Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 11, 2025

Scalable Quantum Integrated Circuits on Superconducting Two-Dimensional Electron Gas Platform
Published on: August 2, 2019
Sharpness of the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless Transition in Disordered NbN Films
Alexander Weitzel1, Lea Pfaffinger1, Ilaria Maccari2
1Institute for Experimental and Applied Physics, University of Regensburg, D-93040 Regensburg, Germany.
We investigated the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition in disordered NbN films. Our findings show a sharp transition, challenging previous ideas about broadening in such superconductors.
Area of Science:
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Superconductivity
- Thin Film Science
Background:
- The Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) transition is a key phenomenon in 2D systems, explaining the absence of superconductivity at finite temperatures.
- Strongly disordered superconductors, like ultrathin Niobium Nitride (NbN) films, exhibit complex behavior near the superconducting transition.
- Previous studies suggested a broadened BKT transition in disordered systems, attributed to inhomogeneities.
Purpose of the Study:
- To comprehensively investigate the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) transition in ultrathin, strongly disordered Niobium Nitride (NbN) films.
- To clarify the nature of the transition and the role of disorder and inhomogeneity.
- To provide a clean experimental system for studying dynamical effects at the BKT transition.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of ultrathin, strongly disordered NbN films.
- Simultaneous measurements of electrical resistance, current-voltage (I-V) characteristics, and kinetic inductance on the same device.
- Analysis of experimental data using renormalization group theory.
Main Results:
- A sharp, unbinding transition of vortex-antivortex pairs was observed, consistent with standard renormalization group theory.
- The experimental results fit theoretical predictions without requiring additional assumptions about inhomogeneity.
- The study demonstrates that the previously observed broadening of the BKT transition is not an intrinsic property of these strongly disordered superconductors.
Conclusions:
- The BKT transition in ultrathin strongly disordered NbN films is sharper than previously reported.
- Disorder does not inherently broaden the BKT transition; observed broadening may stem from experimental artifacts or different sample types.
- These findings offer a clean platform for future research into the dynamics of the BKT transition.
More Related Videos
06:26Orientational Transition in a Liquid Crystal Triggered by the Thermodynamic Growth of Interfacial Wetting Sheets
Published on: May 15, 2017
13:56Probe Type II Band Alignment in One-Dimensional Van Der Waals Heterostructures Using First-Principles Calculations
Published on: October 12, 2019
Related Concept Videos
Atomic Nuclei: Nuclear Spin State Population Distribution
¹H NMR: Interpreting Distorted and Overlapping Signals
As Δν decreases and the signals move closer, the doublets appear increasingly distorted. The intensities of the inner lines increase at the cost of those of the outer lines as the signals are...
P-N junction
Atomic Nuclei: Nuclear Spin State Overview
Biasing of Metal-Semiconductor Junctions
In Schottky junctions, where the semiconductor is n-type, applying a positive voltage to the metal relative to the semiconductor reduces its Fermi...
Fermi Level
At absolute zero temperature, electrons fill all energy states up to the Fermi level, leaving upper states empty. As the temperature rises,...