Sensitivity of the phonon in YBCO to superconductivity by infrared studies on epitaxial film

Epitaxial films of YBCO superconductors whose C axes are primarily perpendicular to the film surface, were prepared. The samples, which were treated by means of a gettered annealing technique, were investigated by the X-ray diffraction pattern method (XRD) and infrared (IR) reflectance spectra in the 140–800 cm⁻¹ spectral range. The strengths of the phonon structures are influenced greatly by the superconductivity of the sample, which can be determined by the annealing conditions. The relation between the resulting IR activity of phonons and the superconductivity is clear and the important role of phonons in superconductivity is demonstrated.