Pulsed laser deposition and characterization of high-T_c YBa₂Cu₃O_7-x superconducting thin films

This article presents a systematic overview of the work carried out in the area of pulsed laser deposition (PLD), characterization and device application aspects of high temperature superconducting YBCO thin films. The theoretical and experimental aspects of the pulsed laser deposition process for the synthesis of YBCO thin films have been described in detail. The deposition technique has emerged as a very powerful method to make composition and microstructure controlled superconducting YBCO films. Some unique features of this process are due to the rapid heating and evaporation of the target and the interaction of the laser beam with the evaporated materials leading to the formation of a high temperature plasma. Major advantages of PLD process are congruent evaporation and crystallinity due to the presence of high energy evaporants and fast response time. It has the potential to encompass a wide scope of physical vapor-deposition techniques from thermal evaporation to sputtering and MBE. The electrical and structural studies performed on laser deposited YBCO films have shown that films produced by PLD are superior than films produced by other thin film growth techniques. The major technical obstacle of particulates emission, encountered initially with PLD, has now greatly been solved. Some new developments with PLD technology such as large-area and nonplanar substrates coatings and growth of novel superconductors as oriented films have been demonstrated.