The study of very thin (<15 nm) YBa2Cu3O7−δ (YBCO) films is necessary both for investigating the nucleation and growth of films of this material and for achieving a better understanding of multilayer structures incorporating such thin YBCO regions. We have used transmission electron microscopy to examine ultra-thin films grown on MgO substrates by single-target, off-axis magnetron sputtering; details of the deposition process have been reported elsewhere. Briefly, polished MgO substrates were attached to a block placed at 90° to the sputtering target and heated to 650 °C. The sputtering was performed in 10 mtorr oxygen and 40 mtorr argon with an rf power of 125 watts. After deposition, the chamber was vented to 500 torr oxygen and allowed to cool to room temperature. Because of YBCO’s susceptibility to environmental degradation and oxygen loss, the technique of Xi, et al. was followed and a protective overlayer of amorphous YBCO was deposited on the just-grown films.
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