Unraveling the Impact of Aging on the Structural, Magnetic, and Superconducting Properties of 2G HTS Tapes

Second-generation high-temperature superconducting tapes (2G HTS; SuperPower Inc., New York, NY, USA) based on GdBCO (GdBa2Cu3O7−δ, where δ denotes oxygen deficiency) were aged at −26.4 °C, +2 °C, and room temperature (RT) to evaluate the degradation of their superconducting properties. HTS tapes stored at RT exhibited a significantly higher deterioration rate compared to those maintained at lower temperatures. Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) analysis demonstrated a gradual reduction in the effective chemical depth-profiling length over time, indicating a correlation between the degradation mechanism and the reduction in the effective volumetric density of the GdBCO superconducting layer. These findings imply that oxygen diffusion or redistribution processes substantially contribute to the long-term degradation of GdBCO-based HTS tapes.