Raman scattering studies of YBa2Cu3O7-x thin films grown by chemical vapor deposition and metal-organic deposition

Abstract

We present results of Raman scattering studies of superconducting YBa2Cu3O7-x(YBCO) films grown by chemical vapor deposition and metal-organic deposition methods. It is shown by X-ray diffraction that all the as-grown YBCO films have a highly c-axis oriented and in-plane aligned texture. Raman scattering measurements were used to investigate optical phonon modes, oxygen contents, structural properties, and second-phases of the YBCO coated conductors. Raman spectra of YBCO films with lower-transport qualities exhibit additional phonon modes at ∼300 cm-1, ∼600 cm-1, and ∼630 cm-1, which are related to second-phases such as Ba2Cu3O5.9 and BaCuO2. Our results strongly suggest that Raman scattering be useful for optimizing YBCO film growth conditions. © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.