Superconducting properties and chemical composition of NbTiN thin films with different thickness

Journal Article · Mon Sep 21 00:00:00 EDT 2015 · Applied Physics Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4931943· OSTI ID:22482135

Zhang, L.; Peng, W.; You, L. X.

In this research, we systematically investigated the superconducting properties and chemical composition of NbTiN thin films prepared on single-crystal MgO substrates. The NbTiN thin films with different thicknesses (4–100 nm) were deposited by reactive DC magnetron sputtering at ambient temperature. We measured and analyzed the crystal structure and thickness dependence of the chemical composition using X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy depth profiles. The films exhibited excellent superconducting properties, with a high superconducting critical temperature of 10.1 K, low resistivity (ρ{sub 20} = 93 μΩ cm), and residual resistivity ratio of 1.12 achieved for 4-nm-thick ultrathin NbTiN films prepared at the deposition current of 2.4 A. The stoichiometry and electrical properties of the films varied gradually between the initial and upper layers. A minimum ρ{sub 20} of 78 μΩ cm and a maximum residual resistivity ratio of 1.15 were observed for 12-nm-thick films, which significantly differ from the properties of NbN films with the same NaCl structure.

• OSTI ID: 22482135
• Journal Information: Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 107, Issue 12; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0003-6951
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
AMBIENT TEMPERATURE
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
CRITICAL TEMPERATURE
CRYSTAL STRUCTURE
ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES
LAYERS
MAGNESIUM OXIDES
MAGNETRONS
MONOCRYSTALS
NIOBIUM NITRIDES
SODIUM CHLORIDES
SPUTTERING
STOICHIOMETRY
SUBSTRATES
THICKNESS
THIN FILMS
X-RAY DIFFRACTION
X-RAY PHOTOELECTRON SPECTROSCOPY