Abstract: A method of forming a superconducting conductor is disclosed. The method provides translating a substrate tape through a deposition chamber and along a helical path, where the helical path has multiple windings of the substrate tape and each winding of the substrate tape extends along a feed path and a return path. The method further provides depositing a HTS layer overlying the substrate tape within a deposition chamber, wherein the deposition chamber houses the substrate tape along the feed path but not the return path.

Abstract: Reactors for growing epitaxial layers on substrates are disclosed including rotatable substrate carriers and injectors for injecting gases into the reactor towards the substrates on the carriers and including a gas separator for separately maintaining various gases between gas inlets and the injector. Various reactor embodiments are disclosed including removable gas separators, and particular injectors which include cooling channels, as well as flow restrictors mounted within the reactors to restrict the flow of the gases to the substrates from the injector, and heaters mounted within the rotatable shell holding the substrate carriers so that the heaters can be accessed and removed through a lid forming a wall of the reactor.