Superconducting BaHfO3–GdBa2Cu3O7 Nanocomposite Thin Films: Influence of Growth Temperature and Deposition Rate on Transport Properties

Superconducting GdBa
₂
Cu
₃
O
₇
films with 2.5 wt% of BaHfO
₃
were deposited by pulsed laser deposition using an Nd:YAG laser (λ = 355 nm), and their structural and electrical properties were investigated in dependence of substrate temperature T
_sub
and deposition rate (i.e., laser repetition rate v
_dep
). The irreversibility lines show the strongest shift toward higher magnetic fields at intermediate T
_sub
and lower v
_dep
. The self-field J
_c
decreases by a factor of 2 compared with the pristine sample, but the situation improves in the high field region. The angular dependence of J
_c
at 1, 5, and 9 T shows a large c-axis peak at 180
^o
, which indicates strongly correlated pinning at BHO nanocolumns.