IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON APPLIED SUPERCONDUCTIVITY, VOL. 23, NO.
3, JUNE 2013
Effect of Y2O3 Seed Layer on Epitaxial Growth of
Oxide Barrier Layer for YBCO Coated Conductor
R. Zhao, F. Fan, W. B. Qiu, Y. M. Lu, Z. Y. Liu, C. Y. Bai, Y. Q. Guo, and C. B. Cai
Abstract—Y2 O3 film was deposited as the seed layer by dc
reactive sputtering technique on a Ni-5at%W (NiW) substrate.
The subsequent oxide buffer layers were introduced as well such
as Gd2 Zr2 O7 (GZO) and La2 Zr2 O7 (LZO). The effects of Y2 O3
seed layer on the epitaxial growth of buffer layers and the per-
formance of YBa2 Cu3 O7−δ (YBCO) films were investigated. The
atomic force microscopy images showed that the surfaces of Y2 O3
seed layers were homogeneous and flat with the root mean square
roughness of about 1.2 nm, which is significant for the subsequent
layers. In contrast, root mean square roughness values of GZO
films on bare NiW or Y2 O3 seeded NiW were normally about
2.7–3.4 nm. A series of X-ray studies indicated that the GZO and
LZO oxide barrier layers on Y2 O3 can be epitaxially grown easily
with a wide processing condition of water vapor partial pressure.
Furthermore, the effect of Y2 O3 seed layer on subsequent YBCO
films was investigated by comparing the transition temperature Tc
and the critical current density Jc between YBCO/GZO/NiW and
YBCO/GZO/Y2 O3 /NiW. These results demonstrate the notable
role of the Y2 O3 seed layer, not only on high-efficiency production
of subsequent functional, but also on the improvement of super-
conducting performances of YBCO films.
Index Terms—Coated conductor, seed layer, YBCO, Y2 O3 .
I. I NTRODUCTION
H IGH TEMPERATURE superconductivity (HTS) coated
conductor based on the 123-system like YBa2 Cu3 O7−δ
(YBCO) has attracted worldwide attentions due to its excellent
performance at liquid nitrogen temperature and the potential
low cost of both raw materials and preparation techniques. It
is well known that the biaxial texture is highly significant for
YBCO coated conductor on a flexible substrate to overcome the
weak link behavior of the grain boundaries. Main techniques,
including the Rolling-Assisted Biaxially Textured Substrates
(RABiTS) [1], the Ion Beam Assisted Deposition [2] and the
Inclined Substrate Deposition [3] have been developed to fulfill
the requirement of biaxial texture. Among them, the RABiTS
approach is relatively attractive, where the feasibility of con-
trolled buffer layer and subsequent YBCO films are epitaxially
Manuscript received October 9, 2012; accepted January 2, 2013. Date of
publication January 9, 2013; date of current version March 7, 2013. This
work was supported in part by the Science and Technology Commission
of Shanghai Municipality (10dz1203500, 11DZ1100302), the Ministry of
Science and Technology of China (973 Projects, 2011CBA00105 and 863
Projects, 2009AA03Z204), and Key Laboratory of Nanodevices and Applica-
tions, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of
Sciences (12ZD01).
The authors are with the Research Center for Superconductors and Applied
Technologies, Physics Department, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444,
China (e-mail: cbcai@shu.edu.cn).
Color versions of one or more of the figures in this paper are available online
at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org.
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TASC.2013.2238976
1051-8223/$31.00 © 2013 IEEE
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grown on the long biaxially textured substrates [4]. Buffer
layers that served as the barrier layer against element diffusion
between the metallic substrate and the superconducting layer
as well as transferring the texture from the metal substrate
to the YBCO films are of the most importance for coated
conductors. Therefore, different buffer layer architectures have
been built up to meet these requirements. At present, the
most widely used buffer architecture in RABiTS approach is a
multi-layer composite structure such as CeO2 (cap layer)/YSZ
(diffusion barrier layer)/Y2 O3 (seed layer) [1]. To reduce the
initial investment cost for HTS production equipment, it is
essential either to reduce the number of buffer layers or replace
some of the sputtered buffer layers with a solution deposited
counterparts. Therefore, more effective buffer materials are
explored by various deposition techniques for RABiTS-based
coated conductors.
