Thin Solid Films, Vol.468, No.1-2, 332-337, 2004
Holes in YBa2CU3O7-x thin films on vicinal strontium titanate substrates
YBa2Cu3O7-x thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition on vicinal SrTiO3 (001) substrates frequently exhibit holes. These appear to be directly correlated with the incidence of epitaxial yttria precipitates within the film and with suppression of twinning. Films deposited on vicinal substrates and which grow without precipitates show a much more continuous surface and are fully twinned. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords:structure and morphology;thickness;crystalline orientation and texture;nucleation and growth;microscopic aspects;high-T-C films;laser deposition;transmission electron microscopy (TEM);atomic force microscopy (AFM)