Laser deposition of YBCO films onto Ni-based substrates

We have applied pulsed laser deposition (PLD) to fabricate YBCO/YSZ films (short length) onto biaxially textured NiFe substrates. Macroscopic characterization of the samples has been carried out by electrical measurements, XRD patterns and pole figures. Our best films are characterized by T(c)s around 89 K and transition widths around 5-6 K. Bragg-Brentano spectra and pole figures acquired on the {111} peak for YSZ and {013} for YBCO show the achievement of the correct crystalline structure and stoichiometry both in YSZ and in YBCO layers. They are largely in-plane textured (respectively (001) < 110 > for YSZ and (001) < 100 > for YBCO), and the superconducting YBCO layer exhibits a relatively low mosaicity. Atomic-force microscopy (AFM) analysis confirmed the presence of large grains (1-2 mum typical dimensions), and the occurrence of a complex morphology in the YBCO layer.