2θ and ϕ-scans. The YBCO films were c-axis aligned and had an YBCO(103) ϕ-scan full width half maximum (FWHM) of 10.5°. Films with ϕ-scan FWHM of 19° had a zero field critical current density, Jc, of 0.25 MA cm−2 at 77 K as measured by the induction method.