In-situ investigation of V3Si phase formation at high temperature and resulting superconductivity

Vanadium silicide (V 3 Si) is a promising superconductor for integration with silicon-based electronics, however the interfacial growth kinetics have a strong influence on the resulting superconducting properties and are not yet fully understood. In this study, we have used neutron reflectometry to reveal the phase transformation during thin film growth driven by different annealing strategies. We examined the silicide formation when a thin layer of vanadium undergoes reactive diffusion with a silicon dioxide film on silicon at temperatures from 650–800 °C. To further investigate the time evolution of different phases under various annealing temperatures, a chemical model was developed and subsequent simulations were performed. The results of this model were validated using X-ray diffraction and cross-sectional TEM analysis. Correlations were observed between the structure and superconducting properties. Over-annealing films leads to complete depletion of the SiO 2 barrier layer, forming diffuse interfaces and driving the formation of undesirable silicon-rich silicides. Avoiding this by controlling time and temperature, allows higher quality superconducting films to be achieved. The T c of the films was found to be 13 K, and the annealing conditions influenced the critical fields and the paramagnetic Meissner effect near T c . For optimally-annealed films, superconducting order parameters were calculated. • Developed superconducting V 3 Si thin films on Si substrate with SiO 2 buffer layer. • V 3 Si formation at V/SiO 2 interface studied with in-situ neutron reflectometry. • Developed chemical model to predict time evolution of phases during V 3 Si film growth. • High quality superconducting V 3 Si films can be developed by annealing below 800 °C. • Low temperature magnetometry measurements to assess superconducting order parameters.