Recently, single buffers such as La2 Zr2 O7 (LZO), Gd2 Zr2 O7
(GZO) and Ce2 Y2 O7 deposited on highly texture Ni-5at%
W (NiW) by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) or DC reactive
sputtering were studied systematically in our group [5]–[8].
Although these films can be epitaxially grown satisfactorily on
NiW substrate, the windows of the experimental conditions to
achieve ideal biaxial texture appear too narrow to be easily
handled. Thus, the introducing of a seed layer such as Y2 O3
may allow these effective single buffers more feasible and
controllable during the epitaxial growth on NiW substrate [9].
In the present work, a direct comparison was made between
GZO and LZO layers deposited on NiW substrate with or
without Y2 O3 seeding layers. The surface topography and the
operational window of processing conditions for GZO, LZO
directly on NiW were investigated with respect to the contrast
to the Y2 O3 . The effects of Y2 O3 seed layer on the epitaxial
growth of the subsequent buffer layers and the superconducting
performance of YBCO films are clarified to be significant and
effective for overall improvement.
II. E XPERIMENTAL P ROCEDURE
Biaxially textured NiW substrates with 10 mm wide and
80 μm thickness were manufactured and supplied by the Evico
GmbH [10]. The percentage value of cube texture is more than
98% and the full width at half maximum (FWHM) for in-plane
texture is less than 6◦ . The root mean square surface roughness
(RMS) is less than 5 nm over 5 × 5 μm areas. The Y2 O3 seed
layers as well as the GZO and LZO barrier layers were mainly
prepared by using the DC reactive sputtering technique in a
homemade reel-to-reel system. For a reference, some of GZO
6602104 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON APPLIED SUPERCONDUCTIVITY, VOL. 23, NO. 3, JUNE 2013

Fig. 2. Optimal conditions for Y2 O3 and GZO films deposited on NiW

Fig. 1. XRD θ − 2θ scans (Cu − Kα) for Y2 O3 and GZO films directly substrates. The shadows show the optimal conditions for Y2 O3 and GZO films.
deposited on NiW substrates at different water vapor partial pressures.

films were also deposited by PLD-450 equipment (KrF, λ =

248 nm, f = 5 Hz, E = 2.4 J/cm2 ) in oxygen atmosphere with
Argon background pressure about 4 Pa. Subsequent YBCO
films with a thickness of about 300 nm were also deposited
by PLD technique. The conditions as reported previously in-
clude a heater temperature of 810◦ C, a background pressure of
0.3 mbar O2 , and an oxygen-loading step under 400 mbar
during cool down [11].
X-ray diffraction (XRD) θ − 2θ scans (Cu − Kα) and pole
figures (Cu − Kα) were measured to evaluate biaxially texture
of the grown films by D/Max2550 and PANalytical Empyrean
X-ray diffractometer, respectively. The microstructures of the
grown films were studied using atomic force microscopy Fig. 3. XRD θ − 2θ scans (Cu − Kα) for GZO films deposited on Y2 O3 /
(Nanofirst 3600A). The cross-section of the samples was pre- NiW substrates at different water vapor partial pressures.
pared using the focused ion beam technique (FIB, FEI Quanta
it is clear to see that the experimental condition of Y2 O3 film
200 3D) and images afterwards in the TEM (Philips Tecnai
is much wider than GZO film as indicated by the rectangle
F-20). Furthermore, the critical temperature was measured by
shadows in Fig. 2. This is probably due to the lattice matches,
a standard four-probe method in a Quantum Design PPMS-9
as well as the less complicated reaction, i.e., only one kind of
system, and the inductively measured critical current density
metallic atom, Y is involved in the reaction with the oxygen out
Jc of YBCO coated conductors was examined by inductive
of the water vapor.
measurement using a Cryoscan by Theva.

