Preparation of As-Grown BiPbSrCaCuO Thin Films by Electron-Cyclotron-Resonance Microwave Plasma Sputtering

We have prepared as-grown superconducting thin films of BiPbSrCaCuO by the electron-cyclotron-resonance (ECR) sputtering method. This method is characterized by efficient ECR plasma cooling after the ECR deposition. The ECR plasma suppressed the unfavorable development of growth of the 2212 (low-T c) phase and enhanced the crystallization of the 2223 (high-T c) phase during the cooling stage, even under an oxygen gas pressure as low as 10-4 Torr. The highest zero-resistance temperature so far obtained for the as-grown film was 62 K, although XRD observation revealed that the film was dominated by the well-known 2223 high-T c phase.