Lower critical field measurement of NbN multilayer thin film superconductor at KEK

TL;DR

This study measures the lower critical field of NbN multilayer thin films to optimize superconductor performance for SRF cavities, comparing experimental results with theoretical predictions.

Contribution

It introduces a new measurement system for Hc1 using third harmonic response and evaluates multilayer NbN films of various thicknesses.

Findings

Hc1 increases with NbN layer thickness

Experimental results align with theoretical models

Multilayer structures enhance superconductor performance

Abstract

The multilayer thin film structure of the superconductor has been proposed by A. Gurevich to enhance the maximum gradient of SRF cavities. The lower critical field Hc1 at which the vortex starts penetrating the superconducting material will be improved by coating Nb with thin film superconductor such as NbN. It is expected that the enhancement of Hc1 depends on the thickness of each layer. In order to determine the optimum thickness of each layer and to compare the measurement results with the theoretical prediction proposed by T. Kubo, we developed the Hc1 measurement system using the third harmonic response of the applied AC magnetic field at KEK. For the Hc1 measurement without the influence of the edge or the shape effects, the AC magnetic field can be applied locally by the solenoid coil of 5mm diameter in our measurement system. ULVAC made the NbN-SiO2 multilayer thin film samples of various NbN thicknesses. In this report, the measurement result of the bulk Nb sample and NbN-SiO2 multilayer thin film samples of different thickness of NbN layer will be discussed.