Paper VT+MN+NS+SS+AS-TuA10
Development via Energetic Condensation of Niobium Thin Films Tailored for Superconducting RF Applications

Tuesday, November 1, 2011, 5:00 pm, Room 111

For the past three decades, bulk niobium has been the material of choice for SRF cavities applications. In the recent years, RF cavities performances have approached the theoretical limit for bulk niobium. For further improvement of RF cavity performance for future accelerator projects, an interesting alternative has been recently proposed by Alex Gurevich with the Superconductor-Insulator-Superconductor multilayer approach, using the benefit of the higher critical field H_c2 of higher-T_c superconductors without being limited with their lower Hc₁.

JLab is pursuing this approach with the development of multilayer structures based on NbTiN via magnetron sputtering and High Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering (HiPIMS). Insulators such as, AlN, Al₂O₃ and MgO are being investigated as candidates for the insulator layers.