Abstract
Previously, it has been well established that in an IBAD architecture for coated conductors, (1) LaMnO3 (LMO) buffer layers are structurally and chemically compatible with an underlying homo-epitaxial MgO layer and (2) high current density YBCO films can be grown on these LMO templates. In the present work, the homo-epi MgO layer has been successfully eliminated and a LMO cap layer was grown directly on the IBAD (MgO) template. The performance of the LMO/IBAD (MgO) samples has been qualified by depositing 1 �m-thick YBCO coatings by pulsed laser deposition. Electrical transport measurements of YBCO films on the standard (with homo-epi MgO) and simplified (without homo-epi MgO) IBAD architectures were carried out. The angular dependencies of critical current density (Jc) are similar for both IBAD architectures. XRD measurements indicate good, c-axis aligned YBCO films. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images reveal that microstructures of YBCO/LMO/IBAD (MgO) and YBCO/LMO/homo-epi MgO/IBAD (MgO) templates are similar. These results demonstrate the strong potential of using LMO as a single cap layer directly on IBAD (MgO) for the development of a simplified IBAD architecture.
