REACTIVE ION-BEAM EPITAXY OF ULTRASTRUCTURE FOR HIGH-T(C) SUPERCONDUCTOR FILMS

THIS EFFORT WILL INVESTIGATE THE CONTROLLED EPITAXY OF ULTRA-THIN, ALTERNATING LAYERS OF CUO AND BISRCAO ON A BUFFERED SI SUBSTRATE, FORMING AN ULTRASTRUCTURE APPROXIMATING CLOSELY THE MULTILAYERED STRUCTURE OF THE BISRCACUO SUPERCONDUCTOR. THE HIGH-QUALITY AND HIGH-RATE OF EPITAXIAL GROWTH IS ACCOMPLISHED BY DIRECT REACTION OF THE IONIC SPECIES ON THE SUBSTRATE SURFACE. THIS REACTION IS ENHANCED BY A FOCUSED PLASMA OF HIGHLY REACTIVE ATOMIC OXYGEN GENERATED BY AN ELECTRON-CYCLOTRON-RESONANCE SOURCE. FAST RESPONSE COMPUTER-CONTROLLED SHUTTERS WILL BE USED TO PERFORM THE EPITAXY OF THE ALTERNATING LAYERS WITH SHARP INTERFACES. THE MAIN OBJECTIVE OF THIS RESEARCH IS TO DEVELOP A WELL-CONTROLLED, REACTIVE MOLECULAR BEAM EPITAXY (RMBE) PROCESS FOR GROWTH OF SINGLE CRYSTALLINE, SINGLE PHASE FILMS NECESSARY TO SUPPORT HIGH-TC SUPERCONDUCTIVITY THROUGHOUT THE FILM STRUCTURE. THESE FILMS WILL BE DEVELOPED PRIMARILY FOR INFRARED DETECTION APPLICATIONS.