Production and characterization of Ba2NdSbO6 complex perovskite as a substrate for YBa2Cu3O7-δ superconducting films

We report systematic studies of Ba2NdSbO6 as substrates for the production of YBa2Cu3O7-delta superconducting thin films. Chemical stability and crystallographic coupling between Ba2NdSbO6 and YBCO were examined by characterizing Ba2NdSbO6YBa2Cu3O7-delta (0 to 100 vol.%) polycrystalline composites. X-ray diffraction experiments showed that Ba2NdSbO6 belongs to the complex cubic perovskite family. Moreover, we determine that these materials are chemically stables, e.g. there is no chemical reaction at the interface, and the lattice parameters evidenced a matching similar to 2%. Morphological characterization of our samples was performed through scanning electron microscopy, which revealed the existence of separated grains of Ba2NdSbO6 and YBa2Cu3O7-delta. Compositional analysis of samples was performed by energy dispersive X-ray experiments, which showed the inexistence of impurities or undesired chemical elements. DC susceptibility measurements permitted us to determine that the presence of Ba2NdSbO6 does not affect the critical temperature of the superconducting transition of YBa2Cu3O7-delta. Our results evidenced that Ba2NdSbO6 is an excellent candidate as a substrate for the fabrication of YBa2Cu3O7-delta superconducting thin films.