AFM study of SrTiO3 and YBa2Cu3O7-δ multilayer surface treated with chemical mechanical polishing process

Abstract

We have studied the surface morphology of SrTiO3 (STO) and YBa2Cu3O7-δ (YBCO) thin films fabricated by pulsed laser deposition technique in a multilayer structure. Study was focused on the surface morphology of an STO thin film deposited on an YBCO layer that received chemical and mechanical polishing (CMP) treatment. The CMP process could remove the presence of the outgrowth on the STO thin film, improve its smoothness and facilitate a good epitaxial growth of the next deposited YBCO film. As a result, we could fabricate a high quality YBCO thin film on the YBCO/STO structure with Tc = 91 K and Jc = 4 × 106 A/cm2.