Epitaxial MgB2 Thin Films Research Articles

Enhancement of lower critical field by reducing the thickness of epitaxial and polycrystalline MgB2 thin films

For potential applications in superconducting RF cavities, we have investigated the properties of polycrystalline MgB2 films, including the thickness dependence of the lower critical field Hc1. MgB2 thin films were fabricated by hybrid physical-chemical vapor deposition on (0001) SiC substrate either directly (for epitaxial films) or with a MgO buffer layer (for polycrystalline films). When the film thickness decreased from 300 nm to 100 nm, Hc1 at 5 K increased from around 600 Oe to 1880 Oe in epitaxial films and to 1520 Oe in polycrystalline films. The result is promising for using MgB2/MgO multilayers to enhance the vortex penetration field.

Tunneling investigation of the electron scattering effect on the momentum-dependent energy gap distribution in MgB2

We have studied the effect of electron scattering on the momentum-dependent energy gap distributions in MgB2 by measuring planar tunnel junctions made from epitaxial MgB2 thin films on different substrates, of different thicknesses, with different junction interface properties, and different counter-electrode materials. The phonon features in the tunneling spectra indicated that the native oxide barrier is mainly MgO with estimated barrier thickness ranging from 1.1 to 1.5 nm and the average barrier height from 1.7 to 2.6 eV. When tunneling into the ab-plane occurred in very clean films, both the π (∼1.8 meV) and σ (∼7.2 meV) gaps were observed with fine structures in the conductance peaks, indicating a distribution of gap values due to anisotropic electron-phonon interaction. The σ gap was enhanced (∼7.9 meV) in MgB2 thin films on SiC substrates which had Tc values over 40 K due to epitaxial tensile strain. As the MgB2 film thickness decreased from 100 nm to 33 nm, the π gap distribution range was narrowed from ∼1.7 meV to ∼1.4 meV, and the fine peak structures disappeared due to the reduced electron mean free path limited by the film thickness. The fine peak structures were also gradually smeared out when the junction resistance increased. The results show that the electron scattering, either from the MgB2 film or the junction interface or barrier, can smear out the gap distribution structures in the tunneling spectra. Deterioration of the MgB2 film surface was also found to cause an increase in the π gap value, likely due to an enhancement of interband scattering.

Upper critical field and Raman spectra of MgB2 thin films irradiated with low energy oxygen ion

The structure, upper critical field, and Raman spectrum of epitaxial MgB2 thin films irradiated by 300 keV O2+ ions have been investigated. Lattice parameter c expands after irradiation. There is a significant increase in upper critical field in the moderately irradiated films, while the critical temperature is reduced slightly. The values of critical field at zero temperature exhibit a maximum for samples with a moderate irradiation level for the applied magnetic field both perpendicular and parallel to the film surface. The temperature dependence of the anisotropy parameter, which is defined as the ratio of the upper critical field with the field parallel to the film surface and perpendicular to the film surface, reveals that oxygen ion irradiation mainly affects the σ band at a low irradiation level. With increasing irradiation level, π band scattering is strongly enhanced, and finally both bands are in the dirty limit. A broad peak centered around 570 cm−1 is observed in the Raman spectrum of the unirradiated films, and the peak position has a visible redshift in the irradiated samples. In particular, high-frequency spectral structures appear and become dominant, while the E2g broad band diminishes gradually with increasing irradiation fluence. The results are discussed by considering the disorder-induced change in carrier scattering within and between the σ and π bands and a violation of the Raman selection rules due to oxygen ion irradiation.

Enhancement of critical current density and flux pinning in oxygen ion-irradiatedMgB2 thin films

The effects of 300 keV O2+ ion irradiation on the temperature and magnetic field dependence of the critical current density(JC) in highquality epitaxial MgB2 thin films have been studied. Upon irradiation, the critical temperatureTC drops gradually and ultimately to less than 2 K and the residual resistivity increases from about 1 to125 µΩ cm with increasing doses. At a moderate radiation level of1 × 1013 cm−2,JC isenhanced and its performance in magnetic fields is significantly improved over a certain range of fields appliedalong the c-axis. The scaling behavior of reduced pinning force with reduced field reveals that the fluxpinning mechanism evolves from grain-boundary-like pinning in the pristine and lightlyirradiated films, to point-like pinning in moderately irradiated films, and again tograin-boundary-like pinning in heavily irradiated films. It is then concluded that point-likepinning centers, which can be modified by the damage level, have been introduced afteroxygen ion irradiation.

