Pulsed laser deposition of highly textured La 5Ca 9Cu 24O 41 films on SrLaAlO 4 (1 0 0) and Gd 3Ga 5O 12 (1 0 0) substrates

Abstract

The growth of La 5Ca 9Cu 24O 41 thin films on SrLaAlO 4 (1 0 0) and Gd 3Ga 5O 12 (1 0 0) substrates by pulsed laser deposition is reported in this paper. The influence of deposition process parameters, such as oxygen pressure, substrate temperature, and laser repetition rate, on the crystallinity, orientation and microstructure of the films has been investigated. X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy studies showed a clear dependence of the film crystallographic orientation and morphology (grain size) on the substrate temperature and the oxygen pressure used in the deposition process. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.