NEW HIGH-TEMPERATURE SUPERCONDUCTING PHASE SPREAD ALLOY THIN-FILMS

We have prepared Gd1-xPrxBa2Cu3O7-delta phase spread alloy thin films with well-defined variations in the concentration of Pr across a singl e substrate. Their Pr concentrations were independently determined fro m electrical resistivity and Auger electron spectroscopy measurements. The results from both methods are in good agreement with each other. Using this technique several high-temperature superconducting thin-fil m alloys may be grown under virtually identical conditions. As an exam ple of an important application of this technique, we measured the cha nges in the films' resistivities and critical temperatures (T(c)) indu ced by decreasing their oxygen concentration. The observed shifts in T (c) of the oxygen-deficient samples appear to be slightly dependent on their Pr concentrations.