Fully Band-Resolved Scattering Rate inMgB2Revealed by the Nonlinear Hall Effect and Magnetoresistance Measurements

We have measured the normal state temperature dependence of the Hall effect and magnetoresistance in epitaxial MgB2 thin films with variable disorders characterized by the residual resistance ratio RRR ranging from 4.0 to 33.3. A strong nonlinearity of the Hall effect and magnetoresistance have been found in clean samples, and they decrease gradually with the increase of disorders or temperature. By fitting the data to the theoretical model based on the Boltzmann equation and ab initio calculations for a four-band system, for the first time, we derived the scattering rates of these four bands at different temperatures and magnitude of disorders. Our method provides a unique way to derive these important parameters in multiband systems.

Field Dependence of π-Band Superconducting Gap in MgB2 Thin Films from Point-Contact Spectroscopy

We present the results of point-contact spectroscopy measurements on high-quality epitaxial MgB2 thin films with injected current along the c-axis. The temperature and field dependences of π-band properties with the field parallel to (H‖) or perpendicular to (H⊥) the c-axis are investigated in detail. When a magnetic field is applied, either parallel or perpendicular to the c-axis, the density of the quasiparticle state (DOS) of the π-band proliferates quickly with increasing field, while the gap amplitude of the π-band decreases slowly, which is different from the recent theoretical calculations, showing a field dependent competition between the interband scattering and the pair-breaking effects.

Large Anisotropic Normal-State Magnetoresistance in CleanMgB2Thin Films

We report a large normal-state magnetoresistance with temperature-dependent anisotropy in very clean epitaxial MgB2 thin films (residual resistivity much smaller than 1 microOmega cm) grown by hybrid physical-chemical vapor deposition. The magnetoresistance shows a complex dependence on the orientation of the applied magnetic field, with a large magnetoresistance (Delta(rho)/(rho)0=136%) observed for the field H perpendicular ab plane. The angular dependence changes dramatically as the temperature is increased, and at high temperatures the magnetoresistance maximum changes to H||ab. We attribute the large magnetoresistance and the evolution of its angular dependence with temperature to the multiple bands with different Fermi surface topology in MgB2 and the relative scattering rates of the sigma and pi bands, which vary with temperature due to stronger electron-phonon coupling for the sigma bands.

SQUID magnetometer operating at 37 K based on nanobridges in epitaxial MgB2 thin films

Superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) and magnetometers are fabricated from nanoconstrictions in epitaxial MgB2 films. The nanobridges are contained within single-crystalline grains, resulting in clean transport, a large critical current density of 5×107A∕cm2 at 4.2 K, and stable SQUID voltage modulation up to 38.8 K. The magnetometer is realized with an inductively coupled pickup loop, giving rise to a field sensitivity of 1pTHz−1∕2 down to 1 Hz. The device properties are governed by the two-band superconducting nature of MgB2, posing, however, no problems to a successful development of boride magnetic field sensing devices. The MgB2 zero-temperature London penetration depth is measured to be 62 nm, close to theoretical predictions.

Epitaxial MgB2 thin films on ZrB2 buffer layers: structural characterization by synchrotron radiation

Structural and superconducting properties of magnesium diboride thin films grown by pulsedlaser deposition on zirconium diboride buffer layers were studied. We demonstrate that theZrB2 layer is compatiblewith the MgB2 two step deposition process. Synchrotron radiation measurements, inparticular anomalous diffraction measurements, allowed us to separateMgB2 peaksfrom ZrB2 ones and revealed that both layers have a single in plane orientation with a sharp interfacebetween them. Moreover, the buffer layer avoids oxygen contamination from the sapphiresubstrate. The critical temperature of this film is near 37.6 K and the upper critical fieldmeasured at the Grenoble High Magnetic Field Laboratory up to 20.3 T is comparable withthe highest ones reported in literature.

