Epitaxial Growth Of Y₂O₃ On Biaxially Textured Ni Tapes Using A Sol‐Gel Process For YBCO Coated Conductors

A solution processing technique was used to deposit an epitaxial Y₂O₃ film on (001)[100] cube textured Ni tapes for YBa₂Cu₃O_x (YBCO) coated conductors manufacturing. The cube texture was developed in Ni by a conventional thermo‐mechanical process. A precursor solution of yttrium 2‐methoxyethoxide in 2‐methoxyethanol was spin‐coated on the Ni substrate. The as‐deposited amorphous film was thermally treated at 1100°C in a flowing Ar+4%H₂ gas mixture. The θ‐2θ X‐ray spectra revealed predominantly (001) reflections, indicating a high degree of out‐of‐plane orientation. Pole figures for the (222) Y₂O₃ reflections demonstrate a single in‐plane texture. The out‐of‐plane and in‐plane epitaxial relationship is [400]Y₂O₃//[200] Ni and [110]Y₂O₃//[100] Ni, respectively. The full‐width‐half‐maximum (FWHM) of the ω‐scans and φ‐scans is 6° and 11°, respectively.