Effect of hot filament on preparation of YBCO superconducting films by pulsed laser ablation in nitrous oxide gas

YBa2Cu3Ox (YBCO) films were prepared in nitrous oxide (N2O) gas by pulsed l aser ablation (PLA) using Kanthal hot filament of approximately 1000 degree sC for cracking the N2O gas. The crystal orientation was changed from the a -axis to c-axis by turning on the filament. The possible origin of this res ult is a rise of surface temperature of the substrate by thermal radiation from the hot filament and/or generation of oxygen-related radicals produced by cracking of N2O. Temperature measurements revealed that the change of c rystal orientation caused by the hot filament could be partly explained by the substrate heating effect. Mass-analysis revealed that N2O Ps was really cracked by the hot filament, supporting the possible change of the crystal orientation by the cracking effect of N2O. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.