PREPARATION OF a-AXIS ORIENTED YBa₂Cu₃O_x THIN FILMS

The a-axis oriented YBa₂Cu₃O_x(YBCO) thin films could be grown on (100) SrTiO₃(STO) substrates with STO buffer layers by dc and rf magnetron sputtering either by low-ering the deposition temperature, or by using a self-template technique. For the latter, the resistivity of the thin film at 290K along the substrate 001 direction is about four times larger than that in the 010 direction. The zero resistance temperatures T_c0 are 89 K in both directions. So high quality a-axis oriented YBCO thin films can be prepared by the self-template technique. Also the T_c0 increase monotonously with the reduction of the thickness of the YBCO seed layer.