Crystal growth method for thin films of BiSrCaCuO oxides

Abstract

A crystal growth method for thin films of oxides wherein a vapor-phase deposition method is used to grow crystals for Bi2Sr2CanCun+1O6+2n oxide thin film 304, where n is an integer equal to 1 or greater, includes a first step of growing a Bi2Sr2CuO6 oxide thin film 302 to an arbitrary number of molecular layers by setting a growth environment to conditions in which oxides of bismuth alone are not formed, but intended multi-element oxide is formed, and supplying the growth environment with an excess of bismuth compared with other elements, thereby preventing deficiency of bismuth and also evaporating excess bismuth from the thin film, a second step of causing a layer 303 containing calcium atoms and copper atoms each in the amount of n/2 of the number of strontium atoms contained in the Bi2Sr2CuO6 oxide thin film to accumulate upon the Bi2Sr2CuO6 oxide thin film, and a third step of, in a state in which environmental temperature is set higher than the environmental temperature in the first step, causing the Bi2Sr2CuO6 oxide thin film 302 and the accumulated calcium atoms and copper 303 atoms to react to grow crystals for a thin film 304 of an oxide Bi2Sr2CanCun+1O6+2n, where n is an integer equal to 1 or greater.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.