Measurements of the amplitude-dependent microwave surface resistance of a proximity-coupled Au/Nb bilayer

Autor: Oseroff, Thomas, Sun, Zeming, Liepe, Matthias
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2023
Předmět:
Popis: Surface properties are critical to the capabilities of superconducting microwave devices. The native oxide of niobium-based devices is thought to consist of a thin normal conducting layer. To improve understanding on the importance of this layer, it was replaced with a more easily controlled gold film. A niobium sample host microwave cavity was used to measure the surface resistance in continuous wave operation at 4.0 GHz and 5.2 GHz. Sample conditions studied include temperatures ranging from 1.6 K to 4.2 K with RF magnetic fields on the sample surface ranging from 1 mT to the maximum field before the superconducting properties were lost (quench field). The nominal film thickness of the gold layer was increased from 0.1 nm to 2.0 nm in five steps to study the impact of the normal layer thickness on surface resistance on a single niobium substrate. The 0.1 nm film was found to reduce the surface resistance of the sample and to enhance the quench field. With the exception of the final step from a 1.5 nm gold film to 2.0 nm, the magnitude of the surface resistance increased substantially with gold film thickness. The nature of the surface resistance field-dependence appeared to be roughly independent from the gold layer thickness. This initial study provides new perspectives and avenues for optimizing and designing surfaces for resonant cavities in particle accelerators and quantum information applications.
Submitted to: Superconductor Science and Technology
Databáze: OpenAIRE