Final Report Summary - HIPERCHEM (High-performance nanostructured coated conductors by chemical processing)
The first general strategy for nano-structuring the superconducting layers was based on the generation of coherent randomly distributed nano-structures, such as nano-dots. The second strategy was to engineer nanostructures originating at the substrate interface, either based on strain-induced self-assembling principles or on polymer track-etched cylindrical nanopores generated by ion bombardment. The final technological goal was to develop nanostructured coated conductors with a total critical current of 400 A in a 1 cm wide tape and to achieve a reduction in its thickness and magnetic field dependence by a factor of 3 compared to the state-of-the-art.
The specific scientific and technological objectives of the HIPERCHEM project were to:
- provide 'proof-of-concept' that nano-structuring epitaxial films would lead to conductors that carry a total current of 400 A in a 1 cm wide tape and display areduction in thickness and magnetic field dependence by a factor of 3 compared to the present state of the art;
- provide 'proof-of-concept' that the chemical processing approaches of MOD and HLPE could produce state-of-the-art CCs which would be compatible with bottom-up nano-structuring techniques, at growth rates 5 times larger (2 nm/s) than the state-of-the-art and at low cost;
- select the most promising nanostructuring approaches and demonstrate the feasibility of implementation on a pilot scale by making at least 1 m of CC;
- protect the new inventions by patents and publish results in scientific journals