In situ deposition of thallium-containing oxides

The number and variety of thallium based materials that can be made by in situ methods have grown consistently since the first report of successful thallium cuprate deposition by Face and Nestlerode in 1992. Processes for the deposition of superconductors, normal metals, and insulators have been developed. Most work to date has been done on the Tl-1212 phases, TlBa2CaCu2O7 and (Tl,Pb)Sr2CaCu2O7. Recently however, the in situ thallium technique has been extended to other materials. For example, epitaxial thin films of thallium tantalate, an insulator of the pyrochlore structure and a potential buffer layer for thallium cuprate films, have been grown. Multilayers, important in the fabrication of Josephson junctions, have been demonstrated with the thallium lead cuprates. This paper reviews progress in the area of in situ thallium deposition technology which will make more complex thallium cuprate multilayer structures and devices possible