LaNiO3 and Cu3Ge contacts to YBa2Cu3O7-x films

Metallization of high-T_c superconductors using low resistivity metal oxides and Cu-Ge alloys has been investigated on high quality pulsed laser deposited epitaxial YBa₂Cu₃O_7-x (YBCO) films. Epitaxial LaNiO₃ (LNO) thin films have been grown on YBCO films at 700°C using pulsed laser deposition. The specific resistivity of LNO was measured to be 50 μΩ-cm at 300K which decreases to 19 μΩ-cm at 100K indicating good metallicity of the LNO films. The contact resistance of LNO-YBCO thin film interface was found to be reasonably low (of the order of 10^-4Ω-cm² at 77K) which suggests that the interface formed between the two films is quite clean and LNO can emerge as a promising metal electrode-material to YBCO films. A preliminary investigation related to the compatibility of Cu₃Ge alloy as a contact metallization material to YBCO films is discussed. The usage of other oxide based low resistivity materials such as SrRuO₃ (SRO) and SrVO₃ (SVO) for metallization of high-T_c YBCO superconductor films is also discussed.     

Large critical current densities in YBa2Cu3O7-x thin films formed by plasma-enhanced metalorganic chemical vapor deposition at reduced temperature

YBa₂Cu₃O_7-x (YBCO) superconducting thin films with a critical current density exceeding 1 x 10⁶ A/cm² at 77.7 K were prepared by a plasma-enhanced metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (PE-MOCVD) process. The thin films (130 nm thick) were formed in-situ on LaAlO₃ substrates at a temperature of 670‡ C in 2 Torr partial pressure of activated N₂O. Resistivity and magnetic susceptibility measurements of the as-deposited films show a sharp superconducting transition temperature of 89.8 K. Critical current densities were measured by the dc transport method with a patterned bridge of 120 × 40 Μm. Both x-ray diffraction and high resolution electron microscopy measurements indicate that films grew epitaxially with the c-axis perpendicular to the surface of the substrate.     

Synthesis and characterization of Pb(Zr0.54Ti0.46)O3 thin films on (100)Si using textured YBa2Cu3O7−δ and yttria-stabilized zirconia buffer layers by laser physical vapor deposition technique

We have fabricated high-quality <001> textured Pb(Zr_0.54Ti_0.46)O₃ (PZT) thin films on (00l)Si with interposing <001> textured YBa₂Cu₃O_7−δ (YBCO) and yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) buffer layers using pulsed laser deposition (KrF excimer laser, λ, = 248 nm, τ = 20 nanosecs). The YBCO layer provides a seed for PZT growth and can also act as an electrode for the PZT films, whereas YSZ provides a diffusion barrier as well as a seed for the growth of YBCO films on (001)Si. These heterostructures were characterized using x-ray diffraction, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and Rutherford backscattering techniques. The YSZ films were deposited in oxygen ambient (∼9 × 10⁻⁴ Torr) at 775°C on (001)Si substrate having <001>YSZ // <001>Si texture. The YBCO thin films were deposited in-situ in oxygen ambient (200 mTorr) at 650°C. The temperature and oxygen ambient for the PZT deposition were optimized to be 530°C and 0.4-0.6 Torr, respectively. The laser fluence to deposit this multilayer structure was 2.5-5.0 J/cm². The <001> textured perovskite PZT films showed a dielectric constant of 800-1000, a saturation polarization of 37.81 μC/cm², remnant polarization of 24.38 μC/cm² and a coercive field of 125 kV/cm. The effects of processing parameters on microstructure and ferroelectric properties of PZT films and device implications of these structures are discussed.     

Microwave performance-property relationships of YBa2Cu3O7-δ thin films grown on LaAlO3 (001) substrate

We report correlations between growth parameters, structure and microwave performance for YBa₂Cu₃O7-δ (YBCO) thin films. Two series of YBCO thin films were grown byin-situ laser ablation. The first series were deposited at 100 mTorr oxygen pressure with a laser fluence of 2.9 Joule/cm², the second series were deposited at 600 mTorr of oxygen and a higher laser fluence of 5 Joule/cm². Microwave performance of these films was evaluated using a 5.6 GHz resonator. In both series, we found that films with higherT _c , narrower x-ray rocking curve width, and sharper electron channeling pattern tend to have higher microwave resonator Qs. Optimal film growth conditions were infered from this systematic study. Films grown at higher oxygen pressure have smoother surfaces and fewer second phases.     

