The influence of BaSnO3 and BaZrO3 nanoinclusions on the critical current and local structure of HTS coated conductors

We studied the effect of artificial pinning centers in the form of nanoinclusions of stannate BaSnO3 (BSO) and zirconate BaZrO3 (BZO) barium on the critical current of high-temperature superconducting tapes of the second generation (2G) based on YBa2Cu3O7-δ films (YBCO). It has been found that the introduction of BaZrO3 nanoinclusions increases the critical current at 77 K for the magnetic field direction parallel and normal to the tape surface, while the introduction of BaSnO3 nanoinclusions decreases the critical current in both cases. To elucidate the origin of a different impact of nanoinclusions we examined the local structure of the YBCO-matrix using x-ray absorption spectroscopy (EXAFS and XANES). The spectra were collected at K-edges of Cu, Sn, and Zr at the European Synchrotron (ESRF). It was revealed that the introduction of BaZrO3 nanoinclusions increases the stiffness of copper–oxygen bonds in superconducting CuO2 plane and minimizes their static disorder in the YBCO matrix, while the introduction of BaSnO3 nanoinclusions leads to a significant increase in static disorder with a relatively weak effect on the stiffness of Cu–O bonds. These changes in the local structure become decisive for changing the macroscopic properties of high-temperature superconductor-tapes.