Amorphous state and pulsed laser deposition of YBa(sub 2)Cu(sub 3)O(sub 7-delta) thin films

A study was conducted to analyze the structure of amorphous and crystalline YbaCuO films determined in on-axis and off-axis deposition geometries. The crystalline films were predominantly (001) oriented. Experimental results indicated the existence of amorphous continuum of spatially disordered atoms and crystalline clusters supporting quasi-two dimensional or long range orders. Findings also showed that the off-axis films supported a periodic repetition of the elements of atomic order or disorder along the direction of the plasma plume.