We report residual resistivity ratio (RRR) values (up to RRR-541) measured in thin film Nb grown on MgO crystal substrates, using a vacuum arc discharge, whose 60–160 eV Nb ions drive heteroepitaxial crystal growth. The RRR depends strongly upon substrate annealing and deposition temperatures. X-ray diffraction spectra and pole figures reveal that, as the crystal structure of the Nb film becomes more ordered, RRR increases, consistent with fewer defects or impurities in the lattice and hence longer electron mean free path. A transition from Nb(110) to purely Nb(100) crystal orientation on the MgO(100) lattice occurs at higher temperature.

We have investigated, with time and space resolution, the ion beam emission from a plasma focus (PF) device, operating in methane, at 20 kV, with 1.8 kJ stored energy. A detector array is used to measure simultaneously the ion beams at five different angular directions with respect to the PF axis (0°, 10°, 15°, 20° and 90°), at a distance of 77 cm from the ion source. Ion beam energy correlations for operation in methane indicate that the dominant charge states on the detector are H+, C+4 and C+5, irrespective of the angular positions. The time integrated ion beam signal and the energy-dispersive x-ray analysis of a carbon films deposited on silicon surface shows the impurity emission from the PF electrode surface. Measured ion fluxes are maximum for the energy range of 15–40 keV, 50–100 keV and 100–300 keV, for H+, C+4, and C+5, respectively. Measurements of the angular distribution of hydrogen and carbon ions reveal a strong angular anisotropy. It is argued that the observed angular anisotropy of the ion beam emission can be explained in terms of ion Larmor radius effects during the z-pinch like plasma formation phase, which is characteristic of PF discharges.

This paper describes energetic condensation growth of Nb films using a cathodic arc plasma, whose 60-120 eV ions penetrate a few monolayers into the substrate and enable sufficient surface mobility to ensure that the lowest energy state (crystalline structure with minimal defects) is accessible to the film. Heteroepitaxial films of Nb were grown on a-plane sapphire and MgO crystals with good superconducting properties and crystal size (10 mm  20 mm) limited only by substrate size. The substrates were heated to temperatures of up to 700 C and coated at 125 C, 300 C, 500 C, and 700 C. Film thickness was varied from $0:25 m to >3 m. Residual resistivity ratio (hRRRi) values (up to a record hRRRi ¼ 587 on MgO and hRRRi ¼ 328 on a-sapphire) depend strongly on substrate annealing and deposition temperatures. X-ray diffraction spectra and pole figures reveal that RRR increases as the crystal structure of the Nb film becomes more ordered, consistent with fewer defects and, hence, longer electron mean-free path. A transition from Nb(110) to Nb(100) orientation on the MgO(100) lattice occurs at higher temperatures. This transition is discussed in light of substrate heating and energetic condensation physics. Electron backscattered diffraction and scanning electron microscope images complement the XRD data.

We present the fabrication of platinum (Pt0) nanoparticle (ca. 3 nm average diameter) decorated vertically aligned graphene (VG) screen-printed electrodes (Pt/VG-SPE) and explore their physicochemical characteristics and electrocatalytic activity towards...