Degradation characteristics of YBCO coated conductors due to fault-current in power cable applications

In high temperature superconductor applications used in electric power devices, YBCO coated conductors may be subjected to short-circuit fault-currents that are 10–30 times the normal operating current. These over-currents cause heat generation, resulting in I_c degradation of the YBCO coated conductor. Therefore, it is necessary to fully investigate the degradation characteristics of YBCO coated conductors. We previously conducted preliminary experiments on the degradation of YBCO sample tapes resulting from the over-current pulse drive.     

Pinning potential in thick PrBa2Cu3Ox/YBa2Cu3O7−δ quasi-multilayers

Using Pulsed Laser Deposition we have fabricated thick quasi-multilayers composed of incomplete layers of PrBa₂Cu₃O_x (PrBCO) nano-dots and layers of YBa₂Cu₃O_7?δ (YBCO). The number of such sequences was between 2 and 6, with the thickness of individual YBCO layers between 565 and 885 nm, and total thickness between 1.13 and 5.31 μm. For the thinner quasi-multilayer, DC magnetization studies showed an increase in the critical current density J_c at all fields in comparison with a pure YBCO reference sample, while the thicker samples showed an increased J_c only in high fields. We have also investigated the frequency dependence of J_c from AC susceptibility studies and found that the pinning potential is well described by a logarithmic dependence on current density. Pinning potentials in PrBCO/YBCO quasi-multilayers also proved to be higher than in the reference sample at high fields. From angle-dependent transport measurements we have found indications of strong pinning centres induced by the (PrBCO) nano-dots, both isotropic and c-axis correlated.     

Strongly enhanced flux pining of GdBCO coated conductors with BaSnO3 nanorods by pulsed laser deposition

We report the effects of BSO addition on the crystallinity, texture, and the field dependency of critical current density (J_c) of GdBCO coated conductors (CCs) prepared by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). Undoped and BSO-doped GdBCO films showed only c-axis oriented growth, and the incorporated BSO nanorods exhibited epitaxial relationship with the GdBCO matrix. In comparison with undoped film, BSO-doped GdBCO film exhibited greatly enhanced J_c and higher pinning force densities in the entire field region of 0–5 T (H//c) at 77 and 65 K. The BSO-doped GdBCO film showed the maximum pinning force densities (F_p) of 6.5 GN/m³ (77 K, H//c) and 32.5 GN/m³ (65 K, H//c), ～2.8 times higher than those of the undoped sample. Cross-sectional TEM analyses exhibited nano-structured BSO nanorods roughly aligned along the c-axis of the GdBCO film, which are believed effective flux pinning centers responsible for strongly improved critical current densities in magnetic fields.     

Stable barium compounds in YBa2Cu3Oy superconductors

The stability of various amounts of Ba₃Cu₃In₄O₁₂ (334) or BaTbO₃ (BTO) in a sintered YBa₂Cu₃O_y (YBCO) matrix was examined. Samples with added 334 or BTO exhibited critical temperatures (T_c) above 90 K for up to 20 vol.% addition and improved critical current densities (J_c) under a magnetic field. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis indicated that 334 and BTO did not react with the YBCO matrix under the sintering conditions used. The normalized J_c under a magnetic field of 1 T reached a maximum at 14 vol.% of 334 addition and 20 vol.% BTO addition. YBCO thin films with added BTO showed a gradual decrease in the T_c with increasing BTO content. YBCO films with added 334 showed a constant T_c of 87 K up to a 334 content of 4 vol.%.     

Asymmetric angular dependence of Jc in coated conductors prior to and after fast neutron irradiation

Angular dependent measurements of J_c were performed on a commercial coated conductor (SuperPower) consisting of a 1 μm thick YBCO layer grown on a MgO IBAD buffer layer. An asymmetric behavior of the angular dependence of J_c (J_c(Ф)) was found with a changing distance between the two peaks at different temperatures and applied magnetic fields. One peak always occurs when the field is oriented parallel to the tape surface, the other smaller peak is located in the perpendicular orientation at high fields, but slightly shifted (by up to 10°) at 77 K and low magnetic fields. This peak shift, the overall J_c(Ф) asymmetry and the influence of fast neutron irradiation on J_c(Ф) are discussed. The spherical defects, introduced by collisions of fast neutrons with the lattice atoms, are randomly distributed, add to the as-grown defect structure and change the critical current anisotropy by altering both peaks.     

