High-field critical current density enhancement in GdBCO coated conductors by cooperative defects

• Published in: Superconductor science & technology Vol. 36; no. 6; pp. 65003 - 65011
• Main Authors: Huang, Daxing, Chen, Di, Dong, Hao, Wang, Kai, Chu, Wei-Kan, Wang, Tongxin, Wang, Meiqi, Zhu, Kaigui, Gu, Hongwei, Ren, Zhifeng, Ding, Fazhu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: IOP Publishing 01.06.2023
• Subjects: critical current density; GdBCO coated conductors; irradiation; vortex pinning
• ISSN: 0953-2048; 1361-6668
• DOI: 10.1088/1361-6668/acce0a

Abstract Irradiation can precisely control defects in, and improve the superconducting properties of, REBa 2 Cu 3 O 7− δ (REBCO, RE: rare earth) coated conductors (CCs). Here we report an effective approach for enhancing the in-field performance of GdBCO CCs. The critical current density ( J c ) of GdBCO films was significantly improved through cooperative defects created by co-irradiation with O ions and protons, especially at low temperatures and high magnetic fields. Surprisingly, the in-field J c of commercial CCs can be nearly doubled. The cooperative irradiation-induced defects are uniformly distributed throughout the GdBCO layer, which promotes the overall performance of the CC. Moreover, the dimensions of these irradiation-induced defects closely match the coherence length of REBCO. This simple and efficient method is a practical post-production solution to improve the in-field performance of commercial REBCO CCs.