Chemical solution deposition of YBa2Cu3O7-xcoated conductors

At present, the development of superconducting YBa2Cu3O7-x coated conductors attracts much attention due to their enormous application potential in electric power systems. Worldwide research is focused on the investigation and improvement of buffer materials and YBa2Cu3O7-x superconducting properties as well as low-cost manufacturing processes in cooperation with industrial companies. Accordingly, chemical solution deposition has emerged as a highly competitive, versatile, and cost-effective technique for fabricating coated conductors of high performance. New chemical solution approaches are under development for buffer layer deposition. In order to achieve high critical current carrying YBa2Cu3O7-x layers, the established trifluoroacetate route is favored. This paper reviews the most recent work on chemical solution deposition within the IFW Dresden while also considering achievements on this specific research topic worldwide. (C) 2007 Published by Elsevier Ltd.