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In recent years, the use of alternatives to bulk Nb in the fabrication of SRF cavities, including novel materials and/or fabrication techniques, have been extensively explored by the SRF community. One of these new methodologies is the use of a superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) multilayer structure. Typically, these have been envisaged for use with bulk Nb cavities. However, it is conceivable to combine the benefits of SIS structures with the benefits of coated Cu cavities. It is also clear that the use of energetic deposition techniques such as high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS), provide significant benefits over typical DC magnetron sputtering (MS) coatings, in terms of SRF performance. In light of this, two series of multilayer SIS film coatings, with a Nb-AlN-NbN structure, were deposited onto electropolished OFHC Cu samples, with the use of HiPIMS, in order to determine the efficacy of this approach. This contribution details the development of these coatings and the required optimization of the coating parameters of the separate material systems, through the use of multiple material and superconducting characterization techniques., Proceedings of the 20th International Conference on RF Superconductivity, SRF2021, East Lansing, MI, USA

Pushing beyond the existing bulk niobium SRF cavities is indispensable along the path towards obtaining more sustainable next generation compact particle accelerators. One of the promising candidates to push the limits of the bulk niobium is thin film-based multilayer structures in the form of superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS). In this work, S(I)S multilayer structures were coated by high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS), having industrial upscaling potential along with provid-ing higher quality films with respect to conventional magnetron sputtering techniques (e.g., DCMS), combined with (PE)-ALD techniques for deposition of the ex-situ insulating layers. On the path towards formulating opti-mized recipes for these materials to be coated on the inner walls of (S)RF cavities, the research focuses on innovat-ing the best performing S(I)S multilayer structures con-sisting of alternating superconducting thin films (e.g., NbN) with insulating layers of metal nitrides (e.g., AlN) and/or metal oxides (e.g., AlxOy) on niobium lay-ers/substrates (i.e., Nb/AlN/NbN) in comparison to the so-called SS multilayer structures (i.e., Nb/NbN). This con-tribution presents the initial materials and superconduct-ing and RF characterization results of the aforementioned multilayer systems on flat samples., Proceedings of the 13th International Particle Accelerator Conference, IPAC2022, Bangkok, Thailand

The quadrupole resonator (QPR) is a dedicated sample-test cavity for the RF characterization of superconducting samples in a wide temperature, RF field and frequency range. Its main purpose are high resolution measurements of the surface resistance with direct access to the residual resistance thanks to the low frequency of the first operating quadrupole mode. Besides the well-known high resolution of the QPR, a bias of measurement data towards higher values has been observed, especially at higher harmonic quadrupole modes. Numerical studies show that this can be explained by parasitic RF losses on the adapter flange used to mount samples into the QPR. Coating several micrometer of niobium on those surfaces of the stainless steel flange that are exposed to the RF fields significantly reduced this bias, enabling a direct measurement of a residual resistance smaller than 5 nano-Ohm at 2 K and 413 MHz., Proceedings of the 13th International Particle Accelerator Conference, IPAC2022, Bangkok, Thailand

The sustainable next generation particle accelerators require innovative solutions to overcome the current technological challenges set by existing bulk niobium superconducting radio-frequency (SRF) cavities. Thin film-based multilayer structures in the form of superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) may be the long-sought-after breakthrough for higher performance SRF cavities by enhancing both accelerating gradients and quality factors. In order to understand better the underlying mechanisms of SIS structures to be coated onto (S)RF cavities, we study various material properties with the resultant superconducting properties of high-power im-pulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS)-coated S(I)S structures of Nb-(AlN)-NbN with different thicknesses which are designed to be coated mainly on OFHC copper (Cu) samples for more efficient SRF cavities. This contribution presents materials properties of the aforementioned HiPIMS-coated S(I)S structures as well as the superconducting and RF behaviours of these multilayers which are assessed comparatively via DC and AC magnetization techniques., Proceedings of the 31st International Linear Accelerator Conference, LINAC2022, Liverpool, UK

"Bulk niobium (Nb) has been the material of choice for superconducting RF (SRF) cavities but for further improvement in cavity RF performance, one may have to turn to films of Nb and to other superconducting materials deposited on copper as thermal and mechanical support. Other materials known as A15, such as Nb₃Sn or V₃Si and B1 such as NbTiN and NbN are much easier to synthesise in thin films rather than being made as bulk cavity. The potential benefits of using materials other than Nb would be a higher Tc, a potentially higher critical held Hc, leading to potentially significant cryogenics cost reduction if the cavity operation temperature is 4.2 K or higher. We report on optimising deposition parameters and effect of substrate treatment prior to deposition for successful synthesising of Nb and the alternative superconducting thin film with high superconducting properties (Tc and Hsh) on flat substrates and QPR samples in single layer. The DC and RF SC properties have been tested using PPMS and QPR measurements. This work is part of the H2020 ARIES collaboration. We further report on preparation of RF cavities employing these alternative material for future cavity production.", Proceedings of the 20th International Conference on RF Superconductivity, SRF2021, East Lansing, MI, USA

An international collaboration of research teams from CEA (France), CERN (Switzerland), INFN/LNL (Italy), HZB and USI (Germany), IEE (Slovakia), RTU (Latvia) and STFC/DL (UK), are working together on better understanding of how to improve the properties of superconducting thin films (ScTF) for RF cavities. The collaboration has been formed as WP15 in the H2020 ARIES project funded by EC. The systematic study of ScTF covers: Cu substrate polishing with different techniques (EP, SUBU, EP+SUBU, tumbling, laser), Nb, NbN, Nb₃Sn and SIS film deposition and characterisation, Laser post deposition treatments, DC magnetisation characterisation, application of all obtained knowledge on polishing, deposition and characterisation, Laser post deposition treatments, DC magnetisation characterisation, application to the QPR samples for testing the films at RF conditions. The preparation, deposition and characterisation of each sample involves 3-5 partners enhancing the capability of each other and resulting in a more complete analysis of each film. The talk will give an overview of the collaborative research and will be an introduction to the detailed talks given by the team members., Proceedings of the 20th International Conference on RF Superconductivity, SRF2021, East Lansing, MI, USA