COMPOSITION OF SUPERCONDUCTING YBCO THIN FILMS WITH RF REACTIVE SPUTTERING CONDITIONS

COMPOSITION OF SUPERCONDUCTING YBCO THIN FILMS WITH RF REACTIVE SPUTTERING CONDITIONS

Superconducting YBaCuO thin films were deposited on MgO (100) single crystal substrate by rf reactive sputtering method. Sputtering target was prepared by mixing the original powders of $Y_2O_3$, $BaCO_3$, and CuO at $830^{\circ}C$, and its composition was $YBa_2Cu_{3.3}O_x$ adding the excess CuO to compensate for the loss of Cu in the deposition process. The sputtering conditions for a high quality of YBCO thin film were: substrate temperature of 13$0^{\circ}C$; gas pressure of 10 mTorr; gas mixture ($O_2$: Ar =10: 90); distance of 2.5 inch; and rf power density of 4.87 W /$\textrm{cm}^2$. The deposition rate was 2.4~2.6 nm/min. From the RBS results, it was found that Cu and Ba contents in thin films decreased with the increase of substrate temperature. The increase of gas pressure resulted in significant deficiency of Ba elements.