High-temperature superconductive thin films

The material and physical properties of the new high-temperature copper oxide superconductors relevant to electronic device applications are reviewed. The various approaches to their synthesis in useful thin-film form are discussed and the properties of films made by the various techniques are compared, as are results from the principal high-temperature superconductors. It is argued that, because of the strong anisotropy and poor conduction across grain boundaries typical of these materials, only well-textured films will generally be useful in electronic applications. The utility of the bulk critical current density as an entry-level figure of merit for any film is emphasized.