Texture development in long lengths of NiFe tapes for superconducting coated conductor

A highly oriented cubic texture (full width at half maximum < 10 degrees) has been formed in long length NiFe tapes. The X-ray diffraction (XRD), electron back-scattered patterns (EBSP) and optical microscopy (OM) techniques have been used in assessing the surface and volume texture and also the surface morphology of these kilometer long NiFe substrates. This texture was formed under a range of conditions including dynamic annealing in a reduced atmosphere and static annealing in hydrogen and in vacuum. Heat treatment for excessive times in vacuum tends to roughen the surface and should be avoided. Mechanical polishing can induce an additional undesirable texture, but electropolishing gives smooth tapes with good texture. (C) 2002 Kluwer Academic Publishers.