PULSED-LASER DEPOSITION - A VERSATILE TECHNIQUE ONLY FOR HIGH-TEMPERATURE SUPERCONDUCTOR THIN-FILM DEPOSITION

One of the most stringent prerequisites for the successful deposition of high-temperature superconductor (HTS) thin films of high quality is the stoichiometry control. This prerequisite will be met easily using the pulsed laser deposition technique (PLD) by the nature of the process. This paper highlights the principles of the preparation of Y-based and Bi-based HTS thin films by PID, giving some emphasis to the study of the in-plane epitaxy of c-axis oriented films by X-ray techniques and Raman scattering. In particular, new results will be reviewed concerning the fabrication and properties of Pr-substituted Y-Ba-Cu-O thin films and Pr-Ba-Cu-O/Y-Ba-Cu-O superlattices with different periodicity. Focussing on the more methodological aspects of these efforts, some possibilities will be explored to prepare new complex materials of technological interest with the pulsed laser deposition technique.