Solution deposition planarization of long-length flexible substrates

Solution deposition planarization (SDP) is studied for preparing smooth flexible substrates in multimeter lengths. We demonstrate 0.5 nm rms surface roughness starting from unpolished metal tapes and a correlation of substrate roughness with the texture of subsequent ion-beam aligned films. Surface roughness reduction in SDP is modeled via film shrinkage during solution deposition and a residual roughness based on film thickness. Use of solution deposited a-Y2O3 to planarize substrates prior to ion-beam textured MgO growth shows an in-plane texture of MgO down to 4°. Utilizing these templates, we demonstrated superconducting YBa2Cu3Oy coated conductors with critical current densities of 2.8–4.0 MA/cm2 at 75 K.