Growth mechanism of RE-Ba-Cu-O film on MgO substrate by liquid phase epitaxy

Hetero-epitaxial growth of YBa2Cu3Oy (YBCO) crystals on MgO substrates has been investigated by comparing with the homo-epitaxial growth on a YBCO sub strate, in order to clarify the initial growth mechanism of the liquid phas e epitaxy (LPE). It was found that the slope angle of the growth grain vari ed with growing in the initial stage of the LPE growth. In the case of the homo-epitaxial growth, the slope angle decreased with growing the crystal. On the other hand, the slope angle increased with growing the crystal in th e hetero-epitaxial growth. These phenomena could be explained by considerin g the difference in step-advancing rates between on the hetero- and homo-ep itaxial interfaces. It was found that the hetero-epitaxial interface strong ly affected the quality of the LPE film. The guideline for the high quality LPE film by the hetero-epitaxial growth could be obtained. (C) 2001 Elsevi er Science B.V. All rights reserved.