Growth of Epitaxial MgB2 Thick Films with Columnar Structures by Using HPCVD

Epitaxial MgB2 thick films were grown on Al2O3 substrates at 600 oC by using the hybrid physical chemical vapor deposition (HPCVD) technique. In order to obtain a high magnesium vapor pressure around the substrates, we used a special susceptor having a susceptor cap and achieved a very high growth rate of 0.17 um/min. Hexgonal-shaped columnar structures were observed by cross-sectional and planar view transmission electron microscope (TEM) images. For the 1.7-um-thick film, the Tc was observed to be 40.5 K with a Jc of 1.5 x 10^6 A/cm^2 at 30 K. The vortex pinning mechanism by intercolumnar boundaries will be discussed.