Chemical cleaning treatment of textured nickel for the deposition of epitaxial thin films
Coated conductors employing rolling-assisted-biaxially-textured-substrates offer a viable alternative to the BSCCO power-in-tube tapes. These conductors are based on the deposition of biaxially oriented buffer layers and YBCO films on textured nickel alloy substrates. Researchers are becoming increasingly aware that the cleanliness of the nickel surface plays a crucial role in making it conducive to epitaxial film deposition. Several cleaning techniques are currently being explored. In this work we report the results obtained from a simple chemical cleaning procedure based on an aqueous solution of formic acid and hydrogen peroxide. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies were performed to understand the effect of the cleaning treatment on the nickel surface. It was found that the cleaning treatment significantly enhances the ability of the nickel to act as a crystallographic template for the deposition of strontium titanate using a metallorganic decomposition process. These results give promise for the development of scalable cleaning procedures for coated conductor applications.
Comments
Leave a Reply