Highly alloyed Ni–W substrates for low AC loss applications

Abstract

Cube texture formation has been studied in Ni–W alloys with a W content of 9 at.% and above. These alloys show a low magnetization at 77 K and below, and are therefore excellent candidates for use as substrates of coated conductors in AC applications. The application of a modified deformation and annealing sequence leads to a highly textured surface of Ni9W and Ni9.5W tapes with cube texture fractions above 96%. YBCO (YBa2Cu3O7−δ) layers obtained on these substrates using a standard buffer architecture showed a critical current density exceeding 1.5 MA cm−2 at 77 K, similar to those for films on commercial Ni5W tapes. In contrast, only a weak cube texture was achieved in Ni10W tapes. The rolling texture of this alloy showed a significantly increased Goss component, which could not be reduced by applying intermediate annealing treatments. The influence of this texture on the cube texture formation will be discussed in detail.