Properties of Ultra-Thin NbN Films for Membrane-Type THz HEB

Bruno Guillet (1) , Ö. Arthursson (2) , Laurence Méchin (1) , M.-N. Metzner (3) , Marie-Pierre Chauvat (3) , Pierre Ruterana (3) , V. Drakinskiy (2) , S. Cherednichenko (2) , R. Lefèvre (4) , Y. Delorme (4) , J.-M. Krieg (4)

1 Equipe Electronique - Laboratoire GREYC - UMR6072
2 MC2 - Department of Microtechnology and Nanoscience
3 CIMAP - UMR 6252 - Centre de recherche sur les Ions, les MAtériaux et la Photonique
4 LERMA - Laboratoire d'Etude du Rayonnement et de la Matière en Astrophysique

Various buffer layers have been investigated in order to improve the crystalline quality of NbN ultra-thin films. The structural properties, the thickness, the surface morphology of 5-10 nm NbN films have been studied by different techniques. Uncertainty on thickness measurements in this range and the relation between NbN film quality and gain bandwidth are discussed in the framework of their use in Hot Electron Bolometers (HEB).

Keywords: NbN ultra-thin films; Mixer devices

Domains: Materials Science [cond-mat.mtrl-sci]

Bruno Guillet, Ö. Arthursson, Laurence Méchin, M.-N. Metzner, Marie-Pierre Chauvat, et al.. Properties of Ultra-Thin NbN Films for Membrane-Type THz HEB. J Low Temp Phys, 2008, 151, pp.570-574. ⟨cea-00372235⟩