High critical current density YBa ₂Cu ₃O _7-δ thin film growth by post-deposition processing at low pressures

Fabrication of YBCO thin films under low pressure ex-situ processing condition and the effects of the basic processing parameters on the growth as well as the properties of the films were investigated. The precursor films with thickness ranging 0.14μ were deposited on SrTiO ₃ substrates by e-beam co-evaporation of Y, BaF2 and Cu at room temperature. X ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used for characterizing the YBCO films obtained and superconducting properties were measured using a standard four-probe electrical methods. The XRD results show that YBCO was formed with complete c-axis orientation only at P _h20=0.1mTorr.