Lavinia Saltarelli1,Kapil Gupta1,Silvia Rasi1,Albert Queraltó1,Aiswarya Kethamkuzhi1,Diana Franco1,Adrià Pacheco1,Joffre Gutierrez1,Susagna Ricart1,Jordi Farjas2,Pere Roura2,Cristian Mocuta3,Xavier Obradors Berenguer1,Teresa Puig1
Institut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona1,University of Girona2,Soleil Synchrotron3
Lavinia Saltarelli1,Kapil Gupta1,Silvia Rasi1,Albert Queraltó1,Aiswarya Kethamkuzhi1,Diana Franco1,Adrià Pacheco1,Joffre Gutierrez1,Susagna Ricart1,Jordi Farjas2,Pere Roura2,Cristian Mocuta3,Xavier Obradors Berenguer1,Teresa Puig1
Institut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona1,University of Girona2,Soleil Synchrotron3
The climate crisis due to the constant evolution of global warming is nowadays a concerning reality, making the development of alternative energy sources together with efficient energy transport of vital importance. Undoubtedly, the discovery of high temperature superconductors (HTS) proved to be an appealing solution to notably enhance clean electrical energy, but the high production costs of the currently available technology are keeping it from its worldwide spread. Chemical solution deposition (CSD) techniques implemented towards the production of nanostructured epitaxial cuprate superconductors have demonstrated the feasibility for a low cost and high throughput method. Thus, we present a versatile and tunable CSD method suitable for the preparation of high performance epitaxial YBa<sub>2</sub>Cu<sub>3</sub>O<sub>7</sub> superconducting films. By concentrating our focus on fluorine-free solutions, not only we are meeting the global requirement for greener chemical processes compared to the renowned TFA route, but at the same time we are able to achieve ultrafast growth rates beyond 100 nm/s by using transient liquids during the epitaxial growth of the superconducting layer in the innovative framework of TLAG (transient liquid assisted growth), a high-throughput scalable process [1], making it interesting for industrial applications. Hence, solutions of different Ba/Cu molar ratio are prepared with the aim of modifying the supersaturation and characteristics of the transient liquid, using a facile and fast method from home-synthesized Y, Ba, and Cu propionates precursors, reaching endured solution stability, thickness tunability and high homogeneity. Employing in-situ XRD synchrotron radiation and HRTEM/STEM, the distinct liquid compositions provide us with a broad comprehension of the TLAG process opportunities, kinetic phase diagram, and a strong correlation between superconducting performance properties and unique characteristics of each liquid composition, easily tunable through solution chemistry.<br/> <br/>[1] Soler, L., Jareño, J., Banchewski, J. et al. Ultrafast transient liquid assisted growth of high current density superconducting films. Nat Commun 11, 344 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-13791-1