Deposition of c-oriented borocarbide thin films by laser ablation technique

Despite the long period of time elapsed since their discovery, intermetallic superconducting borocarbides in the form of thin films are rarely reported in the literature. In this paper we present our results on the growth of ErNi/sub 2/B/sub 2/C thin films by an ultra high vacuum laser ablation technique. The dependence of the film structure and properties on the deposition parameters has been studied and optimized. Strongly c-oriented superconducting films (rocking angle of 1/spl deg/) with a rather smooth surface have been obtained. Here we present the details of the deposition procedure as well as those of the structural, morphological, and electrical characterization. The feasibility of superconducting films with a tungsten buffer layer on MgO substrate has been studied successfully. Both buffer layers and bilayers have been characterized by X-ray reflectivity and atomic force microscopy.