ROBUST HIGH TC RIBBON FOR POWER TRANSMISSION

THE DEVELOPMENT OF FLEXIBLE HIGH TC RIBBON CONDUCTORS SUITABLE FOR POWER TRANSMISSION APPLICATIONS IS PROPOSED. THE NOVEL PRODUCTION METHOD WILL ADDRESS THE ISSUES OF MECHANICAL INTEGRITY, CRITICAL CURRENT DENSITY, AND SCALE-UPCAPABILITY ESSENTIAL TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF CERAMIC SUPERCONDUCTORS IN ADVANCED SPACE POWER TRANSMISSION. DUAL ION BEAM DEPOSITION TECHNIQUES WILL BE EMPLOYED TO GROW YBA2CU3O7 AND BI2SR2CA2CU3OX FILMS EPITAXIALLY ON METALLIC FOIL SUBSTRATES. ROBUST MECHANICAL PROPERTIES WILL BE IMPARTED THROUGH THE STRENGTH OF THE METALLIC SUBSTRATE AND THE INHERENT FLEXIBILITY OF THE THIN FOIL DESIGN. ALTHOUGH THE RESULTING SUPERCONDUCTING FILMS WILL BE POLYCRYSTALLINE, THE MARKEDLY ORIENTED GRAIN STRUCTURE PROVIDED BY THE EPITAXIAL GROWTH ON THE CRYSTALLOGRAPHICALLYTEXTURED SUBSTRATE WILL PERMIT HIGH CRITICAL CURRENT DENSITIES IN THE PLANE OF THE FOIL. COMMERCIAL IMPLEMENTATION WOULD UTILIZE MULTIPLE BEAM SPUTTER ROLL COATERS TO GIVE A WIDE CONTINUOUS SHEET OF CONDUCTOR FOIL THAT WOULD BE SLIT AND WOUND IN CONFIGURATIONS APPROPRIATE FOR SEVERAL DIFFERENT APPLICATIONS. THE PHASE I PROGRAM SEEKS TO DEMONSTRATE THE PRODUCTION OF CRYSTALLOGRAPHICALLY ORIENTED SUPERCONDUCTING THIN FILMS ON METAL FOIL SUBSTRATES. PROCESS REFINEMENT, EXTENSION TO OTHER SUPERCONDUCTING OXIDES, AND SCALE-UP TECHNOLOGY WOULD BE DEVELOPED IN PHASE II.