Formation of epitaxial Tl2Ba2Ca2Cu3O10 superconducting films by dc-magnetron sputtering and triple post-annealing method

For obtaining pure phase T12Ba2Ca2Cu3O10 （T1-2223） films with good superconducting properties, the growth technique is improved by dc magnetron sputtering and a triple post-annealing process. The triple post-annealing process comprises annealing twice in argon and once in oxygen at different temperatures. In the first low-temperature annealing phase in argon, T12Ba2CaCu2O8 （T1-2212） is obtained to effectively minimize evaporation in the next step. With the increase of temperature in the second annealing stage in argon, the previously prepared T1-2212 inter-phase is converted into T1-2223 phase. An additional annealing in oxygen is also adopted to improve the properties of T1-2223 films, each containing an optimal oxygen content value. The results of X-ray diffraction （XRD） θ-2θ scans, 09 scans and rotational φ scans show that each of the T1-2223 films has a high phase purity and an epitaxial structure. Smooth films are observed by scanning electron microscopy （SEM）. The critical temperatures Tc of the films are measured to be about 120 K and the critical current densities Jc can reach 4.0 MA/cm2 at 77 K at self field.