Preparation and texture evolution of epitaxially grown CeO₂ buffer layers using inorganic salts as starting materials for YBCO coated conductors

We report the texture evolution of CeO₂ thin films epitaxially grown on yttria-stabilized-zirconia (YSZ) and Ni substrates using inorganic cerium salts as starting materials. The effect of organic solvents on the precursor solution properties is discussed. Inorganic cerium nitrate dissolved in different solvents and chelating agents were spin-coated and annealed. CeO₂ films grown on YSZ substrates showed an enhancement of the out-of-plane texture when thermal annealing process was carried out in an oxidizing atmosphere. Texture analysis revealed that a bi-axially aligned cube-textured CeO₂ buffer layer could be grown over a wide processing temperature range. High temperature annealing is most beneficial for improvement of the in-plane texture. The results suggest an effective new low-cost way to fabricate CeO₂ thin film templates for YBCO coated conductors.