In bulk , the strong sensitivity of the superconducting transition temperature to nonmagnetic impurities provides robust evidence for a superconducting order parameter that changes sign around the Fermi surface. In superconducting epitaxial thin-film , the relationship between and the residual resistivity , which in bulk samples is taken to be a proxy for the low-temperature elastic scattering rate, is far less clear. Using high-energy electron irradiation to controllably introduce point disorder into bulk single-crystal and thin-film , we show that is suppressed in both systems at nearly identical rates. This suggests that part of in films comes from defects that do not contribute to superconducting pairbreaking and establishes a quantitative link between the superconductivity of bulk and thin-film samples. Published by the American Physical Society2024
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Impact of submicron Nb3Sn stoichiometric surface defects on high-field superconducting radiofrequency cavity performance
film coatings have the potential to drastically improve the accelerating performance of Nb superconducting radiofrequency (SRF) cavities in next-generation linear particle accelerators. Unfortunately, persistent stoichiometric material defects formed during fabrication limit the cryogenic operating temperature and accelerating gradient by nucleating magnetic vortices that lead to premature cavity quenching. The SRF community currently lacks a predictive model that can explain the impact of chemical and morphological properties of defects on vortex nucleation and maximum accelerating gradients. Both experimental and theoretical studies of the material and superconducting properties of the first 100 nm of surfaces are complicated by significant variations in the volume distribution and topography of stoichiometric defects. This work contains a coordinated experimental study with supporting simulations to identify how the observed chemical composition and morphology of certain Sn-rich and Sn-deficient surface defects can impact the SRF performance. films were prepared with varying degrees of stoichiometric defects, and the film surface morphologies were characterized. Both Sn-rich and Sn-deficient regions were identified in these samples. For Sn-rich defects, we focus on elemental Sn islands that are partially embedded into the film. Using finite element simulations of the time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau equations, we estimate vortex nucleation field thresholds at Sn islands of varying size, geometry, and embedment. We find that these islands can lead to significant SRF performance degradation that could not have been predicted from the ensemble stoichiometry alone. For Sn-deficient surfaces, we experimentally identify a periodic nanoscale surface corrugation that likely forms because of extensive Sn loss from the surface. Simulation results show that the surface corrugations contribute to the already substantial drop in the vortex nucleation field of Sn-deficient surfaces. This work provides a systematic approach for future studies to further detail the relationship between experimental growth conditions, stoichiometric defects, geometry, and vortex nucleation. These findings have technical implications that will help guide improvements to fabrication procedures. Our outlined experiment-informed theoretical methods can assist future studies in making additional key insights about stoichiometric defects that will help build the next generation of SRF cavities and support related superconducting materials development efforts. Published by the American Physical Society2024
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- Award ID(s):
- 2011854
- PAR ID:
- 10590282
- Publisher / Repository:
- American Physical Society
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Physical Review Research
- Volume:
- 6
- Issue:
- 4
- ISSN:
- 2643-1564
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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