Growth temperature dependence of flux pinning properties in ErBa2Cu3Oy thin films with nano-rods

Irreversibility lines and distributions of local critical current density (J_cl) based on the percolation transition model were affected by the growth temperature (T_s) in 3.5 wt.%-BaNb₂O₆-doped ErBa₂Cu₃O_y thin films. The vortex-Bose-glass-like state appeared by the introduction of nano-rods, and this vortex state was affected by T_s. The shape and width of the J_cl distribution strongly depended on T_s. These results are probably caused by variations of the density and the growth direction for nano-rods reflecting T_s. The growth temperature is an important factor to achieve higher critical current properties under magnetic fields for coated conductors of rare-earth-based cuprates with nano-rods.     

Flux pinning by discontinuous columnar defects in 74 MeV Ag-irradiated YBa2Cu3O7 coated conductors

Linear damage tracks are created in production-quality YBCO coated conductors by irradiation with 61–74 MeV Ag ions. The ion tracks are observed by transmission electron microscopy to be elongated but discontinuous. The in-field transport critical current (I_c) is enhanced significantly for fields applied parallel to the irradiation direction with a broad peak appearing in the magnetic field-angle dependence of the critical current, coinciding with the irradiation direction. The zero-field I_c is typically reduced somewhat, however annealing at 200 °C partially restores this and enhances the in-field I_c even for field parallel to the irradiation direction. Lower energies tend to produce a weaker peak, but also retain the zero-field I_c to a greater extent, consistent with a trend of greater discontinuity in the ion tracks.     

Long-term stability of Bi(2223) and Dy(123) superconducting tapes in the direct current circuit

The stability of critical parameters T _c and I _c of commercial high-temperature superconducting wires upon long-term passage of transport current (about 0.7I _c) in liquid nitrogen (77 K) is studied. Voltage-current characteristics U(I), as well as the critical current and critical temperature, are investigated for the case of Bi(2223) hermetic multifilament wires and Dy(123) superconducting tapes covered by a thin Ag layer. In the former case, a considerable decrease in the critical current (by ～30%) and swelling of the wires after passage of the current for 323 h are observed. The same is true for a reference sample, which does not experience the action of current and stays in liquid nitrogen for 700 h. The decrease in the critical current in the Bi(2223) sample is likely to be associated with penetration of a liquid coolant into the composite conductor: evaporating and expanding as a result of heating, it severely deforms the material. The Dy(123) sample grown epitaxially demonstrates high stability of the critical current after it has experienced the action of current for 400 h and been kept in liquid nitrogen for 1000 h.     

Different types of vortex pinning contribution to critical current density in YBa2Cu3O7−δ /YSZ quasi-multilayer

The quasi-multilayer films of YBa₂Cu₃O_7−δ /YSZ (YSZ denotes Yttria Stabilized Zirconia) are prepared by means of pulsed laser deposition (PLD), and a systematic study of the magnetic-field and temperature dependence of the critical current density J _c(H,T) for the YBCO/YSZ quasi-multilayer film is presented. Angular-dependent J _c(H,T) measurements have demonstrated that the growth control strategy is very effective in preventing the vortex motion at high fields and high temperatures. The temperature dependence of isotropic and anisotropic contribution to J _c is investigated in order to evaluate the strength of the defects. It is suggested that at high applied fields (such as 7 T), the pinning contribution of the YBCO/YSZ quasi-multilayer is dominated by the anisotropic disorders, while at intermediate-low fields (such as 1 and 3 T) the pinning contribution is determined by both isotropic and anisotropic disorders.     

