Deposition Parameter Effects on Niobium Nitride (NbN) Thin Films Deposited Onto Copper Substrates with DC Magnetron Sputtering

As part of efforts to improve the performance of SRF cavities, to that prescribed by future operating requirements, alternative materials are currently being investigated. NbN is one of the alternatives under investigation to provide these better performance figures. In this contribution, a summary of results from an investigation into DC magnetron sputtered NbN thin films deposited onto copper substrates is presented. The copper substrates were prepared using a mechanical polishing process, followed by a chemical etching process. The NbN films were prepared in a large scale commercial coating system. A high and low value for the substrate temperature, process pressure, bias voltage, cathode power, nitrogen gas percentage, and the working gas type, using either Argon or Krypton, constitute the parameters of this study. The base pressure of the system prior to deposition was 5x10⁷ hPa for all coatings. The resulting films have been characterised using various surface characterisation methods to determine the effects of the deposition parameters during the film growth process. The deposition parameters have been optimised based on the characterisation results.