Texture and morphology of epitaxially grown LuNi2B2C thin films on single crystalline MgO substrates of different orientation

Two almost equally superconductin gc-axis textured LuNi2B2C thin films epitaxially grown on MgO substrateswith two different orientations, i.e. (100) and (110), are analzed for their structure, texture and morphology. Although the electrical characterization of the superconducting LuNi2B2C phase gives both very good and comparable values, which proves a reliable preparation of LuNi2B2C thin films of excellent quality, both samples show intriguing differences in epitaxial growth and morphology. We find that using MgO(110) substrates as suggested by Ferdeghini et al., perfect epitaxially grown LuNi2B2C thin films with high quality of their superconducting phase can be achieved for the first time. The analysis of the epitaxial growth also includes the texture of a Lu2O3 interface layer at the substrate surface forming during the deposition.