Microstructure of epitaxial YbBa₂Cu₃O₇ superconducting films grown by a new liquid-gas-solidification technique

We have studied the microstructures of epitaxial YbBa₂Cu ₃O₇ superconducting films grown on SrTiO₃[100] and [110] substrates by a new liquid-gas-solidification processing technique. Films grown on SrTiO₃[100] and [110] substrates are epitaxially oriented with [001] and [110] axes normal to the film surface. Twinned domains of ∼200 Å in size are observed in the [001] oriented films. Most defects observed can be attributed to the presence of stacking faults along the c axis. The presence of Cu-O bilayer defects is also observed. Rapid oxygen diffusion in the liquid phase is found to play an important role in the microstructure of the thin films.