Nd:YAG infrared laser as a viable alternative to excimer laser: YBCO case study.

ABSTRACT

We report on the growth and characterization of epitaxial YBa[Formula see text]Cu[Formula see text]O[Formula see text] (YBCO) complex oxide thin films and related heterostructures exclusively by Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) and using first harmonic NdY[Formula see text]Al[Formula see text]O[Formula see text] (NdYAG) pulsed laser source ([Formula see text] = 1064  nm). High-quality epitaxial YBCO thin film heterostructures display superconducting properties with transition temperature [Formula see text] 80 K. Compared with the excimer lasers, when using NdYAG lasers, the optimal growth conditions are achieved at a large target-to-substrate distance d. These results clearly demonstrate the potential use of the first harmonic NdYAG laser source as an alternative to the excimer lasers for the PLD thin film community. Its compactness as well as the absence of any safety issues related to poisonous gas represent a major breakthrough in the deposition of complex multi-element compounds in form of thin films.