Fabricating High-Performance MOD-Derived YBa<sub>2</sub>Cu<sub>3</sub>O<sub>7-δ</sub> Layers Over 4 µm via a Novel Semi-Growth Approach.

Huang, Rongtie; Chen, Jing; Li, Yong; Zhou, Xinghang; Wu, Wenjing; Liu, Zhiyong; Wang, Gang; Cai, Chuanbing · Adv Mater · 2026

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

This study investigates an effective method for preparing high-performance YBa<sub>2</sub>Cu<sub>3</sub>O<sub>7-δ</sub> (YBCO)-coated conductors with thick superconducting layers using a semi-growth strategy on a metal-organic decomposition (MOD) industrial production line. The performance results demonstrate that the semi-growth method offers considerable advantages in terms of the film growth quality and high performance owing to the systematic design of a reserved layer, compared to the performance of 2L+L/2L+2L (semi-growth) YBCO thick tapes of varying thicknesses. The 2L+2L thick films over 3.5 µm achieve a critical current (I<sub>c</sub>) of 1150 A/12 mm-width (i.e., 958 A/cm-w) at 77 K@self-field, almost double that of conventional 2L (1.6 µm) YBCO tapes, as well as the in-field performance at low temperature. Although the I<sub>c</sub> performance decreases when the film thickness increases to 4.2 µm in 2L+2L mode, the overall trend still demonstrates considerable potential for thick-film fabrication. High-performance YBCO tapes have been successfully scaled to the industrial production of hundreds of meters, showcasing broad application prospects and significant scientific value.