Abstract
Superconducting Nb3Sn films can be synthesized by controlling the atomic concentration of Sn. Multilayer sequential sputtering of Nb and Sn thin films followed by high temperature annealing is considered as a method to fabricate Nb3Sn films, where the Sn composition of the deposited films can be controlled by the thickness of alternating Nb and Sn layers. We report on the structural, morphological and superconducting properties of Nb3Sn films fabricated by multilayer sequential sputtering of Nb and Sn films on sapphire substrates followed by annealing at 950 °C for 3 h. We have investigated the effect of Nb and Sn layer thickness and Nb:Sn ratio on the properties of the Nb3Sn films. The crystal structure, surface morphology, surface topography, and film composition were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The results showed Sn loss from the surface due to evaporation during annealing. Superconducting Nb3Sn films of critical temperature up to 17.93 K were fabricated.
Highlights
Nb3Sn is one of the type II superconductors that has wide applications from DC high-field magnets to radiofrequency cavities [1,2,3,4,5]
Multilayer sequential sputtering of Nb and Sn thin films followed by high temperature annealing is considered as a method to fabricate Nb3Sn films, where the Sn composition of the deposited films can be controlled by the thickness of alternating Nb and Sn layers
We report on the structural, morphological and superconducting properties of Nb3Sn films fabricated by multilayer sequential sputtering of Nb and Sn films on sapphire substrates followed by annealing at 950 °C for 3 h
Summary
Nb3Sn is one of the type II superconductors that has wide applications from DC high-field magnets to radiofrequency cavities [1,2,3,4,5]. Magnetron sputtering is considered as one of the fabrication methods used to synthesize Nb3Sn films. Nb3Sn can be fabricated either from a stoichiometric Nb3Sn single target [6, 7], or from sputtering of Nb and Sn followed by annealing [8]. Deposited films should maintain a controlled Sn composition range with atomic composition of 17‒26% to obtain superconducting Nb3Sn films [3]. The atomic Sn concentration of the films can be controlled by varying the thickness of the Nb and Sn layers. We report on the structural, morphological and electrical properties of Nb3Sn films fabricated by multilayer sequential sputtering of Nb and Sn films on sapphire substrates followed by annealing at 950 °C for 3 h. The film properties were characterized for different layer thicknesses of Nb and Sn multilayers. The role of layer thickness was studied by varying the thickness of the Nb layers while
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