Magnetic shielding effects in Ag-doped and pure YBa2Cu3O7 − x thin films probed by non-resonant microwave absorption

A non-resonant microwave absorption technique is used to study the magnetic shielding effects in Ag-doped and pure YBa₂Cu₃O_{7 − x}(YBCO) thin films for small modulating fields. While Ag-doped YBCO thin films show good shielding for small modulating fields (≈ 1 Oe) until 60 K, the pure YBCO films show significant shielding effect only up to 20 K. We interpret these results in terms of better grain alignment in Ag-doped YBCO films as compared to pure YBCO films, which can lead to better shielding effects.     

Metal organic chemical vapor deposition of superconducting YBa2Cu3O7-x thin films

The discovery of YBCO superconductors has stimulated a great deal of scientific and technological research into thin films of these materials. Because the MOCVD technique is known to produce high quality films in the III/V and II/VI material groups, our approach has been to apply the method to superconducting thin films. Thin films were grown in a vertical high speed (0–2000 rpm) rotating disk reactor. The source materials were metalβ-diketonates kept at temperatures in excess of 100° in order to obtain growth rates of 0.3 to 0.5μm/hr. The precursors were transported to the chamber with a nitrogen carrier and injected separately in order to avoid any gas phase reactions. The chamber pressure was maintained at 76 Torr with an oxygen partial pressure of 38 Torr. A resistance heater was used to keep the substrate temperature at 500° YBa₂Cu₃O_7-x films were deposited simultaneously on a variety of substrates such as (100) MgO, (1-102) sapphire, (100) SrTiO₃ and (100) YSZ. Full XPS spectra were collected for the binary oxides. The scans demonstrate the existence of Y₂O₃, BaO, and CuO with the correct valence state for the metallic species. Energy dispersive analysis of x-ray (EDAX) was used to determine film compositions by comparing EDAX spectral intensity to a known superconducting standard. Appropriate changes were made in the precursor flows to correct the stoichiometry. The as-grown films were dark brown and semi-transparent. Cross-sectional SEM photomicrographs revealed an ordered columnar structure. After annealing at 950–980° however, the films on (100) SrTiO₃ appeared dull black and opaque. The surface morphology exhibited smooth large plate-like grains. X-ray data clearly display an orthorhombic phase, with c-axis perpendicular to the substrate surface. Four point resistance measurements for films on (100) SrTiO₃ show the onset of superconductivity at 90 K with a complete loss of resistance at 88 K. This sharp (≤2K) transition shows the high quality of these MOCVD grown YBCO films and are the first reported results from a large area (2 × 50 mm substrates) commercial reactor.     

Temperature Dependence of Microwave Properties of HTS Multipole Lowpass Filters Consisting of Microstrip Open-Stub Lines

Using high quality high-T_c superconducting (HTS) YBCO thin films, we designed and fabricated 3-pole, 5-pole, and 7-pole lowpass filters consisting of microstrip transmission lines and open-stub lines. We measured the microwave response of the filters in the temperature range of T=85 K to 27 K. At T = 30 K, the observed inband insertion loss was 0.14 dB and 0.02 dB for the 5-pole and 7-pole filters, respectively. The cut-off frequency was 4.7 GHz for the 5-pole filter and 7.9 GHz for the 7-pole filter. To the authors’ knowledge, the measured inband insertion losses are the best values reported so far for the open-stub line type HTS multipole lowpass filters. The skirt property of the 5-pole filter showed a large improvement over that of the 3-pole filter as predicted from the simulation. We found that, to obtain a stable performance, the HTS multipole lowpass filters should be operated at the temperatures between 60% and 70% of T_c.     

Microwave properties of epitaxial large-area Ca-doped YBa2Cu3O7−δ thin films on r-plane sapphire

Ca doping of YBa₂Cu₃O_7−δ (YBCO) is well known to enhance the critical current density in large-angle grain boundaries for example of bicrystals. However, up to now no data are available on microwave properties of epitaxial Ca-doped YBa₂Cu₃O_7−δ thin films on r-plane sapphire with CeO₂ buffer layer.Therefore, first results are presented for large-area pulsed laser deposition (PLD) grown Ca_xY_1−xBa₂Cu₃O_7−δ films on 3-in. diameter sapphire wafers. The PLD process is optimised for undoped YBCO thin films and shows high reproducibility for YBCO. The microwave surface resistance R_s at 8.5 GHz of Ca-doped YBCO (x=0.1) thin films shows clear reduction (up to 20%) with respect to that of YBCO for temperatures from about 20–50 K. In addition, microwave surface resistance R_s of Ca-doped YBCO is lower than that of YBCO even for enhanced microwave surface magnetic field up to about 20 mT for temperatures 20 and 40 K.     

