Epitaxial growth of YBa2Cu3O7 thin films on (100)-SrTiO3

Abstract

He-ion channeling was applied to analyze the preparation of defect-free (100)-SrTi${\mathrm{O}}_3$ surfaces and the growth of large-area single-crystalline Y${\mathrm{Ba}}_2$ ${\mathrm{Cu}}_3$ ${\mathrm{O}}_7$ thin films. The analysis supported by Monte Carlo simulation revealed a strain-free growth with the $c$ axis perpendicular to the substrate surface in agreement with reflection high-energy electron diffraction technique measurements. The standard deviation of misoriented regions is 0.2°. The best minimum yield values of 12% are obtained for 1-MeV He ions. Energy-dependent yield measurements show that the films contain dislocations.