As-Grown Preparation of Superconducting Epitaxial Ba2YCu3Ox Thin Films Sputtered on Epitaxially Grown ZrO2/Si(100)

Abstract

High-T _c superconducting Ba₂YCu₃O _x thin films have been epitaxially grown on Si(100) substrates with the epitaxially grown tetragonal ZrO₂ or cubic yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) as a buffer layer. The thin films were prepared by rf magnetron sputtering of the stoichiometric Ba₂YCu₃O _x target below 700°C. An adequate positive substrate bias was necessary to ensure surface smoothness and to show the superconducting transition above liquid nitrogen temperature without any post-treatment. The highest T _c(onset) and T _c(end) observed were 88 K and 84 K, respectively.