10th International Workshop on the Mechanisms of Vacuum Arcs (Hybrid MeVArc 2022)

Growth of Nb films on Cu substrates by direct current and high power impulse magnetron sputtering: a molecular dynamics study

20 Sept 2022, 16:10

10m

Chania, Crete

Poster Simulations Poster Session

Speakers

Milad Ghaemikermani (University of Helsinki) Alvaro Lopez Cazalilla

Description

The application of superconducting radio frequency cavities on particle accelerators has brought the need of coating Cu with Nb thin films. Two techniques have been widely used in this field: conventional direct current magnetron sputtering (DCMS) and high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS). Experimentally, the application of both techniques has led to different surface morphologies and growth. While in HiPIMS, the surface grows evenly, in DCMS grows in islands or columnar structure forms. We use molecular dynamics to explore the differences between the deposited Nb films on Cu, by mimicking the conditions of each deposition technique. Our computational model reproduces accurately the quality of the Nb-deposited films, based on several features (e.g. surface roughness) when compared with experiments. Moreover, we explore the differences between the two simulated methods focused on the temperature of the sample and the deposition energy, at the atomic level. Our results show that the best temperature for growing the Nb on Cu substrate in the HiPIMS method can be 750 K which leads to a more compact film layer.

Presentation materials

Growth of Nb films on Cu substrates by direct current and high power impulse magnetron sputtering a molecular dynamics study.pdf