In-Plane Domain Control of REBCO Coated Conductors by Annealing Under Bending Strain

We attempted to control the volume fraction of the domains of REBa2Cu3O7-delta coated conductors (REBCO-CCs) by annealing under a bending strain applied at high temperature. We succeeded in changing the volume fraction of the region where the a axis of REBCO aligns along the longitudinal direction of REBCO-CC, f(A), up to similar or equal to 90% when a compressive bending strain of similar or equal to - 1.35% is applied along the longitudinal direction. We found that fA evaluated by repeated X-ray diffraction measurements decreases over time if the domain-controlled REBCO-CCs with a high f(A) value is kept flat, whereas f(A) remains high if the sample remains bent. In addition, we also observed that f(A) in the as-received sample increases over time if the sample is exposed to a compressive bending strain at room temperature. These results suggest that oxygen atoms can migrate in REBCO even at room temperature when a uniaxial strain is applied to the REBCO-CC. Such a temporal variation of f(A) probably leads to changes in the superconducting properties, and may become important for the design of REBCO pancake coils.