Epitaxial-Like Y1ba2cu3o7-Delta Superconducting Thin-Films Synthesized By Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Beam Deposition Techniques

Epitaxial-like Y1Ba2Cu3O7-delta (YBCO) thin films, with superconductivity (T(c)) around 89 K have been synthesized on MgO(001) substrates at 720-degrees-C, using the single-source plasma enhanced chemical beam deposition (PE-CBD) technique. The oxygen plasma excited by the microwave is observed to be capable of effectively enhancing the formation of the perovskite phase. The YBCO films are highly c-axis textured when deposited at a substrate temperature higher than 690-degrees-C, but it requires 720-degrees-C to fully align the a and b-axes of the YBCO grains in parallel with the [100] and [010] axes of the MgO lattice. The rocking curve (DELTAtheta = 2950'') indicates that the films are of good crystallinity. In addition, the advantage of PE-CBD over other processes in preparing high-quality YBCO films is also discussed from the aspects of reliability and device compatibility. The PE-CBD shows a promising method to prepare a high-quality YBCO film.