Early stages of growth of YBa2Cu3O7−δ high T c superconducting films on (001) Y-ZrO2 substrates

Abstract

The early stages of growth of high quality YBa2Cu3O7−δ (YBCO) films grown on (001) Y-ZrO2 (YSZ) substrates by pulsed laser deposition have been studied using a combination of atomic force microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. A one unit cell thick YBCO layer and relatively large CuO particles formed in the initial stages. Additional YBCO grew on top of the first layer in the form of one or a few unit cell high c-axis oriented islands about 30 nm in diameter. The rounded islands subsequently coalesced into faceted domains. Elongated Y2BaCuO5 particles nucleated after the first layer of YBCO. A highly textured BaZrO3 layer formed between the YSZ and the YBCO with a cube-on-cube dominant orientation relationship with respect to the YBCO film.

The role of interfacial morphology in multilayers based on high T c YBa2Cu3O7-x

“…The observations of one unit cell high steps of the YBCO interface are in accord with previous observations by TEM and atomic force microscopy (AFM) of c-axis oriented YBCO films on a wide variety of substrates (e.g., [26][27][28][29][30][31]). The interface smoothness is an important issue for multilayer structures since the surface roughness will put an intrinsic limit to the minimum thickness which is necessary for separation between individual layers A two-dimensional growth mechanism is desirable.…”

Origin of the ϕ ∼ ±9° peaks in YBa2Cu3O7−δ films grown on cubic zirconia substrates

“…7,8,11 However, no experimental evidence for such a mechanism has been reported, and our investigation of this phenomenon supports an alternative explanation, which is described below. 19,34 In this paper we show that if the growth conditions are such that a BaZrO 3 epitaxialreaction layer forms before the nucleation of the overlying YBa 2 Cu 3 O 72d layer, ϳ9 ± in-plane rotations of the overlying YBa 2 Cu 3 O 72d layer are favored. 19,34 In this paper we show that if the growth conditions are such that a BaZrO 3 epitaxialreaction layer forms before the nucleation of the overlying YBa 2 Cu 3 O 72d layer, ϳ9 ± in-plane rotations of the overlying YBa 2 Cu 3 O 72d layer are favored.…”

“…In the former unconstrained case, the BaZrO 3 is oriented (as we demonstrate below) with ͑110͒ BaZrO3 k ͑001͒ YSZ and ͓111͔ BaZrO3 k ͓110͔ YSZ , whereas in the latter constrained case the BaZrO 3 is oriented with ͑001͒ BaZrO3 k ͑001͒ YSZ and ͓100͔ BaZrO3 k ͓100͔ YSZ , 8,19,33,34 or ͑001͒ BaZrO 3 k ͑001͒ YSZ and ͓110͔ BaZrO3 k ͓100͔ YSZ , 8,14 or ͑110͒ BaZrO3 k ͑001͒ YSZ and ͓001͔ BaZrO 3 k ͓100͔ YSZ . In the former unconstrained case, the BaZrO 3 is oriented (as we demonstrate below) with ͑110͒ BaZrO3 k ͑001͒ YSZ and ͓111͔ BaZrO3 k ͓110͔ YSZ , whereas in the latter constrained case the BaZrO 3 is oriented with ͑001͒ BaZrO3 k ͑001͒ YSZ and ͓100͔ BaZrO3 k ͓100͔ YSZ , 8,19,33,34 or ͑001͒ BaZrO 3 k ͑001͒ YSZ and ͓110͔ BaZrO3 k ͓100͔ YSZ , 8,14 or ͑110͒ BaZrO3 k ͑001͒ YSZ and ͓001͔ BaZrO 3 k ͓100͔ YSZ .…”

Growth and formation of the microstructure of YBCO films deposited by magnetron sputtering on fianite substrates

“…For example, the authors of [9] reported that phase Y 2 BaCuO 5 (211) particles having a characteristic pro late shape form on YSZ substrates at the early stages of YBCO growth. However, careful XRD analysis did not reveal other phases apart from the YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 -δ (123) phase in the films under study.…”

“…Moreover, the chemical interaction between a film and the substrate is possible at the characteristic YBCO epitaxy temperatures. The authors of [8,9] detected the formation of a textured transition BaZrO 3 layer between YBCO and YSZ, which is caused by the diffusion of Ba from the film to the substrate.…”