Multifilament, copper-stabilized superconductor tapes with low alternating current loss

Multifilament fully stabilized second generation superconductor tapes have been fabricated with filaments widths as small as 180 mu m. Each superconducting filament is copper stabilized, with copper thickness up to 30 mu m, without compromising the beneficial effect of striations on magnetization AC losses. This has been accomplished by a combination of laser scribing (ablation), post-ablation oxidation, and subsequent selective electroplating of copper. Twelve millimeters wide superconductor tapes divided into 48 filaments with 10 mu m thick copper stabilizer is found to meet an AC loss target of 1 W/kA/m in applied alternating magnetic field of 0.075 T at 100Hz. This technique has a potential to be transferred to a large scale manufacturing of stabilized, low loss multifilament coated conductors. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.