Epitaxial Growth of High-J c NdBa2Cu3O7−δ Films on RABiTS by Pulsed Laser Deposition

NdBa₂Cu₃O_7−δ (NdBCO) films were grown on rolling-assisted biaxially textured substrates (RABiTS) via pulsed laser deposition. c-Axis-oriented epitaxial NdBCO films with high performance were obtained under optimal deposition conditions. Transmission electron microscopy analysis shows that the NdBCO film grown on RABiTS has a clear interface with a CeO₂ cap layer and a nearly perfect lattice structure. The NdBCO film exhibits higher T _c of 93.7 K and better in-field J _c in magnetic fields and at all field orientations, compared to pure YBCO films.     

An experimental investigation of the off-diagonal Seebeck effect on textured YBCO high-Tc superconductor

The off-diagonal Seebeck effect was investigated on a melt-textured YBa₂Cu₃O_7−δ (YBCO) high-T_c superconductor. It was found that the transverse voltage V_x was proportional to the longitudinal temperature difference Δ T_z, measured directly with a pair of differential thermocouples, for textured samples with their c-axes tilted with respect to the surface’s normal. This supported the idea that the off-diagonal thermoelectric effect accounts for the anomalously high laser-induced transverse voltage on the oriented YBCO superconducting thin films. The variation of the V_x against the sample’s thickness d, at a given Δ T_z, deviated from the inversely proportional relationship when the sample was too thin. The deviation was discussed qualitatively in terms of deteriorated surface layers. The data of V_x(d) was fitted to obtain a reasonably reliable ∣ S_c−S_ab∣ value of 12 μ V K⁻¹.     

Interfacial properties of YBa2Cu3O7−x thin films on AI2O3 substrates prepared by pulsed laser deposition

The interfaces of YBa₂Cu₃O_7−x (YBCO) superconducting thin films grown on (1 102) r-plane A1₂O₃ by pulsed laser deposition have been investigated by a transmission electron microscopy and an Auger electron spectroscopy depth profile. We used the PrBa₂Cu₃O_7−x (PBCO) buffer layer to prevent the interdiffusion and compared the interfaces of YBCO/A1₂O₃ and YBCO/PBCO/A1₂O₃. The intermediate layer in the YBCO film deposited on bare sapphire is visible between the film and the substrate but no boundary layer in the film grown on PBCO buffered sapphire was observed directly by the cross-section image of TEM. The thickness of the intermediate layer in the film on bare sapphire is about 30 nm. This result of TEM observation is consistent with that of AES depth profile.     

Synthesis of low resistivity complex oxides on MgO using Pt as buffer layer

Highly crystalline SrRuO₃ (SRO) and La_0.5Sr_0.5CoO₃ (LSCO) thin films were deposited on (100) Pt/ MgO by pulsed laser deposition. The films were mainly (001) textured normal to the substrate surface with a high degree of in-plane orientation with respect to the substrate’s major axes. These films were characterized using x-ray diffraction, Rutherford backscattering, four-point probe resistivity measurement, and transmission electron microscopy. The room temperature resistivity for LSCO and SRO films on Pt/MgO was found to be ∼35 and ∼40 μΩ-cm, respectively. An ion beam minimum channeling yield of ∼43% and ∼33% was obtained for LSCO and SRO films, respectively. The interface between Pt and oxide was found to be smooth and free from any interfacial diffusion. This result showed that high-quality low resistivity oxide thin films can be deposited on Pt.     

Fabrication of MOD-derived YBCO films on [001]LaAlO/sub 3/ and their application to /spl lambda//4 CPW SIR BPFs

Chemically derived epitaxial thin films of YBa/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub 7-/spl delta// (YBCO) are fabricated on [001]LaAlO/sub 3/ substrates by the metalorganic-deposition (MOD) process, which has advantages of high quality, nonvacuum, low-cost, and large-scale production of high-T/sub c/ superconducting films. The MOD-derived YBCO films have a sharp transition at the critical temperature (90.4 K) and a high-quality film with a surface resistance of 0.13 m/spl Omega/ (30 K, 9.98 GHz) is obtained. As a microwave application, simple and compact bandpass filters (BPFs) using /spl lambda//4 coplanar-waveguide. stepped-impedance resonators are demonstrated on the YBCO films. A two-stage Chebyshev BPF of center frequency of 5.731 GHz, bandwidth of 135 MHz, and insertion loss of 0.29 dB with little input power dependency in a power range less than 10 dBm is realized on the film.     

