Growth of the infinite layer phase of Sr1−<i>x</i>Nd<i>x</i>CuO2 by laser ablation

Pulsed laser deposition (PLD) has been used to prepare tetragonal Sr1−xNdxCuO2 thin films that have the parent structure of the high Tc copper oxide superconductors. Low-temperature deposition using a single source target has been shown to kinetically trap c-axis oriented, infinite layer Sr1−xNdxCuO2 materials on 〈100〉SrTiO3 substrates. In addition, electrical measurements indicate that neodymium substitution drives the system from an insulating to a weakly metallic state.