Effect of stoichiometry and post-annealing conditions on magnetron sputtered films of YBa2Cu3O7 on cubic zirconia

High-quality YBa2Cu3O7 films supported on yttrium stabilized cubic zirconia were made by simultaneous reactive magnetron sputtering using yttrium, barium, and copper metal targets. Superconductivity onsets of 92 K with transition widths of 1.5 K (10%–90%) have been achieved on yttrium stabilized cubic zirconia substrates. Various aspects of the deposition processes are described and the effect of deposition parameters and post-annealing on thin-film stoichiometry, structure, and superconducting properties is discussed.