Journal article
Room temperature reactive sputtering deposition of titanium nitride with high sheet kinetic inductance
Physica. B, Condensed matter, v 739, 418921
01 Oct 2026
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Abstract
Superconducting thin films with high intrinsic kinetic inductance Lk are important for high-sensitivity detectors, enabling strong coupling in hybrid quantum systems and enhancing nonlinearities in quantum devices. We report the room-temperature reactive sputtering of titanium nitride thin films with a critical temperature Tc of 3.8K and a thickness of 27nm at a slow sputtering rate of 0.9nm/min. Fabricated into resonators, these films exhibit a sheet kinetic inductance Lk,□ of 394 pH/□, as inferred from resonant frequency measurements. This high Lk,□ is consistent with the measured short coherence length of a disordered superconductor. X-ray diffraction analysis and EDS spectra confirm the formation of stoichiometric TiN, with no residual unreacted titanium. The films also demonstrate a characteristic sheet resistance of 1163 Ω/□, yielding an impedance that is an order of magnitude higher than conventional 50 Ω resonators and hence a higher resonance voltage required for strong coupling in quantum systems. This property could enhance microwave single–photon coupling strength by an order of magnitude, offering transformative potential for hybrid quantum systems and quantum sensing. Furthermore, the high Lk enables Kerr nonlinearities comparable to state-of-the-art quantum devices. Combined with its relatively high Tc, this thin film presents a promising platform for superconducting devices, including amplifiers and qubits capable of operating at elevated temperatures.
•Room-temperature reactive sputtering of stoichiometric TiN thin films.•Ultra-slow growth rate (0.9 nm/min) enables controlled superconducting disorder.•27 nm TiN films exhibit Tc = 3.8 K and Lk,□ = 394 pH/□.•XRD and EDS confirm stoichiometric TiN with no residual metallic Ti.•High sheet resistance (1163 Ω/□) enables high-impedance superconducting resonators.
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Details
- Title
- Room temperature reactive sputtering deposition of titanium nitride with high sheet kinetic inductance
- Creators
- Juliang Li (Corresponding Author) - Argonne National LaboratoryPeter S. Barry - Cardiff UniversityThomas Cecil - Argonne National LaboratoryMarharyta Lisovenko - Argonne National LaboratoryVolodymyr Yefremenko - Argonne National LaboratoryGensheng Wang - Argonne National LaboratorySerhii Kruhlov - Drexel UniversityGoran Karapetrov - Drexel UniversityClarence Chang - Argonne National Laboratory
- Publication Details
- Physica. B, Condensed matter, v 739, 418921
- Publisher
- Elsevier
- Number of pages
- 10
- Grant note
- NASA: 80NSSC22K174 U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of High Energy Physics and Office of Basic Energy Sciences: DE-AC02-06CH11357 U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science National Quantum Information Science Research Centers
We would like to thank Dr. Eric Zhang and Joseph Lefebvre from Oxford Instruments for taking the EDS data. Work at the University of Chicago Pritzker Nano-fabrication Facility was supported by NASA grant 80NSSC22K174. Work at Argonne National Lab, including work performed at the Center for Nanoscale Materials, a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science User Facility, is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of High Energy Physics and Office of Basic Energy Sciences, under Contract No. DE-AC02-06CH11357. This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science National Quantum Information Science Research Centers. The work at Q-NEXT includes concept development, design, fabrication, testing, and modeling of devices.
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Physics
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:001811797000001
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-105042728761
- Other Identifier
- 991022194940604721