Structural characterization of epitaxial BiSrCaCuO films on MgO substrates

Abstract We have studied the epitaxial growth of thin Bi 2 Sr 2 Ca 1 Cu 2 O 8 films on (001) oriented MgO substrates. These films were grown using the in-situ laser ablation process (700°C, 0.1 mbar oxygen), and they showed a perfect c -axis alignment normal to the substrate, characterised by narrow mosaic distributions and by channeling effects (low χ min values) along this direction. Despite the large difference between their lattice parameters (9%), the epitaxial growth of the BiSrCaCuO film on MgO substrate has been found evidence for using X-ray diffraction in transmission geometry, by the observation of three azimuthal adjustments of the a - and b -axes of the films with respect to the a -axis of the substrate (0°, 13° and 45°). The possible origins of such epitaxial relationships are presented and discussed.