Rapid thermal annealing of superconducting oxide precursor films on Si and SiO2 substrates

This patent describes a method of making a superconducting metal oxide film on a substrate selected from the group consisting of silicon and silicon dioxide. It comprises: depositing a thin film of a superconducting metal oxide precursor consisting essentially of R, Ba, Cu, and O by a physical deposition technique directly onto the substrate in a thickness between about 0.1 and 3 μm to form a film/substrate composite, wherein R is selected from the group consisting of rare earth elements and yttrium, which precursor film can be annealed in an oxygen atmosphere to yield a superconducting metal oxide film; heating the film/substrate composite to a temperature between about 800 degrees C. and 950 degrees C. in less than about 10 seconds; maintaining the film/substrate composite at the temperature in an oxygen atmosphere for between about 5 and 25 seconds to anneal the film; and cooling the film/substrate composite to less than 300 degrees C. in less than about 3 minutes