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Amorphous molybdenum silicon superconducting thin films

Authors :
D. Bosworth
S.-L. Sahonta
R. H. Hadfield
Z. H. Barber
Source :
AIP Advances, Vol 5, Iss 8, Pp 087106-087106-6 (2015)
Publication Year :
2015
Publisher :
AIP Publishing LLC, 2015.

Abstract

Amorphous superconductors have become attractive candidate materials for superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors due to their ease of growth, homogeneity and competitive superconducting properties. To date the majority of devices have been fabricated using WxSi1−x, though other amorphous superconductors such as molybdenum silicide (MoxSi1−x) offer increased transition temperature. This study focuses on the properties of MoSi thin films grown by magnetron sputtering. We examine how the composition and growth conditions affect film properties. For 100 nm film thickness, we report that the superconducting transition temperature (Tc) reaches a maximum of 7.6 K at a composition of Mo83Si17. The transition temperature and amorphous character can be improved by cooling of the substrate during growth which inhibits formation of a crystalline phase. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy studies confirm the absence of long range order. We observe that for a range of 6 common substrates (silicon, thermally oxidized silicon, R- and C-plane sapphire, x-plane lithium niobate and quartz), there is no variation in superconducting transition temperature, making MoSi an excellent candidate material for SNSPDs.

Subjects

Subjects :
Physics
QC1-999

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
21583226
Volume :
5
Issue :
8
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
AIP Advances
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.8f26a1222c384df78ef3d39b8b4bee75
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4928285