MgB2 energy gap determination by scanning tunnelling spectroscopy

We report scanning tunnelling spectroscopy (STS) measurements of the gap properties of both ceramic MgB2 and c-axis oriented epitaxial MgB2 thin films. Both show a temperature dependent zero bias conductance peak and evidence for two superconducting gaps. We report tunnelling spectroscopy of superconductor–insulator–superconductor (S-I-S) junctions formed in two ways in addition to normal metal–insulator–superconductor (N-I-S) junctions. We find a gap Δ = 2.2–2.8 meV, with spectral features and temperature dependence that are consistent between S-I-S junction types. In addition, we observe evidence of a second, larger gap, Δ = 7.2 meV, consistent with a proposed two-band model.

Thickness dependence of the properties of epitaxial MgB2 thin films grown by hybrid physical-chemical vapor deposition

We have studied the effect of deposition rate and layer thickness on the properties of epitaxial MgB2 thin films grown by hybrid physical-chemical vapor deposition on 4H-SiC substrates. The MgB2 film deposition rate depends linearly on the concentration of B2H6 in the inlet gas mixture. We found that the superconducting and normal-state properties of the MgB2 films are determined by the film thickness, not by the deposition rate. When the film thickness was increased, the transition temperature Tc increased and the residual resistivity ρ0 decreased. Above 3000 Å, a Tc of 41.8 K, a ρ0 of 0.28 μΩ cm, and a residual resistance ratio RRR of over 30 were obtained.

Deposition and properties of superconducting MgB2 thin films

The recently discovered superconductor MgB2 with T c at 39 K has great potential in superconducting electronics. In this paper, we review the deposition techniques used for MgB2 thin films in the light of a thermodynamic study of the Mg-B system with the calculation of phase diagrams (CALPHAD) modeling technique. This thermodynamic study identifies a growth window in the pressure–temperature phase diagram, in which the magnesium pressure is very high for likely in situ growth temperatures. A Hybrid Physical–Chemical Vapor Deposition (HPCVD) technique that successfully achieves such a high Mg pressure is shown to produce in situ epitaxial MgB2 thin films with bulk superconducting properties.

Synthesis and properties of c-axis oriented epitaxial MgB2 thin films

We report the growth and properties of epitaxial MgB2 thin films on (0001) Al2O3 substrates. The MgB2 thin films were prepared by depositing boron films via radio-frequency (rf) magnetron sputtering, followed by a postdeposition anneal at 850 °C in magnesium vapor. X-ray diffraction and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy reveal that the epitaxial MgB2 films are oriented with their c-axis normal to the (0001) Al2O3 substrate with a 30° rotation in the (0001) plane with respect to the substrate. The critical temperature was found to be 35 K and the anisotropy ratio, Hc2∥/Hc2⊥, was about 3 at 25 K. The critical current densities at 4.2 and 20 K (at 1 T perpendicular magnetic field) are 5×106 and 1×106 A/cm2, respectively. The controlled growth of epitaxial MgB2 thin films opens a new avenue in both understanding superconductivity in MgB2 and technological applications.

MgB2 superconducting thin films with a transition temperature of 39 kelvin.

We fabricated high-quality c axis-oriented epitaxial MgB2 thin films using a pulsed laser deposition technique. The thin films grown on (1 i 0 2) Al2O3 substrates have a transition temperature of 39 kelvin. The critical current density in zero field is approximately 6 x 10(6) amperes per cubic centimeter at 5 kelvin and approximately 3 x 10(5) amperes per cubic centimeter at 35 kelvin, which suggests that this compound has potential for electronic device applications, such as microwave devices and superconducting quantum interference devices. For the films deposited on Al2O3, x-ray diffraction patterns indicate a highly c axis-oriented crystal structure perpendicular to the substrate surface.