Correlation between thickness dependent nanoscale structural chemistry and superconducting properties of ultrathin epitaxial NbN films

Licata, Olivia G.; Sarker, Jith; Bachhav, Mukesh; Roy, Pinku; Wei, Xiucheng; Yang, Zihao; Patibandla, Nag; Zeng, Hao; Zhu, Mingwei; Jia, Quanxi; Mazumder, Baishakhi

doi:10.1016/j.matchemphys.2022.125962

Correlation between thickness dependent nanoscale structural chemistry and superconducting properties of ultrathin epitaxial NbN films

Journal Article · Mon Feb 28 00:00:00 EST 2022 · Materials Chemistry and Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matchemphys.2022.125962· OSTI ID:1908166

Licata, Olivia G. ^[1]; Sarker, Jith ^[1]; Bachhav, Mukesh ^[2]; Roy, Pinku ^[1]; Wei, Xiucheng ^[1]; Yang, Zihao ^[3]; Patibandla, Nag ^[3]; Zeng, Hao ^[1]; Zhu, Mingwei ^[3]; Jia, Quanxi ^[1]; ^[1]

Univ. at Buffalo, NY (United States)
Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
Applied Materials Inc., Santa Clara, CA (United States)

NbN-based superconductors have attracted interest for superconducting circuits, quantum computation and high frequency devices. The superconducting properties of NbN films are predominately reliant on the microstructure, therefore, an atomic-level understanding of the structure-chemistry is required to achieve high quality epitaxial NbN films. Here, in this study, the thickness-dependent superconducting properties of NbN films (5, 10, and 50 nm) within NbN/AlN/Al₂O₃ heterostructures are investigated. NbN and AlN were epitaxially grown by an industrial scale physical vapor deposition technique. The role of nanoscale chemistry on the ultrathin NbN superconducting film is investigated at the atomic level for the first time via atom probe tomography, providing three-dimensional atomic distribution, chemical homogeneity, effect of impurities, specially, in secondary phase formations and interfacial abruptness. The NbN film with 5 nm of thickness demonstrates a superconducting transition temperature of 11.2 K as compared to 50 nm NbN films with a transition temperature of 15.3 K. These thickness dependent variation of superconducting properties are associated with the chemical inhomogeneity in terms of in-plane N:Nb distribution, secondary phase formations and NbN/AlN interfacial abruptness as a function of the NbN films thicknesses. The analysis depicts the interplay between the surface/interface and the superconducting properties of ultrathin NbN films. These results provide insights on material design and growth that will enable the development of optimized superconducting NbN films for quantum devices.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC07-05ID14517

OSTI ID:: 1908166

Report Number(s):: INL/JOU-21-63991-Rev000

Journal Information:: Materials Chemistry and Physics, Journal Name: Materials Chemistry and Physics Vol. 282; ISSN 0254-0584

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
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Correlation between thickness dependent nanoscale structural chemistry and superconducting properties of ultrathin epitaxial NbN films

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