Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 February 2011
Yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ), SrTiO3 and CeO2 thin films have been widely used as buffer layers in YBa2Cu3O7-x (YBCO) deposition on silicon substrates. YBCO superconducting properties are limited by lattice mismatches between YSZ and YBCO, and chemical interaction of CeO2 and SrTiO3 with silicon. In order to avoid these problems we have deposited CeO2/YSZ/Si(100) and SrTiO3/YSZ/Si(100) bilayers by laser ablation. Wide temperature and pressure ranges have been studied. The influence of the intermediate layer on the CeO2 and SrTiO3 films properties has been studied. Previous studies were performed on films of each material on Si(100) and YSZ(100) single crystals. The surface of the films and bilayers is smooth without microcracks and only few droplets are found. Only small interdiffusion is observed in all the cases. Texture of the films changes with deposition conditions. Epitaxial growth of CeO2 has been found both on YSZ(100) single crystals and YSZ buffers on Si(100).