Preparation of crack-free YBCO films by EPD on silver

Electrophoretic deposition (EPD) of alcohol YBCO suspensions on the Ag wire electrode is studied. Poly(ethylene glycol) was coordinated to a structure formed by the EPD process with YBCO particles. The suspension is characterized in terms of zeta potential and conductivity. The d.c electric fields of 200-300 V/cm are applied for 1-10 min. The optimal condition for the EPD allows modifying the properties and microstructure of the deposited films. Superconducting coatings with nanometer-sized pores and a preferred orientation along the c-axis were prepared from the result with chemically modified precursor solution. In contrast, YBCO coatings of submicrometer-sized pores and randomly orientated grains were prepared from the solution without PEG.