Inter- and intragrain transport measurements in YBa2Cu3O7−x deformation textured coated conductors

Using photolithography, links for transport measurement have been placed across individual Ni grain boundaries and within individual Ni grains on several coated conductor samples. The typical Ni grain size is ∼50 μm, while the YBa2Cu3O7−x grains are submicron in size. It is found that the intragrain Jc(0 T,77 K) can exceed 5 MA/cm2, thus showing that present coated conductor Jc values are not significantly limited by the intragrain Jc. Inter- and intragrain Jc values ranged from one-half to more than four times full-width measured values, demonstrating that current percolates through the conductor. The misorientation angle dependence of Jc fits well with previous studies of [001] tilt SrTiO3 bicrystals.