Aligned gadolinium barium copper oxide thick films formed by in situ crystallization in a magnetic field

Abstract

Gd-1:2:3 films were synthesized from acetate precursors and spun-on to polycrystalline substrates of yttria-stabilized zirconia. The substrates were fired in air at 500 °C in between each applied coat. After applying 10–30 coats, they were crystallized by heating to 900 °C in Ar or O2 with or without the application of a 1 T magnetic field. The applied magnetic field was found to produce c-axis alignment for films <4 μm. Annealing in argon produced alignment, but the effect was less pronounced than annealing in oxygen. Substrates with films > 20 μm were not aligned for either environment.