Properties of homogeneous Y_1-xPr_xBa₂Cu₃O₇ alloy thin films prepared using layer by layer growth

We report the superconducting properties of homogeneous highly oriented alloy thin films of Y_1−xPr_xBa₂Cu₃O₇ prepared by a novel layer by layer method using do magnetron sputtering. As in the case of bulk material, we find a continuous suppression of the superconducting transition temperature with increasing Pr content, however, the resistive transition remains sharp. This implies that the alloying is uniform on the scale of the superconducting coherence length. Point contact tunneling measurements suggest that the superconducting gap is close to the BCS value and proportional to the transition temperature of the alloys.