A transmission electron microscopic study was made of thick Cu3Ba2YO7 films which had been deposited onto polycrystalline Ni-based metal substrates by means of pulsed laser deposition. The films were found to be strongly textured, with c-axis oriented grains that were aligned perpendicularly to the substrates. In spite of the large average in-plane misorientation (about 14º) which was estimated from selected-area electron diffraction and X-ray diffraction data, transmission electron microscopy revealed colonies of sub-micron sized grains with low-angle (up to 7º) tilt grain boundaries. Periodic arrays of grain-boundary dislocations were observed which might serve as effective flux pinners.

Characterization of the Structure of Y-Ba-Cu-O Coated Conductors. H.Kung, S.R.Foltyn, P.N.Arendt, M.P.Maley: IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity, 1999, 9[2], 2034-9