Growth via pulsed laser deposition and characterization of thin films of the electron-doped superconductor Sm2−xCexCuO4−y

We report on the growth of thin films of the electron-doped superconductor Sm2−xCexCuO4−y (SCCO) by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). Electrical resistivity ρ(H, T) measurements on the thin films were made at temperatures T between 20 mK and 300 K in magnetic fields H up to 18 T. The superconducting transition temperature is as high as Tc = 17.8 K, with a transition width ΔTc = 0.93 K, for an optimally doped film. The ρ(H, T) measurements on this thin film are compared to similar measurements made on single crystals. A vortex-glass scaling analysis was applied to the ρ(H, T) data, yielding values of the vortex-glass melting temperature Tg and critical exponent ν(z − 1). In addition, ρ(H, T) data are presented for an underdoped sample with x = 0.125, also grown via PLD.