Oxidation studies of niobium thin films at room temperature by X-ray reflectivity

Sokhey, K.J.S.; Rai, Sanjay; Lodha, G. S.

doi:10.1016/j.apsusc.2010.06.069

Cited by 25 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Based on literature values we infer that all oxide thicknesses saturate after 10 3 -10 4 h [26], [35]. In our experiment, this time corresponds to the age of the reference sample at the time of measurement.…”

Section: Oxide Regrowthmentioning

confidence: 59%

Investigation of Microwave Loss Induced by Oxide Regrowth in High- Q Niobium Resonators

et al. 2021

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The coherence of state-of-the-art superconducting qubit devices is predominantly limited by two-level-system defects, found primarily at amorphous interface layers. Reducing microwave loss from these interfaces by proper surface treatments is key to push the device performance forward. Here, we study niobium resonators after removing the native oxides with a hydrofluoric acid etch. We investigate the reappearance of microwave losses introduced by surface oxides that grow after exposure to the ambient environment. We find that losses in quantum devices are reduced by an order of magnitude, with internal Qfactors reaching up to 7×10 6 in the single photon regime, when devices are exposed to ambient conditions for 16 min. Furthermore, we observe that Nb2O5 is the only surface oxide that grows significantly within the first 200 hours, following the extended Cabrera-Mott growth model. In this time, microwave losses scale linearly with the Nb2O5 thickness, with an extracted loss tangent tanδNb2O5 = 9.9×10 -3 . Our findings are of particular interest for devices spanning from superconducting qubits, quantum-limited amplifiers, microwave kinetic inductance detectors to single photon detectors.

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Section: Oxide Regrowthmentioning

confidence: 59%

Investigation of Microwave Loss Induced by Oxide Regrowth in High- Q Niobium Resonators

et al. 2021

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“…1d,e and in the Methods Section). Due to oxidation, niobium films automatically form nanometer-thick amorphous oxide layers which act as a protective film 28 . Simulations confirm that the thin oxide layer serves no optical functionality.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Continuous niobium films are already obtained below a film thickness of 10 nm–at which traditional gold deposition approaches lead to isolated gold islands rather than compact films 19 20 . After deposition, niobium naturally forms a several-atom thick oxide protection layer, keeping the metallic film separated from the environment 28 . Here we show that this protection layer is so effective that the niobium remains plasmonically inert even if being exposed to aqueous solutions, making such ultrathin films particularly attractive for plasmon-mediated biosensing applications.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Ultrathin niobium nanofilms on fiber optical tapers – a new route towards low-loss hybrid plasmonic modes

Wieduwilt

Tuniz

Linzen

et al. 2015

Sci Rep

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Due to the ongoing improvement in nanostructuring technology, ultrathin metallic nanofilms have recently gained substantial attention in plasmonics, e.g. as building blocks of metasurfaces. Typically, noble metals such as silver or gold are the materials of choice, due to their excellent optical properties, however they also possess some intrinsic disadvantages. Here, we introduce niobium nanofilms (~10 nm thickness) as an alternate plasmonic platform. We demonstrate functionality by depositing a niobium nanofilm on a plasmonic fiber taper, and observe a dielectric-loaded niobium surface-plasmon excitation for the first time, with a modal attenuation of only 3–4 dB/mm in aqueous environment and a refractive index sensitivity up to 15 μm/RIU if the analyte index exceeds 1.42. We show that the niobium nanofilm possesses bulk optical properties, is continuous, homogenous, and inert against any environmental influence, thus possessing several superior properties compared to noble metal nanofilms. These results demonstrate that ultrathin niobium nanofilms can serve as a new platform for biomedical diagnostics, superconducting photonics, ultrathin metasurfaces or new types of optoelectronic devices.

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“…The thermal conductivity increased with the addition of oxygen getter of Nb was identified with the oxygen contents in grain boundary. [19,39,40] In contrast, it was still ambiguous that the factor seemed to have been controlled not only by oxygen getter but also rather by other lattice defects related to nitrogen vacancies in the Si 3 N 4 lattice. Thus, we might conclude that the high temperature is helpful to remove the oxygen in the lattice of Si 3 N 4 and make the grain of Si 3 N 4 growth well, leading to the high thermal conductivity.…”

Section: Thermophysical and Mechanical Properties Of Si 3 Nmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Oxygen Impurity on Thermal Conduction Rate of Polycrystalline Si₃N₄

Dow

Jung

et al. 2021

Adv Eng Mater

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Herein, the thermophysical properties and microstructures of the densified Si 3 N 4 , which are prepared by using MgO, Y 2 O 3 , and oxygen getter as sintering additives via conventional hot-pressing sintering and followed by postheat treatment, are reported. Herein, it is found out that the sample using 5 mol.% of MgO, 2 mol.% of Y 2 O 3 , and 1.5 mol.% of Nb has the optimized thermal conductivity of 108 W m À1 •K. Furthermore, increased rate of thermal conduction in the range of 10-15% is mainly originated from the decrease in the lattice oxygen contents of the grains in Si 3 N 4 based on electron spin resonance (ESR) analysis.

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Oxidation studies of niobium thin films at room temperature by X-ray reflectivity

Cited by 25 publications

References 26 publications

Investigation of Microwave Loss Induced by Oxide Regrowth in High- Q Niobium Resonators

Investigation of Microwave Loss Induced by Oxide Regrowth in High- Q Niobium Resonators

Ultrathin niobium nanofilms on fiber optical tapers – a new route towards low-loss hybrid plasmonic modes

Effect of Oxygen Impurity on Thermal Conduction Rate of Polycrystalline Si₃N₄

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Oxidation studies of niobium thin films at room temperature by X-ray reflectivity

Cited by 25 publications

References 26 publications

Investigation of Microwave Loss Induced by Oxide Regrowth in High- Q Niobium Resonators

Investigation of Microwave Loss Induced by Oxide Regrowth in High- Q Niobium Resonators

Ultrathin niobium nanofilms on fiber optical tapers – a new route towards low-loss hybrid plasmonic modes

Effect of Oxygen Impurity on Thermal Conduction Rate of Polycrystalline Si3N4

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Effect of Oxygen Impurity on Thermal Conduction Rate of Polycrystalline Si₃N₄