Microstructural Observation of Multi-coated YBCO Films Prepared by TFA-MOD

TFA-MOD법으로 제조된 다층 YBCO 박막의 미세구조 관찰

We fabricated $YBa_2Cu_3O_{7-x}$(YBCO) films on (00l) $LaAlO_3$ substrates prepared by metal organic deposition(MOD) method using trifluoroacetate(TFA) solution. The films with various thicknesses were prepared by repeating the dip-coating and calcining processes. The effects of film thickness on phase formation, microstructures, and critical properties were evaluated by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The microstructure and resultant critical current($I_C$) and critical current density($J_C$) varied remarkably with film thickness: The ($I_C$) value increased from 39 to 160 A/cm-width as the number of coatings increased from one to four, while the corresponding $J_C$ was measured to be in the range of $0.84-1.21\;MA/cm^2$. Both the $I_C$ and $J_C$ decreased when an additional coating was applied due to microstructural degradation, indicating that the optimum thickness is in the range of $1.1-1.8\;{\mu}m$. The possible cause for the decrease in the $I_C$ and $J_C$ value for film thicker than $1.8\;{\mu}m$ include non-uniform thickness, increased surface roughness, and the poor formability of the YBCO phase and texture arising from the insufficient heat treatment time with respect to the increased thickness.