Microstructure and Properties of Artificial Grain-Boundaries in Epitaxial Yba2cu3o7-Delta Thin-Films Grown on [001] Tilt Y-Zro2 Bicrystals

J. A. Alarco, E. Olsson, Z. G. Ivanov, D. Winkler, E. A. Stepantsov, O. I. Lebedev, A. L. Vasiliev, A. Y. Tzalenchuk, N. A. Kiselev

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Abstract

The microstructure of artificial grain boundaries in YBa2Cu3O7-delta (YBCO) thin films grown on [001] tilt Y-ZrO2 (YSZ) bicrystal substrates has been characterized using transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. Despite a relatively straight morphology of the substrate boundaries, the film boundaries were wavy. The waviness was a result of the combined effects of grooving at the substrate boundaries prior to the film deposition and an island-growth mechanism for YBCO on YSZ substrates. The dihedral angle of the groove walls varied with the misorientation angle and depended on the symmetry of the substrate boundary. The amplitudes of the film boundary waviness compared well with the widths of the grooves. In addition, the grooves induced local bending of the YBCO lattice planes and additional tilt components perpendicular to the c-axis close to the film boundaries.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)263-279
Number of pages17
JournalPhysica C: Superconductivity and its Applications
Volume247
Issue number3-4
Publication statusPublished - 1995

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