Recently, considerable efforts have been made in developing a fabrication procedure for YBa2 Cu3O7-δ superconducting films on a metallic substrate tape for electrical power applications. The central issue is to develop a method, which can produce the tape in sufficiently long lengths at a commercially viable cost. One possible approach is the so-called BaF2 post-deposition annealing process, which involves deposition of an unreacted mixture of a BaF2 -Y-Cu-O layer on a substrate by electron beam evaporation method, followed by heat-treatment of the layer in a mixed-gas atmosphere of a low partial pressure O2, saturated H2 O, and N2 . To fabricate thick and long films, it is important to understand the effects of the heat-treatment parameters on the. structure and the properties. Here, we report our structural analysis of the films annealed at different temperatures.

The films annealed at 725°C, 750°C and 800°C have a similar phase assemblage which are composed ofYBa2 Cu3O7-δ and Y2O3, CuO and Ba-Ti-Sr-O precipitates, as shown in fig. la.