NbN films on flexible and thickness controllable dielectric substrates

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 12; no. 1; p. 10662
• Main Authors: Shi, Hongkai, Liang, Lanju, Huang, Yi, Bao, Han, Jin, Biaobing, Wang, Zhihe, Jia, Xiaoqing, Kang, Lin, Xu, Weiwei, Chen, Jian, Wu, Peiheng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group 23.06.2022; Nature Publishing Group UK; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: Atomic force microscopy; Curing; Magnetic fields; Phase transitions; Substrates; Thin films; Transition temperatures; Viscosity; X-ray diffraction
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-14861-z

Abstract A simple method for preparing superconducting NbN thin films on flexible dielectric substrates with controllable thickness was developed. The structure and surface characteristics and superconducting properties of the flexible film were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and physical property measurement system (PPMS). We found that NbN films on the flexible substrate show certain preferred orientations through the self-buffering effect of the amorphous NbN layer. The zero resistance superconducting transition temperature (T C0 ) for 10 nm thick NbN films is 8.3 K, and the T C0 for 30 nm thick NbN films in a magnetic field of 9 T remains above 7 K. This flexible film can be transferred to any substrate and adapted to different shape applications. It can also be further processed into single-layer or multilayer flexible superconducting devices.