Thickness dependence of structural and transport properties of Co-doped BaFe₂As₂on Fe buffered MgO substrates

We have investigated the influence of the superconducting layer thickness, d , on the structural and transport properties of Co-doped BaFe 2 As 2 films deposited on Fe buffered MgO substrates by pulsed laser deposition. The superconducting transition temperature and the texture quality of Co-doped BaFe 2 As 2 films improve with increasing d due to a gradual relief of the tensile strain. For d ≥ 90 nm an additional 110 textured component of Co-doped BaFe 2 As 2 was observed, which leads to an upward shift in the angle-dependent critical current density at . These results indicate that the grain boundaries created by the 110 textured component may contribute to the c -axis pinning.