Properties of YBCO thin films on vicinally polished MgO substrates

YBa₂Cu₃O_7-x thin films were grown on vicinally polished MgO(001) substrates using a reactive RF-magnetron sputtering technique. The authors studied effects of vicinal cut on growth orientations and transport properties. The c-axis directions of all the films were strongly influenced by the substrate surface normal, with weak alignment to the substrate (001)MgO direction. No significant dependence of Tc's on vicinal angles was observed. However, Jc's were strongly degraded with vicinal angle. Jc's were also anisotropic to the vicinal direction. A vicinal cut affected the growth of YBCO films to increase the density of weak links.