Superconducting NbTiN thin films for superconducting radio frequency accelerator cavity applications

Current superconducting radio frequency technology, used in various particle accelerator facilities across the world, is reliant upon bulk niobium superconducting cavities. Due to technological advancements in the processing of bulk Nb cavities, the facilities have reached accelerating fields very close to a material-dependent limit, which is close to 50 MV/m for bulk Nb. One possible solution to improve upon this fundamental limitation was proposed a few years ago by Gurevich [Appl. Phys. Lett. 88, 012511 (2006)], consisting of the deposition of alternating thin layers of superconducting and insulating materials on the interior surface of the cavities. The use of type-II superconductors with Tc > TcNb and Hc > HcNb, (e.g., Nb3Sn, NbN, or NbTiN) could potentially greatly reduce the surface resistance (Rs) and enhance the accelerating field, if the onset of vortex penetration is increased above HcNb, thus enabling higher field gradients. Although Nb3Sn may prove superior, it is not clear that it can be gro...