A Giant Electrocaloric Effect in Nanoscale Antiferroelectric and Ferroelectric Phases Coexisting in a Relaxor Pb0.8Ba0.2ZrO3 Thin Film at Room Temperature

Recently, large electrocaloric effects (ECE) in antiferroelectric sol‐gel PbZr_0.95Ti_0.05O₃ thin films and in ferroelectric polymer P(VDF‐TrFE)55/45 thin films were observed near the ferroelectric Curie temperatures of these materials (495 K and 353 K, respectively). Here a giant ECE (ΔT = 45.3 K and ΔS = 46.9 J K^?1 kg^?1 at 598 kV cm^?1) is obtained in relaxor ferroelectric Pb_0.8Ba_0.2ZrO₃ (PBZ) thin films fabricated on Pt(111)/TiO_x/SiO₂/Si substrates using a sol‐gel method. Nanoscale antiferroelectric (AFE) and ferroelectric (FE) phases coexist at room temperature (290 K) rather than at the Curie temperature (408 K) of the material. The giant ECE in such a system is attributed to the coexistence of AFE and FE phases and a field‐induced nanoscale AFE to FE phase transition. The giant ECE of the thin film makes this a promising material for applications in cooling systems near room temperature.     

Preparation and Flux-Pinning Properties of Multilayered Yttrium Barium Copper Oxide Thin Films Containing Alternating Barium Zirconate and Yttria Nanostructures

Multilayered yttrium barium copper oxide (YBCO) thin films grown by the pulsed laser deposition technique provide the possibility for independently tailoring the nanoscale artificial pinning centers embedded in individual layers. This enables engineering of artificial pinning centers in YBCO thin films for optimizing their flux-pinning properties. In this work, we combined barium zirconate (BaZrO₃) and yttria (Y₂O₃) nanostructures into multilayered YBCO thin films by alternating ablation of YBCO + BaZrO₃ and YBCO + Y₂O₃ composite targets. The layers containing BaZrO₃ nanostructures have a different thickness from those containing Y₂O₃ nanostructures. A highly epitaxial multilayered YBCO thin film, comprising five alternating layers of YBCO + BaZrO₃ and YBCO + Y₂O₃, has been prepared on a lanthanum aluminate (LaAlO₃) (100) substrate. This multilayered YBCO thin film exhibited strong flux-pinning properties. This work provides a preliminary step towards engineering of artificial pinning centers in YBCO thin films.     

Thermoelectric Properties of Ag-doped Mg<Subscript>2</Subscript>Ge Thin Films Prepared by Magnetron Sputtering

Silver doped p-type Mg₂Ge thin films were grown in situ at 773 K using magnetron co-sputtering from individual high-purity Mg and Ge targets. A sacrificial base layer of silver of various thicknesses from 4 nm to 20 nm was initially deposited onto the substrate to supply Ag atoms, which entered the growing Mg₂Ge films by thermal diffusion. The addition of silver during film growth led to increased grain size and surface microroughness. The carrier concentration increased from 1.9 × 10¹⁸ cm⁻³ for undoped films to 8.8 × 10¹⁸ cm⁻³ for the most heavily doped films, but it did not reach saturation. Measurements in the temperature range of T = 200–650 K showed a positive Seebeck coefficient for all the films, with maximum values at temperatures between 400 K and 500 K. The highest Seebeck coefficient of the undoped film was 400 μV K⁻¹, while it was 280 μV K⁻¹ for the most heavily doped film at ∼400 K. The electrical conductivity increased with silver doping by a factor of approximately 10. The temperature effects on power factors for the undoped and lightly doped films were very limited, while the effects for the heavily doped films were substantial. The power factor of the heavily doped films reached a non-optimum value of ∼10⁻⁵ W cm⁻¹ K⁻² at 700 K.     

