Preparation of YBCO thin films by a four ion beam co-deposition system

We present preliminary results for thin films grown with a recently commissioned ion beam codeposition system designed for in situ growth and etching of YBCO films. The apparatus consists of a high-vacuum chamber (10-7 Torr) equipped with four Kaufmann ion beam sources. Three of the sources are directed at targets for ion beam sputter deposition of materials; the fourth ion source is directed at the substrate for substrate precleaning, oxygen ion beam assisted deposition and ion beam etching. We have determined individual sputter deposition rates from Y2O3, BaF2 and copper targets as a function of ion beam currents on unheated substrates in argon background, normal background, oxygen background, and oxygen ion assist conditions. Films were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), resistivity and Rutherford back-scattering analysis (RBS).