Improvement of spatial homogeneity in GdBCO/IBAD-MgO coated conductor

Recent process optimization allows improving homogeneity and a significant increase of J_c in GdBa₂Cu₃O_7-δ deposited on ion-beam assisted deposited MgO template (GdBCO/IBAD-MgO). We applied low-temperature laser scanning microscopy and laser scanning thermo-electric microscopy (LSTEM) to investigate local dissipation and defects simultaneously in recent GdBCO/IBAD-MgO coated conductor. By using high-resolution LSTEM, we could detect current blocking obstacles which are responsible for the large scale local dissipation. Data on the present GdBCO/IBAD-MgO coated conductors point out a significant reduction of current blocking obstacles compared to the previous process. We have shown the improvement of spatial homogeneity in the recent GdBCO/IBAD-MgO coated conductors. Current blocking obstacles are much less densely distributed as compared to previous YBCO/IBAD-GZO coated conductor. Obstacles larger than several micrometer significantly increase local dissipation whereas smaller defects do not influence it noticeably. 2D map of the phase delay component of the thermoelectric voltage lock-in signal is effective to analyze current blocking obstacles having action upon local dissipation.     

Increase of critical current density with doping carbon nano-tubes in YBa2Cu3O7−δ

The effects of carbon nano-tubes (CNTs) on the crystal structure and superconducting properties of YBa₂Cu₃O_7?δ (Y-123) compound were studied. Samples were synthesized using standard solid-state reaction technique by adding CNT up to 1 wt% and X-ray diffraction data confirm the single phase orthorhombic structure for all the samples. Current–voltage measurements in magnetic fields up to 9 T were used to study the pinning energy U_J and critical current density J_c as a function of magnetic field at fixed temperature. We find that while T_c does not change much with the CNT doping (91–92 K), both U_J and J_c increase systematically up to 0.7 wt% CNT doping in a broad magnetic field ranges between 0.1 and 9 T and J_c in the 0.7 wt% CNT doped sample is at least 10 times larger than that of the pure Y-123. The scanning electron microscope image shows that CNTs are forming an electrical-network between grains. These observations suggest that the CNT addition to the Y-123-compounds improve the electrical connection between superconducting grains to result in the J_c increase.     

Preparation of solution-based YBCO films with BaSnO3 particles

The YBCO films with BaSnO₃ (BSO) particles were prepared on LAO (0 0 1) substrates by metal organic deposition using trifluoroacetates (TFA-MOD) via introducing SnCl₄ powders into the YBCO precursor solution. It was found that with the increase of the SnCl₄ contents, the slower decomposition and higher temperature for nucleation during the reaction were requested compared to that of pure YBCO film. The YBCO films with different contents of Sn with dense surface and well c-alignment were obtained under optimized heat treatment, and the BaSnO₃ phases were detected by XRD analysis. Litter effect of BSO particles on the T_c and J_c values of YBCO films was found. All YBCO films with BSO particles had T_c values over 90 K and J_c values over 1 MA/cm². A significant enhancement of J_c was observed for YBCO films with BSO particles compared to that of pure YBCO film by the field dependence of J_c values. The best property was obtained for YBCO film with 6 mol.% Sn at 77 K under magnetic field. The results showed that the J_c value of YBCO film with 6 mol.% Sn was enhanced by a factor of 2 in 2 T, and over a factor of 10 beyond 4 T compared to that of pure YBCO film.     

MgB2 coated superconducting tapes with high critical current densities fabricated by hybrid physical-chemical vapor deposition

The MgB₂ coated superconducting tapes have been fabricated on textured Cu (0 0 1) and polycrystalline Hastelloy tapes using coated conductor technique, which has been developed for the second generation high temperature superconducting wires. The MgB₂/Cu tapes were fabricated over a wide temperature range of 460-520 °C by using hybrid physical-chemical vapor deposition (HPCVD) technique. The tapes exhibited the critical temperatures (T_c) ranging between 36 and 38 K with superconducting transition width (ΔT_c) of about 0.3-0.6 K. The highest critical current density (J_c) of 1.34 × 10⁵ A/cm² at 5 K under 3 T is obtained for the MgB₂/Cu tape grown at 460 °C. To further improve the flux pinning property of MgB₂ tapes, SiC is coated as an impurity layer on the Cu tape. In contrast to pure MgB₂/Cu tapes, the MgB₂ on SiC-coated Cu tapes exhibited opposite trend in the dependence of J_c with growth temperature. The improved flux pinning by the additional defects created by SiC-impurity layer along with the MgB₂ grain boundaries lead to strong improvement in J_c for the MgB₂/SiC/Cu tapes. The MgB₂/Hastelloy superconducting tapes fabricated at a temperature of 520 °C showed the critical temperatures ranging between 38.5 and 39.6 K. We obtained much higher J_c values over the wide field range for MgB₂/Hastelloy tapes than the previously reported data on other metallic substrates, such as Cu, SS, and Nb. The J_c values of J_c(20 K, 0 T) ∼5.8 × 10⁶ A/cm² and J_c(20 K, 1.5 T) ∼2.4 × 10⁵ A/cm² is obtained for the 2-μm-thick MgB₂/Hastelloy tape. This paper will review the merits of coated conductor approach along with the HPCVD technique to fabricate MgB₂ conductors with high T_c and J_c values which are useful for large scale applications.     

