  This paper uses both experimental and numerical approaches to revisit the
concept of current transfer length (CTL) in second-generation high-temperature
superconductor coated conductors with a current flow diverter (CFD)
architecture. The CFD architecture has been implemented on eight commercial
coated conductors samples from THEVA. In order to measure the 2-D current
distribution in the silver stabilizer layer of the samples, we first used a
custom-made array of 120 voltage taps to measure the surface potential
distribution. Then, the so-called "static" CTL ($\lambda_s$) was extracted
using a semi-analytical model that fitted well the experimental data. As
defined in this paper, the static CTL on a 2-D domain is a generalization of
the definition commonly used in literature. In addition, we used a 3-D finite
element model to simulate the normal zone propagation in our CFD samples, in
order to quantify their "dynamic" CTL ($\lambda_d$), a new concept introduced
in this paper and defined as the CTL observed during the propagation of a
quenched region. The results show that, for a CFD architecture, $\lambda_d$ is
always larger than $\lambda_s$, whereas $\lambda_d = \lambda_s$ when the
interfacial resistance between the stabilizer and the superconductor layers is
the same everywhere. We proved that the cause of these different behaviors is
related to the shape of the normal zone, which is curved for the CFD
architecture, and rectangular otherwise. Finally, we showed that the NZPV is
proportional to $\lambda_d$, not with $\lambda_s$, which suggests that the
dynamic CTL $\lambda_d$ is the most general definition of the CTL and should
always be used when current crowding and non-uniform heat generation occurs
around a normal zone.
