Chemical reaction at the interface between (Hg0.9Re0.1)Ba2CaCu2Oy thin film and SrTiO3 substrate

Abstract

c-Axis-oriented (Hg0.9Re0.1)Ba2CaCu2Oy thin films were grown on the (100) plane of SrTiO3 substrates by a so-called two-step process. Transmission electron microscopic observation revealed that, in the film annealed under a higher temperature, some steplike regions appeared at the top layer of SrTiO3 substrate. High-resolution transmission electron microscopic images showed that the lattice parameters in these regions are about 4.05–4.15 Å, being longer than the lattice parameter of SrTiO3. It is supposed that a chemical reaction occurred in these regions, and a phase of (Bax,Sr1−x)(Cuy,Ti1−y)O3δs was formed by partially substituted Ba for Sr and Cu for Ti.