High-quality YBCO d.c. SQUIDs based on bicrystal substrates

Summary An analysis of superconducting transport properties and magnetic behaviour of d.c. SQUIDs employing YBCO bicrystal grain boundary junctions (GBJs) has been performed. GBJs have been obtained by deposition of ac-axis-oriented YBCO film on a SrTiO₃ bicrystal substrate by ICM sputtering technique. Experimental measurements on a YBCO d.c. SQUID with a misorientation angle θ=20° are reported. The SQUID shows a critical temperatureT _c∼89 K and a high critical current densityJ _c∼3·10⁶ A/cm² atT=4.2 K. Current-voltage characteristics are close to the behaviour predicted by the resistively shunted junction (RSJ) model and the temperature dependenceJ _c(T) shows a linear behaviour at small reduced temperatures and a depressedJ _c value close toT _c. High-quality flux-voltage curves have been found upT=87 K over a large range of magnetic field. The high reproducibility and the good control of transport properties by the variation of θ make YBCO bicrystal GBJs very useful for applications in electronics. Paper presented at the ?VII Congresso SATT?, Torino, 4–7 October 1994.     

YBa2Cu3O7-xc轴方向临界电流的测定

本文测量了熔化织构法生长(MTG)的和通常烧结法制备的YBa₂Cu₃O_7-x块状样品的传输临界电流密度T_c以及磁场-样品不同取向的磁滞回线。MTG样品的J_c在78K和零场时达到3.5×10⁴A/cm²,实验提供了有力的证据表明如此高的J_c主要是由于块状样品内弱连接的消除,因为MTG块状样品的整体J_c与烧结样品颗 关键词：     

Influence of Y2Cu2O5 nanoparticles doping on superconducting properties of YBa2Cu3O7-δ

ABSTRACT

The blue phase of YBa₂Cu₃O_{7- δ} (YBCO) family, Y₂Cu₂O₅ (Y202) nanoparticles were prepared and doped into (YBCO) superconductor and the effect of doping on critical current density and critical temperature was investigated. Y202 nanoparticles with particle sizes of 47, 107 and 206?nm were prepared by a sol–gel combustion method and added into the YBCO superconductor by 0.5–2?wt.%. XRD and scanning electron microscope measurements were used to characterize the samples. The measurement of critical current density at 77?K revealed that the doped superconductors had larger critical current density compared to the undoped superconductors. For a fixed dopant concentration, by increasing the size of nanoparticles, the J_c was increased. For the samples including 0.5?wt.% of nanoadditives, J_c was higher. The highest critical current density of 137?A/cm² was measured for the superconductors containing 0.5?wt.% of 206?nm Y202 nanoparticles. Also, by increasing the nanoparticles concentration, the T_c was reduced.     

