Evidence for strong flux pinning by small, dense nanoprecipitates in a Sm-doped YBa ₂ Cu ₃ O _7-δ coated conductor

About 17 vol. % of ∼10 nm sized (Y,Sm)2 O3 precipitates have been developed in a metal-organic chemical vapor deposition grown Sm-doped Y Ba2 Cu3 O7-δ coated conductor. The precipitate spacing of ∼15 nm suggests strong vortex-precipitate pinning interactions, which are evidenced by a shift in the peak in the flux pinning force curve, an enhanced irreversibility field exceeding 8 T at 77 K, and a lack of temperature scaling of the flux pinning force over the temperature range of 65-82 K.