In memory of Mikhail Arnol'dovich Blokhin

Abstract

Pulsed laser deposition (PLD) of thin films is widely regarded as the best growth technique for the development of novel multilayer structures and devices; in particular, high-temperature superconducting (HTS) devices. To achieve this, it is essential to have the capability to deposit material from different targets sequentially in situ, namely without opening the deposition chamber. Here we present details of a multi-target carousel for multilayer depositions. It has been designed to allow target rotation and selection without any latching mechanisms or in-vacuum motors and is also suitable for use in automated systems. Additionally, it is robust, relatively inexpensive, compact, scalable and simple to build. Single-layer YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7−δ (YBCO) thin films grown using the multi-target carousel show no reduction in quality compared to ones grown using a single-target system. Moreover, the carousel has successfully been used to deposit Ag onto YBCO in situ to realize low-resistance YBCO-Ag-YBCO resistor structures; which would have been impossible with ex situ metallization. In addition, in situ homo-epitaxial MgO buffer layers on (100) MgO substrates prior to the deposition of YBCO have been investigated as a means of improving HTS film quality.