To reduce the fabrication costs while maximizing the superconducting and pinning properties of YBa
2Cu
3O
7−δ (YBCO) nanocomposite films, the drop-on-demand ink-jet printing technique was used to deposit colloidal YBCO inks onto LaAlO
3 substrates. These inks containing preformed HfO
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To reduce the fabrication costs while maximizing the superconducting and pinning properties of YBa
2Cu
3O
7−δ (YBCO) nanocomposite films, the drop-on-demand ink-jet printing technique was used to deposit colloidal YBCO inks onto LaAlO
3 substrates. These inks containing preformed HfO
2 nanocrystals were carefully adjusted, prior to the jettability, as the droplet formation depends on the rheological properties of the inks themselves. After carefully adjusting printing parameters, 450-nm thick pristine YBCO films with a self-field critical current density (
Jc) of 2.7 MA cm
−² at 77 K and 500-nm thick HfO
2-YBCO nanocomposite films with a self-field
Jc of 3.1 MA·cm
−² at 77 K were achieved. The final HfO
2-YBCO nanocomposite films contained dispersed BaHfO
3 particles in a YBCO matrix due to the Ba
2+ reactivity with the HfO
2 nanocrystals. These nanocomposite films presented a more gradual decrease of
Jc with the increased magnetic field. These nanocomposite films also showed higher pinning force densities than the pristine films. This pinning enhancement was related to the favorable size and distribution of the BaHfO
3 particles in the YBCO matrix.
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