Influence of Substrate Temperature on Structural and Thermoelectric Properties of Antimony Telluride Thin Films Fabricated by RF and DC Cosputtering

Antimony and tellurium were deposited on BK7 glass using direct-current magnetron and radiofrequency magnetron cosputtering. Antimony telluride thermoelectric thin films were synthesized with a heated substrate. The effects of substrate temperature on the structure, surface morphology, and thermoelectric properties of the thin films were investigated. X-ray diffraction patterns revealed that the thin films were well crystallized. c-Axis preferred orientation was observed in thin films deposited above 250°C. Scanning electron microscopy images showed hexagonal crystallites and crystal grains of around 500 nm in thin film fabricated at 250°C. Energy-dispersive spectroscopy indicated that a temperature of 250°C resulted in stoichiometric Sb₂Te₃. Sb₂Te₃ thin film deposited at room temperature exhibited the maximum Seebeck coefficient of 190 μV/K and the lowest power factor (PF), S ² σ, of 8.75 × 10⁻⁵ W/mK². When the substrate temperature was 250°C, the PF increased to its highest value of 3.26 × 10⁻³ W/mK². The electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient of the thin film were 2.66 × 10⁵ S/m and 113 μV/K, respectively.     

Specific features of photoconductivity in thin n-PbTe:Ga epilayers

Photoconductivity and transient processes in thin (0.2–0.3 µm) n-PbTe:Ga epilayers were studied. The films were grown by the hot-wall technique on BaF₂ 〈111〉 substrates. Photoelectric properties of the samples were investigated in the temperature range from 4.2 to 300 K. A GaAs light-emitting diode and miniature incandescent lamp were used as sources of pulsed and continuous infrared radiation, respectively. The most important characteristic of the films is the very wide temperature range of photosensitivity. At an illumination power density of 10^?5 to 10^?4 W/cm², the temperature at which the films become photosensitive T _C is as high as 150 K, which exceeds T _C for thicker films (2–3 µm) and high-resistivity single crystals of n-PbTe:Ga by 40 and 70 K, respectively. An analysis of the transient behavior of photoconductivity shows that photoexcited carriers are uniformly distributed over the volume of the thin films. A barrier for recombination of nonequilibrium charge carriers was estimated for slow relaxation processes.     

Electrical properties of Pb1−xCdxS epitaxial films

We have measured the resistivity ρ and Hall coefficient R_H at 300, 77, and 4.2 K of p-type Pb_1−XCd_XS epitaxial films as a function of substrate temperature T_s, film thickness d, and composition x. The films were vapor deposited on cleaved (111) BaF₂ (111) SrF₂ , and (001) NaCl and polished (001) BaF₂ substrates. The Hall mobility μ_H at 77 K of p-type PbS films increased approximately linearly from 1 × 10⁴ to 2 × 10⁴ cm² V⁻¹ sec⁻¹ as T_s was varied from 400 to 500°C, respectively. Both μ_H and R_H increased with d due to the presence of a strong p-type surface layer on the exposed surface. The x of the films was controlled by the x of the source material and T_s. The mole fraction of CdS could be varied between 0.002 < x < 0.06 by varying T between 513 and 410°C, respectively, and using source material with x = 0.06. The electrical properties of samples grown on freshly cleaved (111) BaF₂ and (111) SrF₂ were essentially identical even though the lattice constant of SrF₂ is a better match to Pb_1−XCd_XS than BaF₂. The R_H and μ_H at 77 K were independent of thickness for low substrate temperatures and were observed to increase with increasing thickness for high substrate temperatures. The μ_H increased with decreasing temperature and became temperature independent below about 30 K, which is similar to the behavior observed in other lead salt compounds. However, the magnitude of μ_H was considerable lower throughout the 300 to 4.2 K temperature range than for PbS films. The R_H showed little temperature variation, which is typical lead salt behavior. Supported by Naval Surface Weapons Center Independent Research Funds.     

New buffer materials for highT c superconducting thin films

We have tested La₂O₃, Gd₂O₃, Y₂O₃, Dy₂O₃, and PrO_1.82 as new buffer materials for highT _c superconducting thin films. These oxides are structurally compatible with the superconductors. The cubic phase of La₂O₃ cannot be stabilized and Nd₂O₃ films have mixed cubic and hexagonal phases in the temperature and pressure ranges used in the experiment. All other oxides are suitable and also chemically compatible with YBa₂Cu₃O_7-δ superconductor. YBa₂Cu₃O_7-δ thin films on these buffer materials have a superconducting transition temperature of 90 K. (100) oriented films of these oxides were not obtained on R-plane sapphire without a CeO₂ seed layer.