Optimizing the growth conditions of superconducting MoSi thin films for single photon detection
Abstract We investigate the growth of amorphous MoSi thin films using magnetron co-sputtering and optimize the growth conditions with respect to crystal structure and superconducting properties (e.g., critical temperature $$T_{\text {c}}$$ ). The deposition pressure, Mo:Si stoichiometry and substrat...
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| Format: | Article |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-86303-5 |
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| author | Stefanie Grotowski Lucio Zugliani Björn Jonas Rasmus Flaschmann Christian Schmid Stefan Strohauer Fabian Wietschorke Niklas Bruckmoser Manuel Müller Matthias Althammer Rudolf Gross Kai Müller Jonathan Finley |
| author_facet | Stefanie Grotowski Lucio Zugliani Björn Jonas Rasmus Flaschmann Christian Schmid Stefan Strohauer Fabian Wietschorke Niklas Bruckmoser Manuel Müller Matthias Althammer Rudolf Gross Kai Müller Jonathan Finley |
| author_sort | Stefanie Grotowski |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract We investigate the growth of amorphous MoSi thin films using magnetron co-sputtering and optimize the growth conditions with respect to crystal structure and superconducting properties (e.g., critical temperature $$T_{\text {c}}$$ ). The deposition pressure, Mo:Si stoichiometry and substrate temperature are systematically varied to achieve a transition temperature of 8.4(3) K for films with a thickness of 17.7(8) nm and 6.2(9) K for a 4.3(4) nm thick film. For Mo concentrations above 81% the crystalline phase $$\hbox {Mo}_\text {3}$$ Mo 3 Si is observed in grazing incidence X-ray diffraction measurements. The same phase appears when the working pressure during deposition is reduced below 3. $$1 \times 10^{\text {-3}}\hspace{1.66656pt}$$ 1 × 10 -3 mbar and when the substrate temperature during deposition is increased above $$100\hspace{1.66656pt}^{\circ } $$ C. By choosing a sufficient Si concentration and optimum deposition pressure we identify deposition conditions that ensure a homogeneous amorphous growth of the superconducting thin film. We then fabricate superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors which exhibit an unitary internal efficiency to single photons at an operational temperature of 1.2 K while simultaneously having a dark count rate below 1 Hz. Our results establish the link between MoSi film deposition, morphology and the performance of SSPD. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-0cae6bc8e92144698cc9a643edfde8f9 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj-art-0cae6bc8e92144698cc9a643edfde8f92025-01-19T12:22:09ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-01-011511810.1038/s41598-025-86303-5Optimizing the growth conditions of superconducting MoSi thin films for single photon detectionStefanie Grotowski0Lucio Zugliani1Björn Jonas2Rasmus Flaschmann3Christian Schmid4Stefan Strohauer5Fabian Wietschorke6Niklas Bruckmoser7Manuel Müller8Matthias Althammer9Rudolf Gross10Kai Müller11Jonathan Finley12Walter Schottky Institute, Technical University of MunichWalter Schottky Institute, Technical University of MunichWalter Schottky Institute, Technical University of MunichWalter Schottky Institute, Technical University of MunichWalter Schottky Institute, Technical University of MunichWalter Schottky Institute, Technical University of MunichWalter Schottky Institute, Technical University of MunichTUM School of Natural Sciences, Technical University of MunichTUM School of Natural Sciences, Technical University of MunichTUM School of Natural Sciences, Technical University of MunichTUM School of Natural Sciences, Technical University of MunichWalter Schottky Institute, Technical University of MunichWalter Schottky Institute, Technical University of MunichAbstract We investigate the growth of amorphous MoSi thin films using magnetron co-sputtering and optimize the growth conditions with respect to crystal structure and superconducting properties (e.g., critical temperature $$T_{\text {c}}$$ ). The deposition pressure, Mo:Si stoichiometry and substrate temperature are systematically varied to achieve a transition temperature of 8.4(3) K for films with a thickness of 17.7(8) nm and 6.2(9) K for a 4.3(4) nm thick film. For Mo concentrations above 81% the crystalline phase $$\hbox {Mo}_\text {3}$$ Mo 3 Si is observed in grazing incidence X-ray diffraction measurements. The same phase appears when the working pressure during deposition is reduced below 3. $$1 \times 10^{\text {-3}}\hspace{1.66656pt}$$ 1 × 10 -3 mbar and when the substrate temperature during deposition is increased above $$100\hspace{1.66656pt}^{\circ } $$ C. By choosing a sufficient Si concentration and optimum deposition pressure we identify deposition conditions that ensure a homogeneous amorphous growth of the superconducting thin film. We then fabricate superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors which exhibit an unitary internal efficiency to single photons at an operational temperature of 1.2 K while simultaneously having a dark count rate below 1 Hz. Our results establish the link between MoSi film deposition, morphology and the performance of SSPD.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-86303-5 |
| spellingShingle | Stefanie Grotowski Lucio Zugliani Björn Jonas Rasmus Flaschmann Christian Schmid Stefan Strohauer Fabian Wietschorke Niklas Bruckmoser Manuel Müller Matthias Althammer Rudolf Gross Kai Müller Jonathan Finley Optimizing the growth conditions of superconducting MoSi thin films for single photon detection Scientific Reports |
| title | Optimizing the growth conditions of superconducting MoSi thin films for single photon detection |
| title_full | Optimizing the growth conditions of superconducting MoSi thin films for single photon detection |
| title_fullStr | Optimizing the growth conditions of superconducting MoSi thin films for single photon detection |
| title_full_unstemmed | Optimizing the growth conditions of superconducting MoSi thin films for single photon detection |
| title_short | Optimizing the growth conditions of superconducting MoSi thin films for single photon detection |
| title_sort | optimizing the growth conditions of superconducting mosi thin films for single photon detection |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-86303-5 |
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