In-situ Investigation of the Phase Formation and Superconductivity in V$_3$Si Thin Films at High Temperatures

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Bose, Manjith, Cortie, David L., Rubanov, Sergey, Brun, Anton P. Le, Finlayson, Trevor R., McCallum, Jeffrey C.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Bose, Manjith
Cortie, David L.
Rubanov, Sergey
Brun, Anton P. Le
Finlayson, Trevor R.
McCallum, Jeffrey C.
author_facet Bose, Manjith
Cortie, David L.
Rubanov, Sergey
Brun, Anton P. Le
Finlayson, Trevor R.
McCallum, Jeffrey C.
contents Vanadium silicide (V$_3$Si) is a promising superconductor for integration with silicon-based electronics, however the interfacial growth kinetics have a strong influence on the resulting superconducting properties and are not yet fully understood. In this study, we have used neutron reflectometry to reveal the phase transformation during thin film growth driven by different annealing strategies. We examined the silicide formation when a thin layer of vanadium undergoes reactive diffusion with a silicon dioxide film on silicon at temperatures from 650-800 °C. To further investigate the time evolution of different phases under various annealing temperatures, a chemical model was developed and subsequent simulations were performed. The results of this model were validated using X-ray diffraction and cross-sectional TEM analysis. Correlations were observed between the structure and superconducting properties. Over-annealing films leads to complete depletion of the SiO$_2$ barrier layer, forming diffuse interfaces and driving the formation of undesirable silicon-rich silicides. Avoiding this by controlling time and temperature, allows higher quality superconducting films to be achieved. The $T_c$ of the films was found to be 13 K, and the annealing conditions influenced the critical fields and the paramagnetic Meissner effect near $T_c$. For optimally-annealed films, superconducting order parameters were calculated. Ginzberg-Landau theory was applied to explain flux penetration.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2412_04159
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle In-situ Investigation of the Phase Formation and Superconductivity in V$_3$Si Thin Films at High Temperatures
Bose, Manjith
Cortie, David L.
Rubanov, Sergey
Brun, Anton P. Le
Finlayson, Trevor R.
McCallum, Jeffrey C.
Superconductivity
Vanadium silicide (V$_3$Si) is a promising superconductor for integration with silicon-based electronics, however the interfacial growth kinetics have a strong influence on the resulting superconducting properties and are not yet fully understood. In this study, we have used neutron reflectometry to reveal the phase transformation during thin film growth driven by different annealing strategies. We examined the silicide formation when a thin layer of vanadium undergoes reactive diffusion with a silicon dioxide film on silicon at temperatures from 650-800 °C. To further investigate the time evolution of different phases under various annealing temperatures, a chemical model was developed and subsequent simulations were performed. The results of this model were validated using X-ray diffraction and cross-sectional TEM analysis. Correlations were observed between the structure and superconducting properties. Over-annealing films leads to complete depletion of the SiO$_2$ barrier layer, forming diffuse interfaces and driving the formation of undesirable silicon-rich silicides. Avoiding this by controlling time and temperature, allows higher quality superconducting films to be achieved. The $T_c$ of the films was found to be 13 K, and the annealing conditions influenced the critical fields and the paramagnetic Meissner effect near $T_c$. For optimally-annealed films, superconducting order parameters were calculated. Ginzberg-Landau theory was applied to explain flux penetration.
title In-situ Investigation of the Phase Formation and Superconductivity in V$_3$Si Thin Films at High Temperatures
topic Superconductivity
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2412.04159