Synthesis and characterization of niobium carbide thin films on diamond surface for superconductive application

Abstract

Diamond's unique properties make it attractive for use in a variety of industrial applications. However, this material has not found mass application in microelectronics due to several factors, including the lack of large-sized plates, n-type doping, and high-quality metallization. In this article, we address the problem of diamond surface metallization by forming niobium carbide layers. We obtained a niobium carbide film several nanometers thick that exhibits superconducting behavior up to 12.4 K. To our knowledge, this is the highest superconducting transition temperature achieved in the niobium carbide system. The crystal lattice parameter of the film is 4.4659 Å, which is close to the maximum value for niobium carbide lattice parameters. Density functional theory calculations were employed to investigate the thermodynamic stability of niobium carbide compounds at various temperatures and determine the superconducting critical temperature of niobium carbide. The combination of diamond's high thermal conductivity, along with the strong adhesion and superconductivity of niobium cabide films, introduces exciting possibilities for the realization of superconductive sensitive detectors.