Epitaxial ordering of oxide superconductor thin films on (100) SrTiO3 prepared by pulsed laser evaporation

Thin films of Y-Ba-Cu-O superconductors on (100) SrTiO3 were prepared using the pulsed excimer laser evaporation technique. After an annealing treatment in oxygen the films exhibited superconductivity with zero resistance at 85 K with transition widths (90%–10%) as narrow as a 2 K. A considerable amount of orientation of the films with respect to the substrates was observed by x-ray diffraction and ion channeling techniques. Interface reaction revealed by Rutherford backscattering and Auger electron spectrometry resulted in a thickness dependence of the superconducting properties of the films.