Pressure effect on YBa2Cu3O7 thin film growth in off-axis radio frequency magnetron sputtering

Abstract

YBa2Cu3O7−x (123) thin films were fabricated on (100) MgO substrates by off-axis single target radio frequency (rf) magnetron sputtering. Our study focused on the effect of chamber pressure on the composition, microstructure, and superconductive properties on transition behavior and Tc of the grown film studied. An empirical formula was derived to explain the dependence of the deposition rate of various components on the pressure. Next, we compared the transport mechanism of the sputtered particles between the off-axis rf and the on-axis direct current sputtering and determined the processing conditions that result in superconducting films of better quality. According to our findings, growth at higher pressures (≳100 mTorr) produces more homogeneous and higher Tc superconducting films.