Abstract
A mechanical wedge polishing procedure that offers a simple, cost-effective and rapid wayto look into the depth of a thin film with different surface-sensitive scanningtechniques has been developed. As an example of its wide applicability, this methodwas utilized for the investigation of two differently prepared superconductingYBa2Cu3O7−δ thin films: an Hf-doped film prepared by chemical solution deposition and anundoped film grown by pulsed laser deposition. Upon polishing, the roughness of thesamples was reduced to less than 5 nm (peak-to-valley) without influencing thesuperconducting properties of the films. Thus, nanoscale polishing opens up a uniquepossibility for microscopic studies with various surface-sensitive techniques. Wedemonstrate the successful imaging of flux lines by low temperature magnetic forcemicroscopy after polishing a formerly rough as-prepared film. By applying the wedgepolishing procedure to the Hf-doped sample, high resolution electron backscatteringdiffraction investigations reveal the homogeneous distribution of non-superconductingBaHfO3 nanoparticles in the whole volume of the film.
Published Version
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