Abstract
Previous work in our laboratory has demonstrated the use of scanning probe microscopy (SPM) techniques in the study of microstructure development in YBa2Cu3O7 (YBCO) thin films formed by pulsed-laser deposition (PLD) [e.g., Ref. 1]. Under certain deposition conditions a high density of surface outgrowths was observed. These outgrowths have been identified as a-axis-oriented YBCO grains nucleated at the substrate surface which grow in concert with the c-axis-oriented YBCO grains. This growth mechanism differs from that previously suggested for the formation of mixed a-axis-oriented/c-axis-oriented YBCO films. The microstructure of YBCO thin films deposited on vicinal substrates by PLD is very different from that observed for films grown on oriented substrates (even under equivalent deposition conditions). Films grown on vicinal LaA1O3 substrates consisted of elongated granular features oriented along common directions. The shape of these features is the result of step-flow growth where the ledges on the miscut substrates provide aligned and enhanced nucleation sites. Such features have been observed on films grown using several different deposition conditions: only the width of the features changed.
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