Transient liquid assisted growth of superconducting YBa2Cu3O7−x films based on pulsed laser deposition

Abstract We investigated the integration of transient liquid-assisted growth (TLAG) approach for epitaxial YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7− x (YBCO) films by physical deposition methodologies (pulsed laser deposition (PLD)), as an additional opportunity for high-throughput growth of YBCO. As a prerequisite, highly flat and amorphous YBCO precursor films were deposited by PLD at temperatures below 400 °C on single-crystalline SrTiO 3 (STO) and LaMnO 3 (LMO)/STO, as well as industrial coated conductor architectures. Contrary to TLAG based on chemical solution deposition, where BaCO 3 elimination is a key factor for the YBCO growth, TLAG-PLD growth is controlled by the transformation of Ba–Cu–O (s) to a transient liquid. High-quality c -axis YBCO films were successfully grown on different substrates, as demonstrated by high-resolution x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. In-situ resistance measurements revealed that the growth rates around 1000 nm s −1 can be achieved, outperforming the capabilities of standard PLD growth of REBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 films by few orders of magnitude. Experimental conditions such as temperature, oxygen partial pressure, and heating ramp, were optimized to obtain critical temperature ( T c ) values up to 90 K. Critical current densities of 15 MA cm −2 at 5 K and 1.7 MA cm −2 at 77 K were obtained for YBCO films of 450 nm on LMO/STO.