A novel selective epitaxial growth (SEG) technique for YBa2Cu3O7-delta
(YBCO) thin films is presented. The method involves the deposition of
a thin (about 10 nm) metal layer, in the desired pattern, on a substr
ate before the deposition of the superconducting thin film. During gro
wth the metal reacts with the YBCO, forming locally an insulating comp
ound. Best results are obtained with Ti or W, yielding structures with
sharp boundaries and creating insulating areas with high resistivitie
s. The technique has been analysed for the titanium case. It was found
that during the YBCO growth the titanium layer reacts with the YBCO t
o form an amorphous Ba-Ti-O compound. The YBCO cannot grow epitaxially
on top of this layer, and a mainly amorphous YBCO film with insulatin
g characteristics results. The resistivity of the insulating parts has
been investigated as a function of the layer thicknesses of both the
titanium and the YBCO. Both increasing the YBCO layer or a slight decr
ease of the titanium layer thickness yields a strong decrease in the r
esistivity. The SEG technique has been successfully applied to create
submicron patterns, without any sign of degradation. Bridge structures
with widths down to 200 nm could be prepared that still showed a T-c
value of 89 K and J(c) values in excess of 2 x 10(6) A cm(-2) at 77 K.