Laser ablation deposition of LaxA1-xMnO3 (M=Sr, Ca)/YBa2Cu3O7-δ superlattices

Multilayered structures of LaxSr1-xMnO3 (LSMO), LaxCa1-xMnO3 (LCMO) and YBa2Cu3O7-δ (YBCO) were grown by laser ablation deposition (LAD) on SrTiO3(100) substrates. The interaction between superconductivity and magnetism was investigated by varying the thickness of the YBCO layers while the thicknesses of the LSMO and LCMO layers were kept constant. Complete suppression of superconductivity was found for YBCO layers below three unit cells. X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy were used to investigate epitaxial growth, interface quality and structural disorder. The composition and the roughness of the films were characterised by energy-dispersive X-ray analysis and atomic force microscopy, respectively. The results are discussed in terms of optimisation of LAD parameters and establishment of its limits. Issues such as interdiffusion, roughness and particulate-contamination reduction as well as utilisation of the ‘eclipse’ technique are addressed.