B. Barrier Layers With or Without Y2 O3 Films

III. R ESULT AND D ISCUSSION
A. DC Sputtering Conditions of Single Layers Deposition
The partial pressure of 95%Ar + 5%H2 gas was fixed with
2 Pa during the DC sputtering, and the water vapor as the
reaction gas was considered to be the main influencing factor on
the biaxially texture. Fig. 1 shows the X-ray θ − 2θ diffraction
patterns of both nearly 50 nm thick Y2 O3 and 140 nm thick
GZO films separately deposited on NiW substrates at different
water vapor partial pressures. A high degree of c-axis orienta-
tion Y2 O3 films were observed under the condition of water
vapor partial pressure in the range of about 2.9 × 10−2 −3.7 ×
10−2 Pa. Meanwhile, the GZO film also shows a preferred
c-axis orientation at the water vapor pressure of about 3.5 ×
10−2 Pa. It is apparent that both layers can achieve a 100 percent
of c-axis orientation in the case of optimum processing.
Fig. 2 shows the percentage of c-axis orientation of Y2 O3 and
GZO films depending on water vapor pressure calculated from
I(004)/[I(004) + I(222)]. If one defines the percentage of
c-axial orientation more than 80% as the optimized conditions,
The water vapor partial pressures for GZO films epitaxial
growth on Y2 O3 seeded NiW substrates were investigated.
Fig. 3 shows the X-ray θ − 2θ diffraction patterns of GZO
layers deposited at different water vapor partial pressures on
Y2 O3 /NiW. It is revealed that nearly no GZO (222) phases are
present in these samples for the studied vapor pressure range of
3.0 × 10−2 − 5.0 × 10−2 Pa.
In contrast to the relatively narrow window of water va-
por partial pressure for GZO directly on NiW, the growth of
GZO with Y2 O3 seeding layer is obviously more feasible,
which demonstrates the significant value of Y2 O3 on the high-
efficiency production of subsequent functional layer.
Fig. 4 summarizes the percentage c-axis orientation of
GZO films with and without Y2 O3 depending on water va-
por pressure, which is characterized by the ratio value of
I(004)/[I(004) + I(222)]. The inset shows the ratio at dif-
ferent water vapor pressure for the nearly 150 nm thick LZO
films on NiW substrates with and without Y2 O3 seed layer. It is
obvious that both GZO and LZO films on the Y2 O3 seeded NiW
ZHAO et al.: EFFECT OF Y2 O3 SEED LAYER ON EPITAXIAL GROWTH OF OXIDE BARRIER LAYER FOR YBCO
Fig. 4. Optimal conditions for GZO films deposited on NiW substrates
without and with Y2 O3 seed layer. The inset is the optimal conditions for LZO
films deposited on NiW substrates without and with Y2 O3 seed layer.
Fig. 5. XRD (222) ϕ-scan and corresponding (222) pole figure for GZO films
without and with Y2 O3 seed layer.
appear easier to achieve epitaxial growth, which is significant
for the industrialization of coated conductor.
To further study the qualities of GZO with and without Y2 O3 ,
the grain textures were evaluated by XRD ϕ-scan. As shown in
Fig. 5, the in-plane full width at half-maximum values (FWHM)
indicated by (222) phi-scans are 6.4◦ and 5.6◦ for GZO/NiW
and GZO/Y2 O3 /NiW, respectively. This suggests that while
the single buffer of GZO film is able to achieve a pure c-axis
orientation in some case, the seeding layer of Y2 O3 is much
helpful to improve the biaxially texture, apart from its role
on enlarging the processing window, which may thanks to the
better lattice matches and surface qualification and so on.
