Heteroepitaxy of YBa sub 2 Cu sub 3 O sub 7 Thin Films on (100) Cubic Zirconia.

We have achieved considerable success in inducing order into the growth of YBa sub 2 Cu sub 3 O sub 7 thin films on (100) oriented single crystal zirconia substrates. By applying heteroepitaxial growth techniques to the preparation of the substrate material we have been able to increase the amount of texturing in these films. X-ray diffraction studies show a three-fold decrease in the width of the rocking curves of the films after modification of the substrates. The films are oriented with the c-axis perpendicular to the substrates.