Auger electron spectroscopy study of silver incorporation in epitaxial Y–Ba–Cu–O superconducting films grown on MgO by laser ablation

Abstract

We have studied by Auger electron spectroscopy the incorporation of silver in epitaxial YBa2Cu3O7 (YBCO) thin films fabricated by pulsed laser deposition using YBCO+Ag 10% targets. Films were grown on MgO substrates. The silver was found in a thin layer, of approximately 50 nm in depth. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirmed that the Ag is in its metallic form.

Microstructural and chemical analysis performed by HRTEM and EDS on YBa2Cu3O7−x/Ag films irradiated with electrons

“…Thick polycrystalline films of YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7−x (1 2 3) doped with silver were produced by the standard screen printing ceramic method starting with YBCO samples with silver added in 10 wt.%, according to the reported procedure elsewhere [14]. The YBCO/Ag thick films were grown on (1 0 0) MgO substrates.…”

Improvement in electrical and dielectric behavior of(Ba,Sr)TiO3thin films

“…This kind of effect ͑dif- ference in the amount of silver in the targets and films despite using optimized deposition conditions͒ has been observed in case of other materials. 19 Nevertheless, we believe that most of the silver leaves the film-site after playing its role in improving the oxygenation of BST films and residual silver possibly prevents the unpinning of domain walls. Both of these effects are manifested in the improved electrical properties of BST films.…”

Silver-assisted growth of NdBa2Cu3O7−δ thin films: An approach for the growth of superior quality ceramic oxide films

“…8,13 Even though, the use of Ag improves the microstructure and other properties, the presence of metallic Ag can be detrimental depending on the application. Hence, it is desirable that the final film be free from Ag.…”

“…2,9 Amid the improvement in microstructure and other physical properties in these films, the final film always contained some amount of Ag. 2,7,9,[12][13][14] Also, it has been found that Ag stays in the metallic form. 7,8,13 This would be undesirable in some cases where the presence of metallic Ag can be detrimental to certain characteristics like high-frequency loss in superconducting films or dielectric loss in dielectric films.…”

“…2,7,9,[12][13][14] Also, it has been found that Ag stays in the metallic form. 7,8,13 This would be undesirable in some cases where the presence of metallic Ag can be detrimental to certain characteristics like high-frequency loss in superconducting films or dielectric loss in dielectric films. Here we report the case of Ag assisted growth of superconducting NdBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-δ (NBCO) thin films under RF activated atomic oxygen by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), where we could reap the benefits of Ag in the improvement in microstructure and J C , and yet the final film is free from Ag where Ag has more of a catalytic role.…”