MICROSTRUCTURE OF LASER-DEPOSITED SUPERCONDUCTING ND1.85CE0.15CUO4-Y FILMS

The morphology and microstructure of Nd1.85Ce0.15CuO4-y (NCCO) films g rown epitaxially on (100) LaAlO3 (LAO) by pulsed laser deposition were studied by selected-area electron diffraction and high-resolution ele ctron microscopy. The films were composed primarily of c-axis oriented grains and did not contain any polytypoidic faulting. The in-plane ep itaxial relationship of the films was found to be [100]NCCO //[001]LAO . The Nd1.85Ce0.15CUO4-y-LaAlO3 interface is sharp and free of defects . A weak peak around the (110) position of NCCO(T') structure in x-ray diffraction was observed. Using microdiffraction and energy-dispersiv e x-ray analysis, we confirmed that this peak corresponds to the (004) reflection of cubic Ce0.5Nd0.5O1.75.