Morphology and surface properties of YBCO and TBCCO thin films: Influence of etching processes

Results concerning the study of the morphology and the surface chemical properties of epitaxial YBCO and highly oriented TBCCO films before and after wet etching processes are reported. X-ray photoemission spectroscopy, Auger electron spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy are employed to get information on the surface contamination and on the defects of the samples. The chemical modifications of surfaces and the shape of etch pits are discussed.