Infrared Transmissometer to Measure the Thickness of NbN Thin Films

TL;DR

This paper introduces an easy-to-use, non-destructive infrared transmissometer for rapid measurement of NbN thin film thicknesses, aiding fabrication screening and performance modeling of superconducting nanowire detectors.

Contribution

It presents a novel infrared transmissometer setup for quick, non-destructive thickness measurement of NbN films, integrated into fabrication workflows.

Findings

Provides results within minutes

Offers a comparison with visible-wavelength transmissometers

Enables non-destructive, rapid thickness screening

Abstract

We present an optical setup that can be used to characterize the thicknesses of thin NbN films to screen samples for fabrication and to better model the performance of the resulting superconducting nanowire single photon detectors. The infrared transmissometer reported here is easy to use, gives results within minutes and is non-destructive. Thus, the thickness measurement can be easily integrated into the workflow of deposition and characterization. Comparison to a similar visible-wavelength transmissometer is provided.