Uniaxial textured (001) metal film formation via YBa2Cu3O7/SrTiO3/metal trilayers

The formation of (001)-oriented uniaxially textured metal layers on randomly oriented surfaces using textured oxide buffer layers is described. The initial formation of uniaxial texture is through the deposition of polycrystalline YBa2Cu3O7 − x films, which has a strong tendency to form in the c-axis perpendicular orientation due to strong surface energy anisotropy. An epitaxial SrTiO3 cap layer on the (001) textured YBa2Cu3O7−x, layer retards decomposition of the oxide surface under high temperature, low pressure conditions that are suitable for metal epitaxy. The resulting metal surfaces have a strong uniaxial texture and may prove useful in applications where (001) uniaxial texture in metal films is desired.