Superconductor – Insulator Transition in Sputtered ZrN<i> _x </i>O<i> _y </i> Thin Films Induced by Tuning RF Power

Abstract A series of ZrN x O y thin films were deposited by tuning the RF power. The electrical transport properties of the films were measured from 300 K to 2 K using the van de Pauw geometry configuration. Increasing RF power resulted in lower room temperature resistivity and higher deposition rates. Meanwhile, the superconductor - insulator transition was observed with decreasing RF power. The transition temperature on the three superconducting samples increases from 2.9 K to 3.4 K with increasing RF power. Using logarithmic derivative of T -dependent R ), the dominant temperature range of the conduction mechanism for films with different RF powers was identified. Analysis of magnetoresistance at 2 K and 4.2 K revealed that within 9 T, films exhibiting insulating characteristics displayed negative magnetoresistance behaviour, whereas samples undergoing the superconductor - insulator transition exhibited saturated positive magnetoresistance. This study successfully controlled the electrical transport properties of thin films by varying the sputtering power. These findings could contribute to the understanding and optimization of ZrN x O y thin films for various applications, such as electronic devices and sensors.