and textured Ag tapes for biaxially oriented YBa2Cu3O7 coated conductors

Textured Ag tape is one of the most ideal substrates for the next generation high-Tc wires operable in liquid nitrogen. {1 1 0}〈1 1 0〉 textured Ag tapes were obtained by cold rolling and subsequent heat treatments. The texture of the tape after cold rolling (before annealing) was typical “brass type”. For obtaining the {1 1 0}〈1 1 0〉 texture, oxygen should exist in the Ag tape during the heat treatment. We find a two-step annealing is very effective to achieve the better {1 1 0}〈1 1 0〉 textured Ag tape, compared with the samples annealed in one-step; the better grain alignment and the smoother surface could be obtained. Moreover, 300 °C annealing in O2 atmosphere allow us to obtain the {1 1 0}〈1 1 0〉 texture by only 3 min final heat treatment at around 800 °C. This is beneficial to achieve the higher production speed of YBa2Cu3O7 coated conductors.