A water-based sol-gel precursor for deposition of thin La2Zr2O7 layers on Ni-W substrates

Through dip-coating Ni-5%W substrates in a water-based sol-gel solution, thin films of La2Zr2O7 (LZO) were produced. This method yields highly crystalline and epitaxial films. The surface of the LZO film was found to be smooth and homogeneous. Subsequently, CeO2 layers followed by an YBa2Cu3O7-y layer were deposited via Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) onto the LZO film. The crystallinity and biaxial texture of the LZO layer was successfully transferred to the next layers, as demonstrated by pole figures and RHEED measurements. Resistive Tc-measurements were carried out on these samples and showed a Tc of 85 K