Superconductivity in nanocrystalline tungsten thin films growth by sputtering in a nitrogen-argon mixture

Abstract

We report on the structural and superconducting properties of nanocrystalline tungsten thin films growth by sputtering at room temperature with an N2:Ar mixture (N2 from 3% to 50%). The crystalline phases were identified by comparing pristine and thermal annealed thin films. For N2/(Ar+N2) mixtures between 3 and 10 %, the films display nanocrystalline beta-W phase. Coexistence of beta-W and W2N phases are observed for gas mixtures with N2 between 20 % and 40%. A detailed study of the superconducting properties as function of the thickness was performed for W films growth with 8 % N2 mixtures. For this concentration, the nitrogen atoms increase the disorder at the nanoscale reducing the grain size and avoiding the crystallization of alpha-W. The superconducting critical temperature (Tc = 4.7 K) is thickness independent for films thicker than ~ 17 nm. Below this thickness, the Tc value decreases systematically being 3.1 K for 4 nm thick films. Our study provides a simple method for the fabrication of nanocrystalline beta-W thin films with potential applications in superconducting devices.