Fig. 6 show the typical AFM images for these films. After
being deposited on NiW, Y2 O3 films exhibit the root mean
square roughness (RMS) of as low as 1.2 nm within 1 μm ×
1 μm area, which is a significant improvement compared to the
bare NiW tapes, which RMS values are about 5 nm as reported
by Evico and measured at our lab. It is also observed that the
surface of Y2 O3 /NiW appears homogeneous, dense and crack
free. To make a direct comparison in Fig. 6(b) and (c), the GZO
films with Y2 O3 seed layer are more condensed and smoother
than the single GZO directly deposited on NiW. This indicates
that the Y2 O3 seed layer plays a key role in the improvement of
sequent grown film surfaces.
Additional cross-section has been prepared to check the
homogeneity of the buffer architecture (as shown in Fig. 7).
6602104
Fig. 6. AFM images of different films: (a) Y2 O3 seed layer, RMS is about
1.2 nm; (b) GZO film without Y2 O3 seed layer, RMS is about 3.4 nm; (c) GZO
film with Y2 O3 seed layer, RMS is about 2.7 nm.
Fig. 7. Cross-section TEM images of YBCO/GZO films with Y2 O3 seed
layer.
According to the present of TEM images, the interface of
Y2 O3 − NiW is clear and flat, no additional layer was formed.
It seems that the Y2 O3 layer can fill the defect of NiW substrate
and allow it more suitable for the growth of the subsequent
layers. The GZO-Y2 O3 and the YBCO-GZO interface in Fig. 7
are also very flat without obvious defects, which may thank
to the flatness of Y2 O3 seed layer. Therefore, the Y2 O3 seed
layer is beneficial for the epitaxially growth of GZO, due to the
effective improvement of the flatness of subsequent layers.
C. Superconducting Properties Based on GZO Layers With or
Without Y2 O3
Up to now, we have not yet investigated the performances of
YBCO coated conductors, which were prepared by PLD with
nearly identical thickness of 300 nm on different buffer layers.
Fig. 8 shows the induction measurement results for the
critical current density. The self-field Jc (77 K) of 0.36 MA/cm2
and 0.8 MA/cm2 are obtained for YBCO films on GZO/NiW
and GZO/Y2 O3 /NiW substrates, respectively. The inset shows
the transport Tc measurements for YBCO films prepared on
6602104
Fig. 8. Inductively measured critical current density Jc of YBCO/GZO film
with or without Y2 O3 seed layer. The inset is the transport Tc measurements
for both of them.
both substrates. The Tc (about 92 K) for the sample with Y2 O3
is higher and the ΔTc (about 0.8 K) is narrower than the sample
without Y2 O3 layer. The main reason of these differences in
superconducting performance is believed to due to the different
flatness and the degree of biaxially texture of GZO buffer
layers, which are discussed in the sections above.
IV. C ONCLUSION
In summary, we have investigated the effect of Y2 O3 seed
layer on subsequent oxide buffer layers and superconducting
YBCO. To compare the optimized processing conditions, it is
realized that the Y2 O3 film is easier to be handled on NiW than
the GZO or any other films on NiW. Of more importance, it
is revealed that the GZO and LZO films utilizing the under-
lying Y2 O3 films as seed layer can significantly improve the
texture and growth condition with wider processing window.
Apart from the lattice match, this may be attributed to the
superior surface quality of Y2 O3 layer, of which RMS value
can be as low as 1.2 nm. Moreover, compared with GZO single
buffered coated conductor, one can find that the architecture of
YBCO/GZO/Y2 O3 /NiW showed a narrower superconducting
transition and higher critical current density, demonstrating that
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON APPLIED SUPERCONDUCTIVITY, VOL. 23, NO. 3, JUNE 2013
Y2 O3 is very significant for high-efficiency and high-quality
preparation of YBCO coated conductor based on the RABiTS
route.
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