PULSED-LASER DEPOSITION OF THICK YBA2CU3O7-DELTA FILMS WITH JC-GREATER-THAN-1 MA/CM2

Using pulsed laser deposition, YBa2Cu3O7-delta (YBCO) films ranging in thickness from 0.065 to 6.4 mum have been deposited on yttria-stabilized zirconia substrates with an intermediate layer of CeO2. The thinnest films have critical current densities of over 5 MA/cm2 at 75 K with zero applied field; as film thickness is increased, J(c) decreases asymptotically to 1 MA/cm2. X-ray analysis of a 2.2-mum-thick film shows that the YBCO is predominantly c-axis oriented and textured in-plane, while a Rutherford backscattering spectrometry minimum channeling yield of almost-equal-to 75% indicates that the film contains disordered material at this thickness.