New Growth Conditions for the c-Axis Oriented NdBa2Cu3Ox Films by Pulsed Laser Deposition: Lower Substrate Temperature and Higher Oxygen Pressure

The substrate temperature at which the c-axis oriented NdBa2Cu3Ox (NdBCO) film grows is 80–100°C higher than that for the c-axis oriented YBa2Cu3Ox (YBCO). This is a drawback of composing multilayers for device applications although NdBCO has crystalline and superconductive properties superior to those of YBCO. We successfully grew the c-axis oriented NdBCO films in the temperature range lower than that for the a-axis preferred oriented film at a high oxygen pressure by pulsed laser deposition. The optimum c-axis oriented growth condition was determined as follows: substrate temperature is 790°C, oxygen pressure 900 mTorr, and laser energy density 0.5 J/cm2.