THE EFFECT OF THE REACTANT GAS ON YBA2CU3OX FILM FORMATION

The reactant gas used as the deposition ambient has a large effect on the composition and properties of cuprate superconductor films. In thi s study YBa2Cu3Ox thin films are deposited by pulsed organometallic be am epitaxy (POMBE). The barium precursor used contains fluorine and it is therefore possible to incorporate unwanted fluorine into the depos ited film. For our deposition process both the fluorine content and ox ygen content of the film are highly dependent on the reactant gas used as the deposition ambient. Many of the reaction conditions that remov e fluorine also deplete the film of oxygen. In this study a set of rea ction conditions that produce YBa2Cu3Ox films which are both fluorine- free and fully oxygenated are presented.