Characterization of the critical current and physical properties of superconducting epitaxial NbTiN sub-micron structures

Measurements of critical current in NbTiN as a function of applied magnetic field and temperature are reported for two samples: 700-nm-wide bridge and 100-nm-wide meander. In 700-nm-wide NbTiN bridge we pinpointed the limiting factors for the critical current density to be current-driven vortex de-pinning at low temperatures and thermally activated flux flow closer to the transition temperature. In 100-nm-wide NbTiN meander we found phase slips activation, accompanied by hotspots formation at all measured temperatures. These two types of structures demonstrate different dependence of the critical current on the applied magnetic field. Although our NbTiN meander structures has high de-pairing critical current densities ∼107 A/cm2 at low temperatures, the real critical currents are smaller due to the presence of the local constrictions.