We report on the in-situ preparation and characterization of coated conductors consisting of a ≈ 400 nm thick YBCO superconducting film grown by thermal co-evaporation on a ≈ 200 nm thick CeO₂ buffer layer grown by e-beam evaporation on biaxially textured Ni-Cr and Ni-V substrates. We studied the degree of texture of both YBCO and CeO₂ layers as a function of substrate temperature during deposition and of oxygen partial pressure. X-ray diffraction patterns reveal that the highest degree of (100) texture of the buffer layer, necessary for the subsequent growth of the YBCO film with the desired c-axis orientation, is achieved at substrate temperatures of the order of 670-730°C. The backfilling of the chamber with oxygen during the cooling-down of the substrates after deposition of the CeO₂ layer greatly improves the degree of crystallization of the buffer layer. YBCO films show good superconducting properties with critical temperatures T_c of the order of 87 K. Work is in progress to scale up the process for long tapes.