Chemical solution deposition of YBa2Cu3O7-x films by dip coating

Dense superconducting YBa2Cu3O7-x (YBCO) films were prepared via chemical solution deposition in a trifluoroacetate (TFA) process. The dip coated substrates were treated in a two stage annealing process under wet oxygen below 400 degreesC and subsequently heated up to 800 degreesC in a wet nitrogen dominated atmosphere. We obtained epitaxially grown 190 nm thick films on single-crystalline strontium titanate with T-c of 89.9 K and a transition width of 0.7 K. Critical current densities up to 2.7 MA cm(-2) were reached. YBCO layers up to 400 nm thickness can be processed without forming cracks during the heating treatment. Biaxially textured strontium titanate films and ytterbium oxide films as buffer layers were also built in a TFA process on single-crystalline substrates. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.