Growth of single-phase PrBa[sub 0.7]Sr[sub 1.3]Cu[sub 3]O[sub 7] thin films and the role of lattice strain on the transport properties.

Single-phase PrBa[sub 0.7]Sr[sub 1.3]Cu[sub 3]O[sub 7] thin films with the Sr dopant concentration exceeding the solid solubility limit were epitaxially grown on (001) SrTiO[sub 3] and (001) LaAlO[sub 3] substrates by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) method. The resistivity of the doped films grown on LaAlO[sub 3] was significantly lower than that of PrBa[sub 2]Cu[sub 3]O[sub 7]. For most of the films grown on SrTiO[sub 3], the resistivity was higher than that of PrBa[sub 2]Cu[sub 3]O[sub 7]. The results were explained by considering the Sr-doping effect and lattice-mismatch-induced strain effect. This work shows the potential of PLD to grow single-phase films with the dopant concentration exceeding the solid solubility limit. © 1998 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]