Growth and properties of YBCO thin films on polycrystalline Ag substrates by inclined substrate pulsed laser deposition

Fully c-axis-oriented YBCO films were directly deposited on polycrystalline silver substrates by inclined substrate pulsed laser ablation. The orientation and microstructure of the YBCO films were characterized by x-ray diffraction 2theta-scans, Omega-scans and pole figure analysis. Surface morphology was examined by scanning electron microscopy. Irregular-mosaic-shaped supergrains were observed in the films. Raman spectroscopy was used to evaluate the quality of the YBCO films. The superconducting transition temperature (T-c) and the critical current density (J(c)) of the films were determined by inductive and transport measurements, respectively. T, 91 K with sharp transition and J(c) = 2.7 x 10(5) A cm(-2) at 77 K in zero field were obtained on a film that was 0.14 mum thick, 5 mm wide and 10 mm long. This work demonstrated a promising approach to obtain high-J(c), YBCO films on nontextured polycrystalline silver substrate.