An attempt was made to control the crystal orientation of yttria-stabi
lized zirconia (YSZ) thin films using a modified bias sputtering techn
ique. Two specially devised electrodes installed in a sputtering syste
m were found to play an important role in obtaining films with a high
degree of preferred orientation. An argon ion flux extracted from the
discharge space formed by these electrodes appeared to impinge on the
growing film to form films with this strong preferred orientation. The
pole figure obtained by texture analysis revealed the clear evidence
for alignment of the in-plane crystal axes of YSZ buffer layers for th
e growth of YBa2Cu3Oy onto polycrystalline metal substrates. An appare
nt in-plane texturing was also confirmed in subsequently laser-deposit
ed YBa2Cu3Oy films. As a result, the current-carrying capacity of YBa2
Cu3Oy films was markedly improved.