Progress in scale-up of second-generation HTS conductor

Abstract: Tremendous progress has been recently made in the achievement of high-performance, high-speed, long-length second-generation (2G) HTS conductors. Using ion beam assisted deposition (IBAD) MgO and metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), SuperPower has scaled up tape lengths to 427m with a minimum critical current value of 191A/cm corresponding to a critical current×length performance of 81,550m. Tape speeds up to 120m/h have been reached with IBAD MgO, up to 80m/h with buffer deposition and up to 45m/h with MOCVD, all in single pass processing of 12mm wide tape. Critical current value of 227A/cm has been achieved in a 203m long tape produced in an all-high-speed fabrication process. Critical current values have been raised to 721A/cm, 592A/cm and 486A/cm in short, reel-to-reel processed tape, over 1m length and over 11.1m, respectively, using thicker MOCVD HTS films. Finally, over 10,000m of copper-stabilized, 4mm wide conductor has been produced and tested for delivery to the Albany Cable project. The average critical current of the 10,000m lot was 81A. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]