We demonstrate thatinsituoff‐axis sputtering from a composite target can reproducibly fabricate very high quality YBa2Cu3O7−&dgr;films over large areas of deposition. A significant reduction in the microwave surface resistance,Rs, compared to many previously reported values is found.Rsvalues at 10 GHz were found to be as low as 20 &mgr;&OHgr; at 4.2 K and 450 &mgr;&OHgr; at 77 K. A systematic variation of several properties including the transition temperature, critical current density at high magnetic fields, and thec‐axis lattice parameter across the 3.8 cm×3.8 cm (14.5 cm2) deposition area was found.