INVESTIGATION OF TRANSIENT PROCESSES IN YBACUO FILMS BY LOW-TEMPERATURE SCANNING ELECTRON-MICROSCOPY

It has been observed that the inhomogeneity of high-temperature superc onducting films influences its temporal characteristics under the loca l action of electron probe pulses. The proposed method of time-resolve d, low-temperature scanning electron microscopy is the first step in t his direction. For the first time local investigations with a time res olution of I ns have been made of the influence of weak bonds during s witching from the superconducting to the normal state and back, under local heating by an electron probe. It was shown that for a YBa2Cu3O7- x film 400 nm thick at T = 80 K, the thermal diffusion time is between 400 and 600 ns depending on the parameters of the film and substrate sections adjacent to the point under study. (C) 1997 American Institut e of Physics. [S1063-7850(97)02611-6].