Pulsed laser processing of high temperature superconducting thin films

Systematic studies of the effects of pulsed laser deposition processing parameters on plume dynamics and resultant film properties have been performed. Plume angular distributions, cos(sup m)(theta), were observed to be variable between 1 is greater than m is greater than 10 depending on laser energy density and spot size. Under optimized conditions, epitaxial, superconducting thin films could be grown in-situ on a variety of single-crystal substrates. High quality, 200 nm thick films were obtained at deposition rates approaching 15 nm/sec. Additionally, the patterning of YBa2Cu3O(7-x) thin films was achieved by a process which combines thermal oxygen diffusion and laser annealing. This process is performed under relatively mild conditions which allows the structural integrity of the films to be preserved.