Crystal orientation control of YBa2CU3O7-x thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition

We have investigated the effect of deposition rates on the film orientation and superconducting properties of the grown films. YBa2Cu3O7-x thin films were fabricated on LaSrGaO4(100) substrate by a pulsed laser deposition. A trend of decreasing c-axis oriented growth as the deposition rate increased was revealed by x-ray diffraction. A cubic phase with a lattice parameter of 0.39 nm has been formed at above 10 Hz repetition rate at 700 degrees C substrate temperature. We conclude that cubic phase formation is prior to c-axis or a-axis oriented orthorhombic phase formation at high supersaturation condition owing to a kinetic limitation.