Texture and transport in spray pyrolyzed TlBa2Ca2Cu3O9 thick films

Abstract

The electron backscattering pattern technique has been applied to the microstructural investigation of Tl(1223) thick films formed by vapor-phase thallination of Ag-containing Ba–Ca–Cu–oxide precursors. For samples grown on polycrystalline YSZ, considerable biaxial alignment is found in localized, multigrain regions as wide a 100 μm or more. However, on scales above 1 mm the overall texture remains only uniaxial with the c-axes (i.e., [001]) aligned perpendicular to the plane of the substrate. On single-crystal KTaO3 an epitaxial relationship is evident which persists to the surface of a 3 μm thick film. Modest variations in the processing protocol yield films containing grains oriented with the c-axis in the plane, resulting in the degradation of transport properties. The data suggest a growth mode in which sparse nucleation occurs at the substrate followed by rapid lateral crystallization.