PRELIMINARY RESULTS OF NB THIN FILM COATING FOR HIE-ISOLDE SRF CAVITIES OBTAINED BY MAGNETRON SPUTTERING

In the context of the HIE-ISOLDE upgrade at CERN, several new facilities for the niobium sputter coating of QWR-type superconducting RF accelerating cavities have been developed, built, and successfully operated. In order to further optimize the production process of these cavities the magnetron sputtering technique has been further investigated and continued as an alternative to the already successfully operational DC bias diode sputtering method. The purpose of this poster is to present the results obtained with this technique. The Nb thickness profile along the cavity and its correlation with the electromagnetic field distribution inside the cavity are discussed. Film structure, morphology and Residual Resistivity Ratio (RRR) will be considered as well and compared with films obtained by DC bias diode sputtering. Finally these results will be compared with RF measurement of a production-like magnetron-coated cavity.