Impact of deoxygenation/reoxygenation processes on the superconducting properties of commercial coated conductors.

We report the evolution of the superconducting properties of a commercial coated conductor during deoxygenation and reoxygenation processes. By analyzing the changes on the critical temperature, T, and critical current density, J, at 4 and 77 K, we have identified the conditions that cause a complete deoxygenation of the coated conductor and, also, the reoxygenation conditions that allow a recovery of the superconducting properties. A complete suppression of superconductivity happens at ~ 500-550 °C under a pure argon flow.

Critical current density improvement in CSD-grown high-entropy REBaCuO films.

High-entropy oxide (HEO) superconductors have been developed since very recently. Different superconductors can be produced in the form of a high-entropy compound, including REBaCuO (REBCO). However, until now, mainly bulk samples (mostly in polycrystalline form) have been reported.

Unravelling the Crystallization Process in Solution-Derived YBaCuO Nanocomposite Films with Preformed ZrO Nanocrystals via Definitive Screening Design.

A low-cost chemical solution deposition technique was employed to prepare YBaCuO (YBCO) nanocomposite films starting from a colloidal solution containing preformed ZrO nanocrystals. As previous publications revealed, an increase in the amount of nanocrystals results in a progressive deterioration of the film properties. The parameters that control this process and their interplay are still unknown in detail.

BCO mixtures with large difference in rare-earth ion size: superconducting properties of chemical solution deposition-grown Yb Sm BaCuO films.

The main objective of this work was to study the superconducting properties of BCO films with a mixture of rare-earth () ions with large difference in ion size, in particular Sm and Yb. These Yb Sm BaCuO films have been successfully prepared for the first time by chemical solution deposition following the extremely low-fluorine route, which allows reducing the fluorine content by 93% with respect to standard full trifluoroacetate solutions. On the one hand, critical temperature remains stable at approximately 90 K with Sm content up to = 0.

Investigation of the crystallization process of CSD-ErBCO on IBAD-substrate via DSD approach.

REBaCuO (REBCO, RE: rare earth, such as Y and Gd) compounds have been extensively studied as a superconducting layer in coated conductors. Although ErBCO potentially has better superconducting properties than YBCO and GdBCO, little research has been made on it, especially in chemical solution deposition (CSD). In this work, ErBCO films were deposited on IBAD (ion-beam-assisted-deposition) substrates by CSD with low-fluorine solutions.