Evidence of the disorder-independent electron-phonon scattering time in thin NbN films

TL;DR

This study investigates how disorder affects electron-phonon scattering in ultrathin NbN films, revealing disorder-independent scattering times and temperature-dependent behaviors relevant for device optimization.

Contribution

It provides experimental evidence that electron-phonon scattering times in disordered NbN films are independent of disorder and exhibit a transition from T^3 to T^2 temperature dependence.

Findings

Electron-phonon scattering times are insensitive to disorder levels.

Temperature dependence shifts from T^3 to T^2 at lower temperatures.

Material parameters obtained can improve NbN-based device performance.

Abstract

We report on experimental study of the effect of disorder on electronic parameters and inelastic scattering mechanisms in ultrathin superconducting NbN films, which are commonly used in single-photon detectors. An increase in disorder in the studied 2.5 nm thick NbN films characterized by Ioffe-Regel parameter from 6.3 to 1.6 is accompanied by a decrease in the critical temperature $T_c$ from 11.5 K to 3.4 K. By measuring magnetoconductance in the range from $T_c$ to $\sim3T_c$, we extract the inelastic scattering rates of electrons, including electron-phonon (e-ph) scattering rates $\tau_{e-ph}^{-1}$. We observe that $\tau_{e-ph}^{-1}$ and their temperature dependencies are insensitive to disorder that is not described by the existing models of the e-ph scattering in disordered metals and can be due to the presence of weakly disordered metal grains. As the temperature decreases the temperature dependence $\tau_{e-ph}^{-1}$ changes from $T^3$ to $T^2$, which can be result of a decrease in the dimension of the phonons involved in the e-ph scattering. The obtained values of material parameters of ultrathin NbN films can be useful for optimization of performance of NbN-based electronic devices.