CHARACTERIZATION OF SPRAY PYROLYED THIN FILM SUPERCONDUCTORS

THE RECENT DISCOVERY OF SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AT HIGH TEMPERATURE (90 DEG K) IN COPPER CONTAINING CERAMICS HAS RESULTED IN A RAPID ACCELERATION IN SUPERCONDUCTOR RESEARCH. PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES ARE BEING EXAMINED FOR THE FABRICATION OF BULK AND THIN FILM SAMPLES. THE CURRENTLY USED PROCESSES FOR MAKING THIN FILMS OF SUPERCONDUCTORS ARE PRIMARILY LIMITED TO EXPENSIVE, SMALL SCALE, LABORATORY TECHNIQUES. TO OPEN THE POSSIBILITY OF COST EFFECTIVE APPLICATIONS, THIS PROPOSAL SETS FORTH A PROGRAM TO INVESTIGATE AND UNDERSTAND A NOVEL PROCESS FOR THE DEPOSITION OF HIGH TEMPERATURE CERAMIC SUPERCONDUCTOR FILMS: CHEMICAL SPRAY PYROLYSIS. SPRAY PYROLYSIS IS EXTREMELY ATTRACTIVE BECAUSE IT IS INHERENTLY LOW COST AND SIMPLE, AND IT READILY LENDS ITSELF TO HIGH THROUGHPUT INDUSTRIAL PROCESSES. THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS RESEARCH ARE TO CHARACTERIZE THE PROPERTIES OF SPRAYED FILMS, EXAMINE MODIFICATIONS OF THE FILMS SUCH AS INCORPORATING DOPANTS AND THE REPLACEMENT OF SMALL PERCENTAGES OF THE CONSTITUENT ELEMENTS AND EXAMINE THE TYPES OF ELECTRONIC DEVICES WHICH COULD BE FABRICATED ON THESE FILMS.