Deposition Of Amorphous Molybdenum Silicide (MoSi) Superconducting Thin Films viaMagnetron Co-Sputtering
In this work, growth of amorphous superconductive molybdenum silicide (MoSi) thin films on flat and nanostructured substrates was demonstrated. The deposition process involved direct-current (DC) magnetron co-sputtering from molybdenum and silicon targets in argon atmosphere. MoSi films were deposited on oxidized silicon wafers, and Ga2O3 and ZnS nanowires (NWs). Four-point Cr/Au (3/50 nm) electrical contacts were defined on the thin films and on individual Ga2O3-MoSi and ZnS-MoSi core-shell NWs using lithography for low-temperature measurements. The molybdenum-to-silicon ratio was optimized to achieve highest critical temperature (Tc) of 7.5 K in Mo0.77Si0.23. Development of novel superconductive nanostructured materials could enable novel applications in electronics and quantum technologies in future.
Molybdenum Silicide, Magnetron Sputtering, Superconductivity, Thin Films
This research was funded by the Latvian Council of Science project "Raising critical temperature in MgB2-based superconductive nanowire systems via internal strain engineering" No. lzp-2022/1-0311.