Using non-fluorine precursor to prepare YBCO thin films by chemical solution deposition

A fluorine-free chemical solution deposition route has been established for YBCO thin films which is inexpensive and environmentally friendly. The YBCO precursor was formed by dissolving the YBCO powder in organic acid and polymer. Amine is used to modify the solution. Several routes with different reagents have been investigated. For the preparation of YBCO thin films, a thin precursor film was coated on single crystal substrate by dip-coating and burnt out on a hotplate in air followed by annealing in a tube furnace with low oxygen pressure argon atmosphere. The films have been characterised by XRD and SEM and the superconducting properties measured by AC susceptibility. The effect of annealing temperature and oxygen partial pressure has been studied.