Interfacial Defects and Flux-Pinning Effects in Nanostructured ${\rm YBa}_{2}{\rm Cu}_{3}{\rm O}_{7-\delta }$ Thin Films

In this work, we conducted a detailed microstructural study on several selected nanostructured YBa₂Cu₃O_7-delta (YBCO) thin films processed using sectioned targets. All samples were deposited by a pulsed laser deposition technique. The doping materials include CeO₂, BaZrO₃, and Y₂O₃. The interfacial defects, including misfit dislocations and secondary phases in different systems were studied and compared using cross-section transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high resolution TEM. We also conducted detailed superconducting property measurements to correlate these interfacial defects for different systems with their flux-pinning properties.