Ca-doping-induced enhancement of the critical currents of coated conductors grown by ion-beam-assisted deposition

One of the most promising technologies for the fabrication of high-Tc cables is the ion-beam-assisted deposition (IBAD) technique. The performance of the superconductors fabricated by IBAD, and the fabrication costs, are to a great extent determined by the critical current densities of the superconductors' grain boundaries. Since, in bicrystalline samples, overdoping has been found to improve the transport properties of grain boundaries in high-Tc superconductors, we have explored whether overdoping also enhances the critical currents of IBAD samples. The measurements show that, depending on the critical current density of the superconducting film, Jc (77 K) is increased by factors up to 2.2, also in applied magnetic fields of several tesla