Alumina nano-inclusions as effective flux pinning centers in Y–Ba–Cu–O superconductor fabricated by seeded infiltration and growth

The YBa₂Cu₃O_7?x (Y123) textured bulk superconductors with various amounts of nanometer alumina particles were fabricated by a seeded infiltration and growth process. The addition of nanometer alumina was found to be effective for an improvement of the superconducting properties. The critical current density (J_c) values were increased twice in self field with a slight addition amount of nanometer alumina particles (maximum J_c at 0.01 wt.% alumina addition). The present work suggests that the use of insulating inclusions in the nanometer sub-scale can stabilize the flux-line lattice and greatly enhance the pinning capabilities of the infiltrated samples. No refinement of Y211 particles was observed with alumina addition. The J_c improvement by nanometer alumina inclusions is likely rendered to the insulating nano-pinning centers that have been successfully embedded into superconducting Y123 matrix. On the other hand, we examined the effect of the pinning centers size on the superconducting properties of infiltrated YBCO bulk samples. To this effect insulating nano-pinning centers with two different size distributions has been successfully incorporated within YBCO matrix of bulk superconductor by slightly doping with nano-particle alumina dispersions. Two alumina nano-particle dispersions with mean size diameters of about 20 nm and 130 nm were used. It was shown that the size of the pinning centers can affect considerably the J_c performances and the pinning mechanism.     

Interface superconductivity – Possible origin of high critical temperature in layered superconductors

Superconducting transition temperatures T_c of the YBCO film interfaces were measured inductively. It was observed that the interface-T_c is always higher then the surface-T_c probably because of the substrate influence. Deposition of the silver over-layer on the film surface enhances also its critical temperature. In the annealed YBCO/Ag bilayers magnetic properties of the interface were observed. This two dimensional structure reminds the layered microstructure of the high-temperature superconductors and one can suppose that enhanced superconductivity of the interfaces is the origin of the high critical temperatures in layered superconductors.     

On the correlation between order parameter, superconducting volume fraction and critical current density in R: 123 superconductors

Resistivity and low field ac susceptibility measurements are made on R: 123 superconducting samples with different rare earth elements R. The order parameter dimensionality OPD is deduced from resistivity versus temperature plot using the Aslamazov and Larkin expression, while the analysis of the temperature dependence of ac susceptibility is done employing Beans’ critical state model and with the help of the Ravi expression. With increasing R, the critical temperatures T_c are nearly kept constant (∼90 K), while the crossover temperatures T_o are shifted to lower values. Moreover, the superconducting order parameter OPD is shifted toward 2D behavior. On the other hand, the values of superconducting volume fraction f_g decrease with increasing ac field amplitude H_m for all samples and it is higher in Er: 123 sample than in Nd: 123 sample. Although the values of critical current density J_c at the peak temperature T_m are nearly unchanged with increasing R, the values of J_c(T), at T<T_m and T>T_m, are found to be dependent on the chosen R. The correlation between the above calculated parameters against R is also mentioned.     

Improved critical current density in Zn doped YBCO single crystals

Magnetic measurements were made using pure YBCO and Zn doped YBa₂(Cu_1?xZn_x)₃O_7?σ. Single crystals with Zn concentration of 0.5%, 1.5%, 3.0% and 4.3%. The magnetic hysteresis loops for these samples were measured in the temperature range 0.1 ? T/T_c ? 0.96 under magnetic fields of 5 T using SQUID. It was found that the critical current density J_c increased for low Zn content samples up to 3% Zn concentration compared to pure YBCO sample and decreased for the higher Zn content samples. These values varied consistently when compared at magnetic fields of 1 T and 3 T. Moreover Zn doped samples showed significant values of J_c in the temperature range of 0.7–0.9T_c, close to critical temperature compared to pure YBCO sample. The irreversibility field H_irr was also enhanced in this temperature range showing consistent decrease with increase of Zn concentration. The peak field H_p above H_c1 and irreversibility field H_irr, both show power law dependence of the form H = m₁(1 ? T/T_c)^m2 in the temperature range of 0.75–0.96T_c. The values of parameter m₂ increased from 1.44 to 1.95 for the samples up to 3% Zn content and decreased to 1.37 for higher Zn contents. The ratio H_irr/H_p was found to be 3–4 for the lower Zn content samples and was 7–8 for the sample with high Zn content indicating more disorder for higher Zn content samples. The region between peak field H_p and irreversibility field H_irr was broadened with the increase of Zn concentration. The strong effect of Zn substitution in modifying behavior of these samples even at elevated temperatures is possibly due to the changes in the anisotropy of our samples with the increase of Zn concentration and also due to the locally induced changes in magnetic moments by Zn substitution.