EPITAXIAL SR2RUO4 HETEROSTRUCTURES

Sr2RuO4 is the only known layered perovskite that is free of copper, y et superconducting. Its low metallic resistivity and excellent lattice match with YBa2Cu3O7-delta make it an attractive candidate for use as conductive electrodes to YBa2Cu3O7-delta-based superconducting device s or as a normal metal in YBa2Cu3O7-delta-based SNS junctions, We have determined optimal deposition conditions for growth of single-domain epitaxial films of Sr2RuO4, Films with excellent crystallinity are rea dily grown at substrate temperatures exceeding 1000 degrees C at low p ressures, At lower temperatures and higher pressures, films predominan tly consist of the SrRuO3 phase, Resistivity versus temperature measur ements reveal that the as-grown Sr2RuO4 films are metallic, but not su perconducting. Epitaxial YBa2Cu3O7-delta/Sr2RuO4 heterostructures have also been grown, X-ray and resistivity measurements show that the YBa 2Cu3O7-delta films are of high quality.