Structural and electrical properties of biaxially textured YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7-x} thin films on buffered Ni-based alloy substrates.

Oxide high-T{sub c} superconducting wires and tapes with high critical current density (J{sub c}) are essential in future electrical power applications. Recently, YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7{minus}x} (YBCO) thin films grown on Ni-based alloy tapes have attracted intense interest because of their promise for these applications. In order to achieve high J{sub c}, buffer layers are necessary for fabricating biaxially aligned YBCO thin films. In our studies, yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) layers were deposited on Ni-based alloy substrate by ion-beam assisted deposition, and CeO{sub 2} buffer layers were subsequently deposited on the YSZ layer by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) or electron beam evaporation. In addition, MgO layers were deposited on Ni-based alloy substrates by inclined substrate deposition. Finally, biaxially textured YBCO thin films were deposited on these buffered metallic substrates by PLD under optimized conditions. The orientation and in-plane textures of YBCO and the buffer layers were characterized by X-ray diffraction {Theta}/2{Theta} scan, {phi}-scan, and pole figure analysis. The superconductive transition features were examined by measuring inductive T{sub c} and transport J{sub c}