Ultrathin epitaxial MgB2 on SiC: Substrate surface-polarity-dependent properties

Abstract

High-quality, ultrathin superconducting films are required for advanced devices such as hot-electron bolometers, superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors, and quantum applications. Using hybrid physical-chemical vapor deposition, we show that ${\mathrm{MgB}}_{2}$ films as thin as 4 nm can be fabricated on the carbon-terminated $6H$-SiC (0001) surface with a superconducting transition temperature above 33 K and a rms roughness of 0.7 nm. Remarkably, the film quality is a function of the SiC surface termination, with the C-terminated surface preferred to the Si-terminated surface. To understand the ${\mathrm{MgB}}_{2}$ thin film/SiC substrate interactions giving rise to this difference, we characterized the interfacial structures using Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy/channeling, electron-energy-loss spectroscopy, and x-ray photoemission spectroscopy. The ${\mathrm{MgB}}_{2}$/SiC interface structure is complex and different for the two terminations. Both terminations incorporate substantial unintentional oxide layers influencing ${\mathrm{MgB}}_{2}$ growth and morphology, but with a different extent, intermixing, and interface chemistry. In this paper, we report measurements of transport, resistivity, and the critical superconducting temperature of ${\mathrm{MgB}}_{2}$/SiC that are different for the two terminations, and they link interfacial structure variations to observed differences. The result shows that the C face of SiC is a preferred substrate for the deposition of ultrathin superconducting ${\mathrm{MgB}}_{2}$ films.