GROWTH MODE OF Cu-RICH PARTICLES ON LASER-ABLATED YBa₂Cu₃O₇ THIN FILMS

The microstructure of the laser-ablated YBa₂Cu₃O₇ (YBCO) thin film deposited on heated (100) SrTiO₃ substrate was examined by transmission electron microscope. The par-ticles on the film mainly consist of CuO and few CuYO₂. Most of these non-superconducting particles nucleate on or near the surface of the film and protrude about 100-400 nm in height, A large amount of a-axis YBCO grains also exist in the film, which nucleate at the substrate surface and grow perpendicularly above the c-axis YBCO film. The YBCO thin film deposited under low oxygen pressure has very different microstructure compared with YBCO thin film deposited under high oxygen pressure.