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A TEM study of microstructures of YBa2Cu3O7-x thin films
deposited on LaAlO3 by laser ablation
S. N. Basu
Department of Manufacturing Engineering, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215
A. H. Carim
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park,
Pennsylvania 16802
T. E. Mitchell
Center for Materials Science, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545
(Received 13 March 1991; accepted 8 May 1991)
The microstructures of YBa2Cu3O7-x thin films deposited by laser ablation on single crystal
(001) LaAlO3 substrates have been investigated. The orientation of the YBa2Cu3O7- x layer
next to the interface is found to be completely c-perpendicular, with a high degree of
epitaxy between the film and the substrate. Misfit dislocations, with a periodic spacing of
around 13 nm, are present at the interface. Two distinct interfacial structures are seen in
these films. At a film thickness of around 400 nm, nucleation of c-parallel grains occurs,
leading to a switchover from a c-perpendicular to a c-parallel microstructure. Amorphous
particulates, ejected from the target during processing, lead to the formation of misoriented
grains, giving rise to high-angle grain boundaries in the film.
Keywords: Microstructure; Superconductors; Thin film
Materials: YBa2Cu3O72x
J. Mater. Res., Vol. 6, No. 9, p. 1823.
 1996 Materials Research Society
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