Microstructure of epitaxial YbBa2Cu3O7 superconducting films grown by a new liquid-gas-solidification technique

Abstract
We have studied the microstructures of epitaxial YbBa2Cu3O7 superconducting films grown on SrTiO3[100] and [110] substrates by a new liquid‐gas‐solidification processing technique. Films grown on SrTiO3[100] and [110] substrates are epitaxially oriented with [001] and [110] axes normal to the film surface. Twinned domains of ∼200 Å in size are observed in the [001] oriented films. Most defects observed can be attributed to the presence of stacking faults along the c axis. The presence of Cu‐O bilayer defects is also observed. Rapid oxygen diffusion in the liquid phase is found to play an important role in the microstructure of the thin films.