Oxidation Resistant, Non-Magnetic Substrates for YBCO Coated Conductors

This DOE SBIR proposal explores cost effective production of non-magnetic substrates which will have a major role in the production of YBCO coated conductors. Deformation textured substrates offer a cost-effective way of texturing. The substrate will be produced using inexpensive raw materials and processing. A novel feature is the production of a solid solution alloy with an excellent cube texture and oxidation resistance. This substrate will be used for the deposition of YBCO by means of an inexpensive solution process. The achievement of program goals can lead to a much sought scaleable method for producing long lengths of YBCO high-temperature superconductor wire that enables commercial development of a host of applications. The proposed process can effect commercially viable conductor that is both inexpensive to manufacture and inexpensive to operate because it maintains high current density in high magnetic fields, allowing utilization of dramatically cheaper cooling techniques in the 50 to 77K range. The Proposal is directed towards the production of long lengths of wide non-magnetic metallic substrates in foil form with composite buffer layers, suitable for YBCO deposition using a cheap MOD process. It uses industrial scale processing, and aims at a deformation process that can be directly used for large scale YBCO coated conductor production.