Multi-chamber deposition system for continuous production of YBCO coated conductors by thermal co-evaporation
Year: 2006
Type: conference-paper
Abstract: We recently reported on a simple thermal co-evaporation route based on a reel-toreel system, that enables the production of 2 m-long superconducting tapes with I c values up to 120 A/cm-width (J c = 2 MA/cm 2 ) and T c = 88 K. This work describes the development of a new multi-chamber system designed for the continuous production of these tapes suitable for an industrial process. The system consists in three distinct vacuum chambers connected one with another by two specially designed 50 cm long slits. The length and cross-section of these slits have been calibrated in order to achieve a pressure difference up to 5 orders on magnitude across adjacent chamber. The system is originally conceived for the continuous production of CeO 2 buffered RABiTS Ni-based tapes that require a pre-treatment of the bare metallic tapes in forming gas, followed by CeO 2 deposition and a post-treatment in oxygen. To improve the robustness of the whole tape production process, we have designed and built a novel device based on a supersonic oxygen gas expansion for the continuous in situ oxygenation of YBCO during deposition. Here, we present preliminary results demonstrating the effectiveness of this device. Specifically, thanks to the enhancement of the number of collisions of the O 2 molecules with the substrate due to the focused supersonic beam, we find that the oxygen pressure in the vicinity of the substrate can be up to 3 orders of magnitude higher than the background pressure in the chamber. The main advantage of this supersonic device is the insensitivity of the effective pressure to the substrate-nozzle distance, in the 2-5 mm range, which can be easily controlled during a continuous production process.
Authors: M Bindi, M Canetti, F Gangini, A Gauzzi, L Gianni, E Gilioli, S Rampino, S Zannella
Language: English
Subfield: Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W2007253299