An unexplored MBE growth mode reveals new properties of superconducting NbN

Abstract

Accessing unexplored conditions in crystal growth often reveals remarkable surprises and new regimes of physical behavior. In this work, performing molecular beam epitaxy of the technologically important superconductor NbN at temperatures greater than 1000${}^{\circ }$C, higher than in the past, is found to reveal persistent RHEED oscillations throughout the growth, atomically smooth surfaces, normal metal resistivities as low as 37$\mu \Omega$-cm and superconducting critical temperatures in excess of 15 K. Most remarkably, a reversal of the sign of the Hall coefficient is observed as the NbN films are cooled, and the high material quality allows the first imaging of Abrikosov vortex lattices in this superconductor.

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• Growth and characterization of single crystal cubic TaN and hexagonal Ta${}_2$N films on c-plane Sapphire
• Effect of substrate miscut angle on critical thickness, structural and electronic properties of MBE-grown NbN films on c-plane sapphire
• Thermal Annealing and Radiation Effects on Structural and Electrical Properties of NbN/GaN Superconductor/Semiconductor Junction