Relationship between the Surface Morphology of Thin YBa₂Cu₃O_7 – x Films Obtained by Pulsed Laser Deposition and the Endset Temperature of Superconducting Transition

Abstract

A correlation was found between the endset temperature of the superconducting transition T(R = 0) of YBa₂Cu₃O_7 – x films 100–200 nm thick, obtained by pulsed laser deposition on SrTiO₃(100) substrates with a temperature of ~740°C, and the regimes of high-speed filtering of the erosion plume formed upon ablation of the material the target. Under deposition conditions, we changed the width of the filtering window, the repetition rate of the atomized material passing through the filter onto the substrate, and the radiation energy density of the KrF excimer laser on the target surface. At deposition rates of less than 0.1 nm s^–1, the values of T(R = 0) did not exceed 77 K, and pyramids were formed on the surface of the films up to 80 nm in height along the c axis in the form of spirals with rectangular bases and steps of 1–2 nm along the lateral faces. With an increase in the deposition rate from 0.1 to 0.6 nm s^–1, T(R = 0) increased to 86 K. These regimes corresponded to a wavy pyramid surface up to 40 nm in height with rounded bases up to 1500 nm in diameter and irregular steps 1–4 nm on the side slopes. Faceted crystals with a width from 20–30 to 500 nm in the base grew along the boundaries between the pyramids during the deposition. This morphology of the growth surface was explained by the high flow rate of the sputtered material, which is determined by the frequency filtering of the erosion plume and the energy density in the pulse upon predominantly surface diffusion.